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Chapter 3

Changes

I wasn't going to sulk. No, that would just be plain childish. Instead I was going to think up a brilliantly sneaky plan that would end up with Malfoy in the hospital wing with several broken bones. Yeah, cause that wasn't childish at all. You know, now that I thought about it sulking was so much easier. And I loved being lazy when I was given the chance. Surprisingly that plan somersaulted out the window when I saw the sour expression on Kate's face. When it came to hating people Malfoy definitely dominated my list but Kate was an undisputed second. Even with Malfoy the fight was out in the open but Kate had a certain sneakiness that made her a difficult person to put in her place. She never did anything that suggested she disliked you where others would notice, but she had an unnatural gift for making your life a living hell behind your back. Gossip was the method she loved most, because honestly, who didn't like gossip that made the children of the golden trio look like complete and utter losers? Not that I needed her help for that. I managed to get every single person in sigh to scatter by simply using my clumsiness, thank you very much!

Besides me Al was sitting unusually stiff. I followed his line of sight to the fifth year Hufflepuff who was now his patrol buddy. She was giggling like mad, her cheeks flushed and her eyelashes flying up and down at Al. Good grief, how had he managed to get his number one fan as his partner?

"Kill me now," he muttered quietly.

He wasn't getting any sympathy from me. "You wanted to complain about prefect duty. Enjoy your just rewards."

He frowned harder. "Now Rosie, that's not fair. It kept clashing with Quidditch and I only asked them to move me, not every single prefect." He turned to me, his expression filled with regret. "Sorry that you got Malfoy. I know you two aren't exactly Scooby and Shaggy."

I snorted. "Yeah, we're more like Tom and Jerry. I call dibs on Jerry, he always wins."

"Spoiler alert," Al laughed. It was nice talking to someone who had also been raised in a house that was half wizard and half muggle. Uncle Harry had always thought it was ridiculous that most wizard had no idea what the most basic items in the muggle world were and had adapted mum's policy of raising their kids in both worlds. "But I'm being serious. Do you think you'll survive the year without killing each other in one of your legendary spats?"

"Since when have our spats been legendary?"

Al grinned. "You're kidding right? I mean, haven't you noticed that even the professors don't team you two up for anything?"

"Al, we usually sit on opposite sides of the room. It's not that odd."

Al suddenly grinned, his eyes gleaming. "Okay, how bout we make a bet?" Oh no, he knew I couldn't say no to a bet. Never ever in my life had I been able to resist the sweet urge to crush someone in some sort of activity. Except at Quidditch of course. My clumsiness meant I had an excellent ability to stay on my broom while accidentally flying into everyone else and knocking them from their brooms. The Gryffindor captain had been desperate to recruit me in my second year but the professor in charge had decided it would give them an unfair advantage. Within ten minutes I'd be the only player left in the air. Besides, I didn't really share Al's love for flying. I was dangerous enough on land as it was.

I narrowed my eyes at Al, not at all pleased that he knew my weakness so well. I chose my words carefully. "What do you have in mind?"

Al was looking extremely pleased with himself. "My theory, which may I add is definitely correct, dictates that even if you sat next to Malfoy the professors wouldn't chose you two as partners. There are a few group activities coming up this week so we can definitely expect results. So, my dear sweet cousin, I dare you to spend the next week sitting next to Malfoy in every single class you have together. If the professor picks him as your partner you win, if they don't I do. We'll decide on what we win later." I thought about it for a second. Sitting next to Malfoy, ugh, I'd rather pluck every hair on my head with a tweezer. But there were advantages to this plan as well. I'd be able to get back at Malfoy for earlier today and annoy the living daylight out of him. Anne wouldn't mind, she'd be sitting next to Jack – damn, the name was beginning to stick mentally – so there wouldn't be any complaining. It was time to get back at that git and in the process I would be crushing Al at the same time. Fine, I'd go along with his little bet. Just thinking of all the things I could make him do if – no, not if, when – I won.

My own smile turning evil, I nodded and took Al's outstretched hand in agreement. "Fine, I accept your bet."

Al looked way too sure of himself as he pumped my hand up and down. "This is going to be a breeze."

"You wish, Potter, you wish."

The rest of the meeting was typical of a prefect meeting – in other words Kate nagged on about useless things while the rest of us counted our fingers. Even Kurt, who like I mentioned was a mini Uncle Percy and loved everything to do with being in charge, was sitting with a frown on his face. Kate sure knew how to bore people to death. Even me, the person who could stay awake through an entire History of Magic class, felt my eyes droop. I was still fighting the urge when a small piece of paper suddenly hit me straight in the head before rolling down and landed perfectly in my lap. I knew where it had come from even before I unfolded it. Few people had the ability to throw something that would hit me in the head without bouncing out of sight and the only person in sight who could was dear old Malfoy. His head was turned to Kate, even his expression bored as he listened to the annoying speech. Okay, so he wasn't a fan of Miss perfect either. Seeing that he wasn't going to stare at me while I read, I unfolded the piece of paper.

Shall I ask for another partner?

The words caught me by surprise. There was no mocking undertone, no way that he was trying to get the upper hand on our next fight. It was almost like he was, heaven forbid, being nice and actually caring about what I thought. He turned his gaze to me and for a second I saw a strange emotion flash in their gray depths, an emotion that was definitely not the hate we were usually sprouting. What was going on with him the last while? It was like he had gotten tired of our fighting and wanted to make peace, which was just impossible. Yet, I had noticed the same thing earlier that day. Merlin he was a complicated person. I couldn't keep up anymore. Instead of trying to piece together what exactly was happening I turned back to the paper and the question it asked. Minutes earlier I would have jumped up and yelled "Hell yes!" at the top of my lungs but Kate's little glare had gotten me to rethink that decision. Obviously she wanted Malfoy as her partner and I wouldn't have minded getting David back, but neither did I really want to give her the satisfaction of winning this little game. Dear word, everything was turning into a game! And then there was Malfoy's new attitude... I obviously needed help and quickly. Especially because I kind of almost wanted to keep Malfoy as my partner. Where that feeling came from I'd never know. As I dug around in Al's bag for a quill I saw Malfoy was still looking at me and I met his gaze straight on. Making sure Kate wasn't looking I mouthed 'You want her?' pointing first at him then at Kate as I did. Both his eyes and the shake of his head seemed a little desperate. And then I did the one thing I swore I would never do when it came to Malfoy: I took pity on him. What possessed me to do so I would never know, but my hand flew over the paper with lightning speed as I jotted down two quick sentences and threw the paper back. I should have known not to do that because, lets face it, everything concerning me went way wrong. The paper, instead of soaring towards Malfoy, hit the person next to him in the head and would have rolled out of sight if Malfoy hadn't, by some miracle, managed to catch it. His lips turned up in a surprised smile as he read the words.

Sorry to disappoint you then, but it seems you're stuck with me. P.s. Have I told you you're an ass lately?

Hey, I couldn't be too nice, now could I?


I was in a surprisingly good mood the following morning. Anne, stunned because I was normally a moody bitch in the morning, talked slowly and carefully as if she was afraid I would turn into a roaring dragon at any moment. She needn't have worried. I couldn't even explain it myself but today just felt like a good day. I had gotten the biggest jerk on planet Earth as a partner the day before and had made a bet that meant I would be sitting next to him for the majority of the day, but I still felt like Christmas had come early. At this stage I knew no psychiatrist in the world would ever willingly declare me sane. I blamed my father, most things were his fault after all. Or so my mother claimed.

I was happily munching on my breakfast when Anne couldn't hold it anymore. She slammed her spoon down with a bang, scaring most of the people within hearing distance, and turned her glaring gaze at me. "Alright Weasley, spill."

I looked up from my eggs and bacon, my expression blank. "I have no idea what you're talking about." Of course I knew what she was talking about, I wasn't stupid after all, but denial was one of my strong points.

"Your mood." Anne nearly growled. "Usually you bite every single person who says hi's head off and today you look like you've just been told you won something you've always wanted. The last time I saw you yesterday you looked like you were being sent to your death, and now... Spill!"

I shrugged. "There's nothing to spill but my pumpkin juice,"

Anne wasn't giving up that easily. "Rose! Did you... I don't know, trip Malfoy down the stairs or something?"

"She wishes," The calm voice behind me actually got me to spill my pumpkin juice.

"Happy now?" I asked Anne as I dove for a napkin. "You told me to spill and I did. I'm a good girl."

Malfoy snorted. "Yeah, as good as a scorpion."

I tilted my head up to look at him. "No, actually that'll be you. You are Scorpius after all, aren't you?"

"Wow, she knows my name. I feel so honored." His tone was more teasing than insulting, so I simply shook my head and reached for another napkin.

"How can I help you Malfoy? I'm afraid I've left my vial of poison upstairs but I can go get it for you if you want."

"Thanks Weasley, how kind of you. But that's not why I'm here." He half twisted to search for something in his bag and a few seconds later drew out a folded piece of paper. "Our timetable. Kate has an amazing ability to corner a person when you least expect it. I'm afraid she only gave me one though so you'll have to copy."

I blinked in confusion. "Aren't we simply getting our usual five hour shift once a week?"

His expression turned sour as he shook his head. "That and they've used some of our free periods."

"Lazy bastards," I muttered, and without even thinking about what I was doing I shifted sideways to make room for him to sit while I searched for my homework diary. I only realized what I'd done when he was already seated and Anne was staring at the two of us open-mouthed. I ignored her, instead looking at the duty times. It was as if they had purposefully chosen the worse times possible. Our night duty was on a Friday when everyone was excited and restless because of the weekend and our free period duties were always squeezed in when we had a break between two classes. I had a sneaky suspicion Kate was somehow behind it all.

"I see you've gotten your duty list as well," Al said bitterly as he slid in on my opposite side. He didn't even look surprised at Malfoy's attendance, instead frowning as he pulled out his own timetable. His wasn't any better than mine, his duties on a Sunday night and also squeezed in between classes.

"At least it doesn't interfere with Quidditch," I said, my own voice laced with bitterness. "Speaking of which..." Without giving him any shape or form of warning, I swung my fist straight into his shoulder. As he yelped in pain I fixed him with a glare. "That's for complaining in the first place moron,"

He rubbed his shoulder tenderly, his frown settling firmer. "I guess I deserved that, but how was I suppose to know? Flip Rose, that hurts! Note to self, never make you angry. How on Earth are you still alive?" The question was directed at Malfoy who I'd almost forgotten was still there.

Malfoy grinned, not at all looking too sorry for Al's pain. "Years of practice."

"No kidding, eh?" I muttered before gathering some ink and a quill and copying down my new duties.

"The world is about to end, everyone run!" I looked up to find Jake standing behind Anne, his expression mirroring Anne's initial reaction. What, so me and Malfoy not fighting automatically meant the world was ending? Were we normally that bad? Okay, so we did normally have a good go at each other, but there were certain situations that demanded us to be civil, weren't there?

Instead of voicing my opinion I forced a sunny smile on my face and looked up. "Oh, hi Jack!" Out of the corner of one eye I saw a tiny smile flash across Malfoy's face before instantly disappearing. So he did think me tormenting Anne's new boyfriend was funny. Busted!

"Jake," Anne corrected automatically. She didn't get it. The more she tried to correct me, the more I was purposefully going to get it wrong. She also moved aside to allow him to sit besides her. We were getting a few glares from our fellow Gryffindors now, all upset that there were now two Slytherins seated at our table. Surprisingly enough no one tried to do anything about it though.

My eyes scanned the list to look for today's duty. "Oh goody," I muttered, "Last period of the day. They really love us, don't they?" It still felt a little weird referring to Malfoy and myself as 'us'. It was going to take some time to get use to it. "Speaking of which, what exactly are we suppose to do during those periods?"

"Patrol the halls and check no one who's not suppose to be is out of class. Waste of bloody time if you ask me." Malfoy replied unhappily. I was wondering whether any of the prefects were happy with the new duties when he suddenly let out a curse and squeezed himself out of the bench and under the table, grasping onto my legs to keep his balance as he hunched down. A few seconds later Kate came into view, clearly marching over to our table. Her eyes scanned over the table, taking in Jake and the timetable I had just finished copying before they settled on me.

"Rose, I see Scorpius has already given you you're new timetable. Please make sure you're on time for your duties. And if you see Scorpius please inform him I have some urgent matters to discuss with him." She looked like she was about to leave when one hand shot out and, grasping him by the collar, yanked Jake to his feet. "Back to your own table, Smith. You can visit your girlfriend later," With that she swung around and marched out the hall. When she was finally out of sight I reached down and patted one of Malfoy's arms.

"The coast is clear."

He came up cautiously, making sure for himself before plopping back in his seat. "Thanks Weasley, that is one person I have no desire to have a discussion with."

"Your not the only one. Sad as it may sound but after these duties she may be challenging your place on my list of people I hate most."

He grinned down at me. "But I'm still number one and that's all that counts."

I rolled my eyes. "Your the only person I know who's proud to be the person I hate most."

"That's because I'm number one on your list Weasley," he teased.

I ignored his comment. "Sure, whatever. Why are you so afraid of her anyway?" I wasn't even realizing we were having a decent conversation, no arguing, no yelling, no threats. He must not have realized it either because he answered my question.

"Will you be willing to believe she can't take no for an answer? No matter how many times I tell her I'm not interested, she just keeps coming back."

"You know, I do actually find it hard to believe, no offense. But you have dated most of the older half of the school's female population so it's difficult to believe you refused Kate," Especially cause she was so pretty.

"I haven't dated you," he countered.

"True, but I'm your mortal enemy." My words seem to almost bring us back to what was truly going on at that moment. For the first time I realized how unusual the whole situation was. We were acting like normal people having a normal conversation, and yet my relationship with him was anything but normal. He seemed to sense that the nice little truce we had once more called was being stretched to its limit because he reached out and took his timetable, folding it back into a tiny triangle. We had often called truces, normally when the fighting got so bad it was on the edge of dangerous, but never before had it gone this far. Today was different... in a nice way. I wondered what would have happened had Malfoy never confronted me on the train that day. Would be have been friends instead of mortal enemies? It was a question that could never be answered.

"Well, its been nice chatting with you Weasley, but it's time to go." His smile turned mischievous and before I realized what he was doing he swiped my last piece of bacon. "See you later," I frowned at his back, wondering if he knew just how right he was. He wasn't getting rid of me all week, Al's little bet made sure of that. I turned back to breakfast, finding Anne still staring at me.

"What?"

She shook her head sadly. "Darl, I'm sorry to say this but the two of you are as blind as bats,"

I stared at her in confusion. "What's that suppose to mean?" Had one of the professors been looking at us disapprovingly? Was I going to get into trouble? If I was going down so was Malfoy, he'd been the one who had come to my table in the first place. But Anne just shook her head.

"No, I'm not pointing it out, you'll just deny it. But I must say, I can't wait till next time this year. Something tells me it'll be exactly where I imagine it'll be." And with that she grabbed her bag and slipped from her seat, leaving me to sit there with a confused look on my face.


I caught up with Anne two minutes before our first class. She was standing to one side, deep in conversation with Jake. Eager to drill her for information, I still had no idea what she was talking about in the great hall, I half jogged forward. In typical Rose fashion my foot slipped halfway there, causing me to fall backwards.

"Oh no you don't," I didn't even have to turn to know who had caught me.

"You know, you're a terrible arch nemesis. You should be standing there laughing at me not playing hero." I tried to make my voice sarcastic but for once I wasn't in the mood. Shocker I know.

"Okay, if you insist," I felt myself gently being lowered until I was sitting on my butt in the middle of the hallway floor. Malfoy stepped over until he was standing in front of me. "Hahaha," his voice was very dry and fake, "How's that?"

I felt my lips twitch into a smile on their own accord. "Terrible, but don't worry, we'll make a super villain of you yet." I held both hands out and without the need of persuasion he took them and pulled me to my feet.

"Why do I have to be the villain?"

I raised one eyebrow at him then pointed to myself. "Because this body will look a heck of a lot better in tights,"

He laughed at the words, the unexpected sound attracting the attention of the people around us. I was sad to realize this was one of the rare time he actually laughed. Usually the only laughter I heard from him was whehe was mocking me and now was the first time I truly saw him laugh. Apparently I wasn't the only one because people were really staring at us now. Oh crap, we were the two known for our legendary spats and here we were having yet another decent conversation. Jake was right, the world was going to end. "Quick," I whispered under my breath, "Insult me before we cause everyone to panic,"

Malfoy caught my drift and forced his face into a mean scowl. "Piece of advice Weasley, next time you go sliding across the floor aim for the window. It'll have much more pleasing results for the rest of us."

For once I had to really force my sarcasm button to work. "Why thanks, but maybe you should give us a demonstration, maybe test the most lethal place to land. I'm sure your research will be ever so useful come NEWTS."

"And here I thought you were always ready for a test. Getting desperate?"

"Only to get rid of you,"

"Yes, because I'm such a git..."

"Couldn't have said it better myself,"

"Says the know it all,"

"Pig,"

"Daddy's little girl,"

"Idi..."

The door slammed open and a stream of students came rushing out. My year mates b-lined for the door, eager to get away from our 'spat'. If only they'd looked a little closer and noticed the small smiles we were both hiding. For once the little spat was funny. It was what normally transpired but this time I honestly realized how stupid our fights truly were. No wonder Anne normally had to force herself not to laugh. Shaking my head I headed towards Anne. Now all I had to do to comply with Al's little bet was to sit next to Malfoy. This proved to be harder than I though because Anne pushed me through the door in front of her and towards the closest empty row of chairs. I opened my mouth to mention Al's little bet but the look in her eye stopped me.

"Couldn't you two get along a little longer?" She hissed in an annoyed voice.

"Anne, we weren't fighting..."

"No, you were just having a loud conversation. Sit and I don't want any complaints from you." She forced me into the second last chair in the row and plopped herself down next to me. Jake followed seconds later, taking the seat next to her. Malfoy, however, was nowhere in sigh. Where was the slimy little git now? Someone slid into the seat beside me and my question was answered. He didn't look at all annoyed by the fact that he was sitting next to his self-proclaimed arch nemesis, looking as relaxed as if he was doing something completely normal. He grinned at my surprised expression.

"You're my shield Weasley," he nodded his head in the direction of Anne and Jake. "I really don't want to see them making goo-goo eyes at each other the whole period."

"And I have to?"

"You're a girl. You lot all love that romantic nonsense."

"Thanks for your respectful words for my gender," I muttered dryly.

"You're welcome."

I rolled my eyes and instead turned my attention to Professor Hawke who was now finally starting today's lesson. Her eyes did a quick sweep of the room, doubling back when she noticed where I was sitting. She opened her mouth, probably to ask me if I realized who I was sitting next to, but quickly closed it again. I guess as long as we didn't start arguing again or throwing things at each other she was okay with it. Strange how right Al had been. I'd never before noticed that our ongoing battle was so well known. Darn, and I'd always wanted to be the good girl who never got in trouble. Guess there goes that plan. I wonder if I could turn into a bad girl instead. Yeah, cause my red hair definitely screamed punk rock girl. It wasn't fair that Malfoy got to look like a real bad boy while I looked more like a leprechaun.

"Alright guys, as I warned you yesterday we have some group work today. So please turn to the person next to you and say hi to your partner for the next week."

Of course the person next to me was Malfoy, which meant Al lost the bet. I leaned forward to get a good look of the shocked expression on his face, then pretended to laugh at him. He scowled in return before turning to his own partner, one of the girls who played Quidditch with him. Malfoy watched the exchange with interest, his eyes questioning. I debated for a second whether or not I should tell him, and decided what the heck.

"A small bet that me and Al had. I told him I never lost,"

He simply shook his head in response and pretended to be interested in what Professor Hawke was saying. I'd already heard the entire speech the day before and had no intention to hear it again, so instead I pulled out my diary and studied the free periods I had now lost. I preferred knowing my schedule by heart just in case. My bag was usually so full nowadays that sometimes there wasn't even space for the tiny book. It was going to get worse now that I wouldn't have the time to go swap my books in those free periods. Maybe it was time I invested in a bigger bag.

"Alright guys, that's your task for the next week. Off you go. But remember, you've been given this period off to work, there's no excuses if you don't hand in your assignments on Friday." With that the room disrupted into chaos as people jumped up and fled the room. Anne was talking to Jake in an exited voice while Al walked over looking glum.

"It's not fair." He muttered standing in front of me.

"Too bad. It may not be pretty but a win is a win Albus Severus Potter." I was feeling pretty smug with myself.

"Fine. What do I have to do?" His voice couldn't get any more sour. Oh I was enjoying this.

"Don't worry your pretty little head about it, I'll think of something, I promise." I waved him off enthusiastically as he sulked away.

"Glad to see I'm not the only one who gets attacked by your sarcastic side." Malfoy voice was once more teasing.

I turned to him, my own smile sly. "Why not, it's free and oh so rewarding. I offer everyone a bit so they don't feel left out. Except you of course, you don't get a little, you get a lot."

Malfoy shook his head. "Why am I not surprised. Anyway, back to important matters. What are we going to do about the project?"

I felt my cheeks turn bright red. "Oh, uh, about that. I – eh – I may have already started on that."

"What do you mean started?"

"Okay, I may have done a bit more than started."

"How far exactly are you?"

I smiled sheepishly. "Almost done,"

He looked down at me, half surprised, half impressed. "Once more, why am I not surprised? Well, who am I to complain? Let's go finish it so we don't have to worry for the rest of the week."

It was my turn to be surprised. "You're not going to demand we do equal work?"

His smile could only be called roguish. "Course not. I'm a lazy git remember?" And with that he pulled me out of my chair.


The rest of the day went weirdly fast and smooth. Despite the fact that I had already won my bet against Al I still found myself seated next to Malfoy in all the classes we had together. I blamed Anne who was still hanging onto Jake for dear life. I was actually going to be sad when their relationship ended because for once Malfoy and I got along splendidly. I almost hoped it wasn't just another truce and that we would actually learn to get along but somehow I knew a fight in the future was unavoidable. We just couldn't survive without biting each other's heads off and it was only a matter of time before we did. For now I was simply going to enjoy the peace and quiet. Now if only I could get Anne to stop snogging like a love obsessed tween. It was, for lack of a better word, disgusting.

"How would you feel if I kept doing that in front of you?" I snapped at her during potions.

She had leaned over to look at Malfoy behind me and grinned. "Good luck with that," Naturally I had turned blood red with embarrassment and quickly hidden my face in a book while busying myself with my potion. Why the mere though of making out with Malfoy made me blush I had no idea, but even I couldn't fool myself into believing it was out of disgust.

Don't even think about it Rose, I told myself as I desperately stirred the potion. Who knew that was exactly what it needed because once more my potion was the best in the class. It wasn't always that bad being accident-prone.


When the bell rang for my last class I automatically relaxed. What a day! I was halfway back to the dormitory when I remembered I still had a duty. To say I sprinted like an Olympic athlete may be a bit of an overstatement, but by the time I reached the hallway we were to patrol I was completely out of breath and sounded like someone having an asthma attack. Malfoy was yet to arrive, thank goodness, giving me time to lean back against the wall and try – unsuccessfully – to regain my breath. Who'd have ever thought I'd be happy that Malfoy was late for duty? I was still breathing harder than usual when I heard two voices approaching.

"But why not?" a girl's voice cried. A girl's voice that sounded suspiciously like Kate's.

"Kate, can't you just take no for an answer?" the angry voice that followed was definitely Malfoy's. I pushed myself from the wall just as Malfoy and Kate rounded the corner. Malfoy didn't only sound mad, he looked pretty much like he wanted to kill someone too. I saw him take in a breath of relief as he spotted me and he b-lined over to me. Kate however wasn't going to be shaken that easily.

"No, I don't! Answer me Scorpius," She was hanging onto his arm now, clearly trying to restrain him.

"I can't go to Hogsmeade with you," he ground out, "because I'm already going with someone else," Wow, I had never realized I knew Malfoy that well but I could clearly tell that he was lying. Or maybe he wasn't trying that hard because Kate wasn't accepting his answer either.

"Oh, really? With who?"

His eyes flashed up and the same desperate look that had filled his eyes last night was there once more, pleading with me as he look me straight in the eyes and said, "With Rose,"


Hope you guys enjoyed it and don't think the story is progressing to weirdly. Don't worry, there is tons and tons of fighting ahead. The fight between those two won't be resolved that easily!

Please review and let me know what you think!