Rose
The day had proven to be ideal conditions for a Hogsmeade expedition, evidenced when she and Lysander took their first steps out of the Great Hall and strode across the grounds to the path that would take them to the quaint wizarding settlement. Rose turned her face to catch as many rays of sun as possible, savoring the last few days of warm weather they were like to get before the cold settled in, creeping over the castle as hoarfrost tipped the turrets in a glaze of sparkling ice. Hogwarts in the winter certainly had its charms, but for Rose nothing compared to the fall that dawned near the middle of the first semester and brought lively orange, red and purple colours to the trees and leaves that fell to the ground and crunched under foot. Rose relished in it even now, smiling lazily as a crisp autumn breeze blew across her face and whistled through her hair. The afternoon could turn out quite pleasant if the weather persisted like this and conversation with Lysander remained lighthearted and fun. It almost felt as though the last few weeks hadn't even happened.
"Brilliant day for it, huh coz?" Rose had been laughing at one of Lysander's oddball jokes when the voice rang out to the left of her, and she whipped her head to the side to catch sight of her harebrained cousin James Sirius Potter in all his mischievous, conniving depravity. Well, perhaps 'depravity' was a somewhat harsh way to describe Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley's eldest son, however it wasn't far from the truth. He and Fred Weasley (junior) were known for their crazy antics and unpredictable but disarming charm all throughout Hogwarts, and Rose was sure that if James was anywhere near them that his partner in crime couldn't be far behind.
"What exactly does 'it' entail?" Rose, an inflection of suspicion giving a sharp edge to the otherwise harmless question. James grinned wickedly and tossed his favourite scarlet quaffle up over Rose and Lysander's heads where on the other side Fred was waiting to catch it, his expression mirroring that of his cousin's.
"Oh, you know," Fred chimed in, tossing the quaffle yet again and forcing Rose to duck her head lest it graze the top of her scalp, "strolling about the grounds, visiting Honeydukes, grabbing a mug of butterbeer at the Hog…"
"Shacking up in Madam Puddifoot's little love shop…" James and Fred had the uncanny ability to finish one another's sentences, which was disconcerting enough on its own without the hidden implications and subtext of their most recent comment. Rose's cheeks and ears immediately flushed brilliant red and she could sense a sudden and abrupt change in the atmosphere between her and Lysander, a fact that was apparently lost on her two troublemaking, nosy cousins. Madam Puddifoot's had gained a reputation for being the certifiable hotspot of dates and couples for as long as Rose had been frequenting Hogsmeade, and to imply that she and Lysander were going there could only mean… bullocks, and she was actually have a nice time.
"I think we'll be skipping Madam Puddifoot's today, but if you two happen to end up there please give my regards to the tea cozies. I do love them," Rose was surprised and a tad relieved that Lysander had been so quick-witted and nonchalant about her cousin's suggestive remark, and when she glanced at him out of the corner of his eye she could see that he was smiling easily as Fred and James laughed at his jest.
James tossed the quaffle between his hands, and Rose reflected that it was very typical of him to strut about with his quidditch gear as though he were bringing the pitch along with him everywhere he went. He was absolutely quidditch mad, even more so than Jack Davies (which was certainly saying something) and being the captain of the Gryffindor team did nothing to deflate his already over-large ego. "You're a good sport, Lysander. I'll be proud to officially welcome you into the Weasley/Potter clan," James joked sending a profane wink in Rose's direction and causing her ears to turn even redder. She shot him a look of utter disdain but he only replied with his steadfast mischievous grin.
"Although, don't expect it to be all sunshine and rainbows," Fred said, who was standing next to Lysander and so leaned his head in conspiratorially to mutter an obviously loud whisper into his ear, "Initiation is a tough bit of business. James and I, we have it all set up –"
"Fred, James," Rose interrupted curtly, "don't you two have some frogspawn to be hiding in some poor sod's shoes or something?" This achieved a sharp, wicked smile from James who nudged her in the ribs as though sharing in on a private joke.
"Ah, I believe we do. Fred! I think that's our cue. Let's leave the lovebirds to mingle…" James quickened his pace and Fred followed along after giving Lysander one last playful punch in the arm. "Keep our little Rosie out of trouble now," he said before trooping off ahead with James and joining a group of Gryffindor seventh years farther down the road from them and disappearing into the pack. Rose inwardly cringed at the pet name Fred and James always used for her despite the fact that they were only a year older and calling her so was demeaning and embarrassing. Regardless that wasn't the brunt of her problems just now because the heavily implied messages James and Fred had hinted at during their brief interaction had left Rose feeling utterly awkward and unsure of what to do. The easy smile that had been on Lysander's face had dissipated once the boys had left to be replaced with a sort of quiet thoughtfulness that didn't look altogether wounded, but wasn't too encouraging, either. It was as if the appearance of James and Fred had instantaneously sucked all of the warmth and easygoing nature out of their day just by implying that they were an item. She would have to talk to them about that, because if they continued on the way they were going it'd surely drive a wedge between her and Lysander that even they couldn't overcome.
"I, um, I'm –"
"Rose, you don't need to say anything. They're just messing around, nothing to be upset about." Lysander then pulled a thin smile that Rose could easily see through, causing her to purse her own lips and bite her lower lip. His gaze drifted slowly down to her mouth then jerked away as he turned his head to the Hogsmeade filled horizon with its merry smoke billowing up from quaint stone chimneys and ramshackle lodgings. "Let's just enjoy this nice weather we're having and forget it even happened, yeah?"
Rose nodded, grateful that Lysander was being so relaxed and accepting about what had just occurred, but as they continued to walk into Hogsmeade Rose's mind was whirling. James and Fred had brought up some good points about Lysander that surely she already knew, but hadn't given enough attention before; the Scamanders were already practically a part of their family anyway, due to the fact that her parents and uncle and aunt had been close friends with Luna Lovegood when they were at Hogwarts, so Lysander was fully familiarized with all her family members. Family was a hugely important part of Rose's life, and although they could all be a bunch of nosy prats at times, Fred and James clearly liked Lysander enough to have 'welcomed him into the Weasley/Potter clan', and Rose cared about her family's opinion on who she dated. Rose hadn't much experience in the dating world, however her cousins hadn't taken to any of the other boys she'd seen, and obviously none of those relationships had lasted. If Fred and James loved Lysander so much, why couldn't she? And then she was thinking about their stolen kiss before the prefect meeting, and the horde of confusing, mixed-up emotions and feelings it had brought with it. And then, almost inexplicably, she was thinking of Malfoy…
"So, what do you want to do?" Lysander's voice brought her back to reality and she shook off the forbidden thoughts of kissing Scorpius Malfoy. They'd reached the town of Hogsmeade and already students were milling about, chatting and laughing as autumn leaves fell from the trees that lined the streets and a sudden gust of cool wind caused Rose's teeth to shatter. The sun had gone behind a cloud, shrouding the busy town in shadow and without its warm presence the breeze was bitingly cold.
"Fancy a butterbeer?" Rose asked, thinking that the comfortable atmosphere of the Three Broomsticks and a warm drink would surely combat the sudden chill that had set into her bones. Lysander nodded and held out his arm companionably enough, but Rose hesitated for a fraction of a second before winding hers through it. They did this often when walking through Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley or just the muggle public, but never before had Rose thought of it as a romantic gesture. Until now. She was sure that Lysander didn't mean anything by it, and was indeed just doing it in order to maintain the friendship they already had before his feelings for her developed, but Rose was then made uncomfortably aware of the possibility that Lysander had fancied her longer than she thought. Regardless she didn't want to hurt his feelings so she accepted his arm although kept a safe distance away from him as they followed the stream of Hogwarts students heading into the warmth of the Three Broomsticks, however no matter how far away from Lysander she was they still attracted prying, inquisitive eyes from their peers.
The Three Broomsticks was as chaotic and bustling as it always was on Hogsmeade weekends, and Rose recognized multiple faces from her year and the year above her cluttered around tables, drinking butterbeer and chatting amiably. Rose noticed near the corner of the pub her cousin, Albus, who was a Gryffindor in her year and the younger son of Harry and Ginny Potter. He was sitting with Neville Longbottom's son, Christopher. Rose had come to know Christopher very well over the years, seeing as similar to the Scamander family the Longbottoms were also invited to Potter/Weasley barbecues and events over the summer. Not to mention Rose had been in the same herbology class as him for as long as she could remember, and he had all the aptitude in the subject as his father, Professor Longbottom, the head of Gryffindor house and resident herbology teacher. Rose always wondered if it would be odd to have a parent who taught a class at Hogwarts, and although her uncle Harry would sometimes visit the school to give brief lectures or classes in Defense against the Dark Arts, she couldn't imagine her mother coming in and trying to teach her and her classmates about standardized wizarding treatment for magical and non-magical beings.
When Albus saw them enter he waved them over with an eager hand and Christopher looked up from his butterbeer and smiled. Rose glanced at Lysander, who simply gestured for her to lead the way. The hum of chatter and laughter filled her ears as she wove through the scattered tables and squeezed between chairs until she and Lysander were taking seats around Albus and Christopher's table.
"Hey, guys!" Albus said in a cheery voice as Rose set her bag down on the ground next to her and settled into her seat beside Lysander. She waved hello at her cousin and Christopher and talk quickly turned to quidditch, as it always did during this time of year when stakes were high and standings were determined with nearly every match. Rose, not being totally in the loop when it came to quidditch, found herself peacefully zoning out, listening in at times when words or sentences caught her attention but mostly just gazing around the pub with a feeling of contentment spreading through her body. When Madame Rosmerta came to take her and Lysander's orders the latter asked for two butterbeers, which sent the buxom bartender teetering away on her ruby-red high heeled shoes, click-clacking against the wooden floor of the bar as she went.
The minutes stretched by, conversation shifting like the leaves blowing in the wind outside but always eventually circling back to quidditch, somehow. Everyone had finished their drinks and were leaning back in their chairs, laughing and smiling, Rose preferring instead to listen than speak. She found herself studying Lysander out of the corner of her eye as he spoke, admiring the eloquent way his words formed into sentences and the graceful demeanour he exuded, full of a sort of quirky confidence and charisma that charmed nearly everyone within range of him. He and Albus got along so well that Rose got to thinking about earlier that day, with Fred and James' more-than-eager response to see her strolling alone with Luna Lovegood's son. It made her feel inexorably guilty.
Rose had been phasing out of the conversation again after it had once again returned to quidditch when something Christopher was saying piqued her interest. Rose knew they had been discussing the expected outcome of the Ravenclaw/Slytherin match that was rapidly approaching. "I think Ravenclaw has a really good chance of winning," Christopher was saying, a thoughtful look on his face. "I mean, I don't really follow gossip and all that, but it's hard to ignore when half the school's talking about Malfoy and that girl Tally's split. From what I've heard it seemed pretty messy, and Sandra MacMillan told me that she and some of the other Hufflepuff team were out on the pitch while the Slytherins were practicing, and Tally kept missing the goal hoops every time she so much as caught sight of Malfoy. The team dynamic is shot, according to Sandra."
Rose bristled slightly at the mention of Scorpius Malfoy and squirmed in her seat, causing Lysander to send her a curious look. This managed to draw the attention of Albus and Christopher as well. Lysander turned instead to Albus, ignoring Rose's sudden discomfort. "You're friends with Scorpius, aren't you Al? Has he said anything about it?"
Christopher laughed. "Albus is friends with everyone." Lysander nodded, a big grin on his face while Albus ducked his head shyly, a blush creeping up his cheeks and the tips of his ears. Even Rose managed a weak smile.
"Oh, bullocks," Albus said, the humblest of all the Potter clan, especially in stark contrast to his older brother James and his cocky attitude. His expression sobered and he scratched the back of his neck when the topic changed to Malfoy. "I've not really talked to him much recently, outside of class at least. It seems to me like he's taking it… well, he actually seems to feel bad, which is a bit unlike him."
Rose had to repress a snort. Albus was the nicest person in their year and would never breathe an ill word about anybody no matter what their reputation, however Scorpius Malfoy was well-known throughout the school to be one of the most heartless and remorseless characters. Rose simply couldn't believe that he actually felt bad about what he'd done to those poor girls, and chalked it up to Albus trying to avoid slandering his friend and thus sugarcoating the truth. Rose was about to say this much when she noticed the front door of the Three Broomsticks swing open, and as if the mention of his name had somehow summoned the real-life person to them, none other than Scorpius Malfoy swaggered in, Christof Zabini and (oddly) Spener Nott trailing along behind like some sort of cliché posse. "Speak of the devil…" she heard Christopher mutter under his breath as Scorpius and his cronies vacated and empty table not far from where Rose and her friends were seated, setting her teeth on edge. Rose tried to look away from his form as he leaned across the table to mutter something covertly to Zabini but found that she just… couldn't. She hardly ever saw him in regular muggle attire since all her interactions with him usually occurred during school and thus he wore his uniform, and even when he got onto the platform before boarding the Hogwarts Express at the beginning of the year he was normally clad in rich, expensive wizarding cloaks. Terribly distasteful, in Rose's opinion. However now he looked just as unspectacular and regular as any muggle teenage boy – jeans, a grey jumper over a white collared shirt, a black windbreaker that he shook off and draped across the back of his chair. His white hands were clasped on the table in front of him as he leaned back and gazed idly around as his friends chatted. Rose should have foreseen what happened next and kicked herself for not anticipating it, for as she continued to scrutinize him he caught her staring and their eyes met.
Why had he kissed her?
"Rose. Rose?" Albus' voice felt like a zap of electricity jolting through her body and she tore her gaze away, suddenly very jumpy. She realized that Lysander, Christopher, and Albus were all waiting for her to pay for her butterbeer, the bill that she hadn't noticed Rosmerta drop off sitting on the table in front of her. "Uh, right." Albus shot her a funny look and Rose found herself blushing, to her intense embarrassment. "Well I don't know about you two but Christopher and I are probably going to head back to the castle now. Tons of work to catch up on and I reckon there won't be another opportunity where the common room is a little less hectic."
Lysander and Rose said quick goodbyes to the pair and before long were watching them exit the front door, bringing in a clear, crisp gust of a wind after it snapped shut behind them. Rose was disappointed that Albus and Christopher were leaving her and Lysander alone, and didn't fancy the thought of being in the same small establishment as both her close friend and the son of Draco Malfoy, so she hurriedly put a several galleons on the bill in front of her and smiled at Lysander. She hoped it didn't appear too forced. "It's getting a bit… er, crowded in here, don't you think? Maybe we could go for a walk, stroll by the Shrieking Shack?" Rose knew that the allegedly 'haunted' house wasn't true; her mother and father had told her that the real source of the shrieking for which the deteriorating house was named for was not in fact ghostly spirits but instead the howling of a werewolf named Remus Lupin who had been a friend of Harry Potter's father and a friend to the Boy Who Lived himself during the war. She and her cousins had privately nicknamed it 'Moony's Shack' but for the most part did nothing to discourage the rumours that circulated about the house's grim reputation. Rose still liked to visit it from time to time, however, and looking upon the shack didn't bring her any fear but only a sad kind of nostalgia for something that she had never even known.
Lysander returned her smile and nodded, paying his own bill and rising with her. Rose stole one last glance at Scorpius before they exited the establishment, and with a shock she realized that he'd been watching her go with steely grey eyes.
Scorpius
The second Scorpius stepped into the overcrowded, noisy pub the first thing he caught sight of was the top of a very red, very bushy head that caused a dark spark of delight to ignite in his chest. He'd known she would be here with her little friends (which was why he'd suggested going there in the first place), but was mildly surprised to notice that she was sitting at a table with Albus Potter, her cousin. Although they were related and allegedly spent a lot of time together in class, he didn't see her with him much outside of school, so he was slightly intrigued to see them together. Along with Albus and Weasley was that hufflepuff Albus always hung around whose name escaped him and the Lysander bloke, seated a little too close to the redheaded witch than Scorpius liked. He quickly glanced away before she could look up and see him watching her and strode over to an empty table where he, Christof and Spencer could sit until Scorpius could formulate some sort of plan as to how to get Weasley on her own and not in the company of that weird friend of hers. Initially Scorpius had wanted to go to Hogsmeade just with Christof so that perhaps he could bounce some ideas off his friend regarding his next approach, but before they'd left the Great Hall Spencer had found them bounding down the main stairwell and requested to join them. Although Scorpius had been about to reject his proposal Christof beat him to it, welcoming Nott into their party with a big grin contorting his face. Scorpius figured this was one of Christof's ways of sabotaging his attempts to win the bet, seeing as Scorpius could hardly even mention it with Spencer in earshot lest he begin to lecture them all about the stupidity and moral integrity of it. Sometimes during one of these long-winded rants Scorpius wondered if perhaps the sorting hat had been wrong about Nott and placed him in the wrong house instead of gryffindor or hufflepuff. However Nott's points were beginning to gnaw at Scorpius' small conscience and he didn't need to be softened further by his ridiculous morality act.
When the three slytherins were seated Spencer looked around as if trying to spot a server, however the establishment was so busy that nearly all of them were preoccupied, taking student's orders and bustling behind the bar and into the swinging doors which Scorpius assumed led to the kitchens. Because of this Spencer rose gracefully, gesturing to his friends. "I think I may just go up to the bar to order. What do you lot want?"
"I'm alright, actually." Scorpius said. His stomach had suddenly grown slightly queasy when he thought about encountering Weasley again after the utter embarrassment and failure of his first attempt and he wasn't sure if he could keep anything down at the moment. Christof, on the other hand, grinned.
"Think you could order me a firewhiskey?" he wiggled his eyebrows while Spencer sighed and shook his head. "What? You could pass for an adult!" Spencer continued to look at him with that mocking expression, momentarily engaging Christof in a silent battle of wills.
Finally, Spencer rolled his eyes. "You really think on one of the few weekends that a school filled with very underage minors has access to the municipality of Hogsmeade that Rosmerta would willingly sell me – an obvious student of said school – a shot of hard liquor?" Spencer intoned sarcastically, breaking the standoff between the two. Christof sighed dramatically and threw a hand up in the air.
"Fine. A butterbeer, then." He grumbled, earning him one of those sly grins from Spencer that notoriously earned him his sinister, creepy aura. "Thanks," he called after the boy as he headed toward the bar to place the orders. Scorpius turned to Christof, recognizing it'd be one of the only opportunities he had to talk to his friend about the bet.
"Admit it. You just brought Nott along so we wouldn't be able to talk about the bet and I couldn't figure out a strategy." Scorpius prefaced, annoyance ringing clear through his tone as he leaned across the table and lowered his voice so as not to alert any other students of their conversation. The gesture was probably unnecessary due to the fact that the pub was so crowded and loud that Scorpius could hardly even hear himself think over the din, but he figured one could never know who was listening, and too much was riding on this.
In response to Scorpius's allegation against Christof's intentions when inviting Spencer along, the accused boy just laughed and waved a hand as if to dismiss the idea entirely. "You're too paranoid. And clearly this bet and the realization that you're going to lose it is consuming you. Come on, I thought you weren't worried! What happened to all that talk at breakfast?"
For better or worse Scorpius was unable to respond to this question since at that moment Spencer had returned with two mugs of butterbeer in his hands, and the topic of the bet had to be tabled for the time being. Scorpius silently fumed while he watched the two twats he called friends chat about quidditch and classes and witches and other mindless topics, secretly trying to formulate a plan in his mind. After what seemed like hours of wracking his brain, however, he didn't know how he could separate Rose from her friend. Perhaps Christof had been right. The bet was consuming him, but now more than ever he needed to set right the mistakes he'd made that night in the library. It was as though he were in the red with Weasley right now, and even if he managed to make any progress he'd still only be back at square one with her. The only benefit of kissing Weasley had at least gotten him on her radar, although Scorpius had to then question whether his position on her radar was so negative it would end up simply repelling her from him.
Suddenly the strange sensation of being watched flooded Scorpius's senses and he peered around suspiciously until his eyes locked once again with none other than Rose Weasley. Aside from Scorpius's immense shock that she was staring at him in the first place, he was additionally baffled by the fact that this time their eyes met, instead of giving him a sneer and looking directly away as was usual she held his gaze as though she couldn't bring herself to look away. Scorpius was forcibly reminded of an incident in the Great Hall where the roles had been reversed and Rose had caught him staring at her, and a strange emotion washed through him when she finally averted her gaze. He frowned. How unusual. He remembered suddenly the way she had looked that night after the library, her eyes filled with fear and anger and… something else, something he couldn't identify.
It was as Scorpius was thinking these things that he noticed Albus and the pudgy hufflepuff leaving the restaurant. Albus caught Scorpius's eye and waved, to which Scorpius tried for a forced smile. Working the muscles in his cheeks and around his mouth in that way seemed foreign to him, as if the last time he'd used them had been the night he'd tormented Rose in the hallway. Even that smile had been one out of malice as opposed to joy, meant to frighten and intimidate rather than communicate actual happiness.
He looked over to see that Rose and Lysander were now alone at the table, and still much too close. Scorpius didn't like that.
However he was spared the continual worry when he noticed Rose standing up as well and collecting her things, then leading Lysander out of the pub, seemingly to follow her cousin. Scorpius was struck with a crushing feeling then, and he realized that if he didn't keep tabs on her he'd have no idea where she could be, and this Hogsmeade excursion was likely the best opportunity to talk to her without any prying eyes looking on. So when the door shut behind her he impulsively stood up, his chair scraping along the floor as he pushed it out and pocketed his wallet, which he hadn't needed in the end despite it lying on the table beside him.
"Whoa, where you going mate?" Christof asked, his voice light and conversational but masking an underlying current of suspicion. Scorpius glanced at his friend and wracked his brain wildly to invent some sort of lie.
"I, uh, just remembered I need to restock on some ingredients for potions class," he lied, praying that Christof wouldn't question him further. In truth he had come into term this year overly prepared for potions, however Christof didn't know that. Or if he did, he probably forgot. He didn't tend to remember trivial things like that.
Still, Christof seemed to get the impression that Scorpius was up to something. He peered around Scorpius to examine the table that Rose had previously habituated, no doubt realizing she had gone and possibly putting together the pieces in his mind. He eyed Scorpius and made to rise himself, slapping down some coins on the table. "I'll come with."
Scorpius internally groaned. He didn't want Zabini trailing along while he followed (stalked?) Rose, especially after he had so recently accused Scorpius of being too invested in the bet. "No, no, really," Scorpius winced, realizing he'd said it too fast, but nevertheless rushed on, "It'll only take a second. Really, it'll be dull stuff. Just asking the shop keep to get me a bunch of ingredients and shite. You stay here and finish your butterbeer, I'll meet you back when I'm done."
Scorpius held his breath after the lies had so easily flowed out of his mouth, hoping that Christof would reevaluate his decision to join him. Christof wasn't a stupid person by any means, and the look of suspicion and slight worry on his face told Scorpius that he could see through the falsities. Still, if Christof truly did know of Scorpius's intentions and appeared so worried about it perhaps that indicated the fact that beneath his self-assured stance, the possibility of Scorpius winning the bet must've been troubling him deep down. This gave Scorpius an extra boost of confidence as he waited with bated breath for his friend to respond.
At last, Christof merely shrugged and settled back into his chair, the moment of hesitation wiped off his face to be replaced with his characteristic easygoing smile. "Well, alright, if you insist." Christof offered him a knowing wink that made Scorpius cringe, and he immediately understood that they both knew Scorpius wasn't just going to buy new ingredients for Slughorn's advanced potions class. Regardless, Christof seemed at least confident enough in the bet to let Scorpius do his own thing, which was either a good thing or a very bad thing.
This isn't over yet, Zabini.
Next Chapter: Rose and Scorpius are alone again for the first time since the night outside the library! Updates coming soon!
Thanks as always to all you lovely readers; your reviews, follows, and favourites truly make my day! 3
A/N: I have no idea what happened or why the format was so weird when I initially posted this. Forgive my lack of technological prowess! (My computer is from the stone age)
