Disclaimer: I only wish it was mine!
Chapter 9
I wake up the next morning full of excited energy. Hogsmeade today! With Tyler Wood!
I get up to go to the bathroom, which is unsurprisingly in use.
"Hurry up, Malfoy. I have places to be," I grumble unpleasantly.
All I get is a mumbled response and the opening and shutting of the other door. Well, that was easy enough. Malfoy isn't even trying to ruin my day. Not that he could, being that I'm going to Hogsmeade with Tyler Wood.
I head down to breakfast and see Lily and Randy sitting at the Gryffindor table.
"Hey, guys! You excited for Hogsmeade?"
Randy smiles. "Definitely. Are you coming with us?"
I return the smile with an even wider one. "Nope!"
"What's got you so happy?" Lily eyes me skeptically.
"Oh, nothing…" I smile bigger and start piling my plate with food. After what I consider to be a very suspenseful pause, I casually continue. "I just have a date with Tyler Wood."
The words are barely out of my mouth before Lily squeals with excitement.
"ROSEY! How could you not tell me sooner?! Oh, this is so exciting! He's perfect for you! You two will be Hogwarts' new power couple!"
"Okay, okay," I laugh. "Calm down before you start planning our wedding!" I glance toward the Slytherin table and see Malfoy looking at me. We lock eyes for a few seconds before he looks away. I turn back to Lily and Randy.
"So are you guys going together today then?" Perfectly awkward question for the perfectly awkward soon to be couple.
Lily blushes and stutters a bit, but Randy answers coolly, "Yep! We've been dying to go to Honeydukes!"
I feel Malfoy's eyes on me again, but ignore it. I refuse to let even a glance at Malfoy intrude anymore on this day.
After breakfast, I meet Tyler in the entrance hall.
"Hey, Miss Rose. You're looking stunning as usual!" He sends me a crooked grin. Wow, he's cute.
"Hey, Tyler. You're not so bad yourself! Where do you want to go first today?"
He gives a thoughtful glance towards the ceiling. "Hmmm. Maybe Honeydukes. I could go for some sweets!"
We head to Hogsmeade and travel to all of the shops, Honeydukes included, before retiring to the Three Broomsticks for butterbeers.
"So, Miss Rose, are you having fun?" Tyler gives a charming smile.
I return it. "How could I not be?" I say playfully. "How about you?"
"Well, let's see now. Beautiful day… check. Beautiful town… check. Beautiful girl… check. Yep, I'm having a fantastic day!" I can't help but smile wider.
Tyler continues. "So I'm thinking that since we have so much fun together and get along so well, we should maybe come to Hogsmeade together again. What are your thoughts?"
"I definitely agree."
He smiles. "Anddd, since we have so much fun together and get along so well, we should probably hang out more in general. Your thoughts?"
"Once again, I definitely agree."
He smiles wider. "And, in closing, since we have so much fun together and get along so well, we should probably date." I give him a stunned look. "Well, Miss Rose, what are your thoughts? Will you be my girlfriend?"
I'm so shocked that I can't immediately find the words to say yes. Yes yes yes! Of course I will date Tyler Wood! Of course I want Tyler Wood to be my boyfriend! Yes yes yes!
Tyler is still staring at me expectantly.
I find my voice. "Oh, of course I will be your girlfriend!"
He grins that goofy crooked grin and I feel like the happiest girl in the world.
The rest of the day goes by quickly, too quickly, and finally Tyler and I say our goodbyes.
"Well, Miss Rose… or should I say girlfriend?" He smiles. "I had a great time today. I will see you soon. Maybe eat dinner together? Or breakfast, lunch, and dinner?"
I laugh and say, "Sure! I look forward to it! I had such a wonderful day, Tyler. Or should I say boyfriend?" We both laugh.
"I'll see you, Miss Rose." He leans in a kisses me on the cheek before turning away. I smile to myself and walk into the common room. No Malfoy. Perfect! Too bad I will have to see him later during patrol.
I grab a random book off of a shelf and curl up to read. By the time I finish, it is time for patrol. Ugh.
Well, at least if I start feeling irritated with Malfoy, I can think of my great day with Tyler to cheer me up.
I walk to the entrance hall and find Malfoy already waiting. He is wearing his uniform, as instructed by Professor McGonagall. But he isn't wearing it in a way in which she would approve. His close fitting button down is rolled up at the sleeves to his elbows, the bottom untucked. His emerald tie is hanging loosely around his neck. His hair is a mess and he is leaning lazily against the stair railing. As he glances at me, my breath catches in my chest.
Snap out of it, Rose! It's been established that he is good looking. It isn't a big deal. Why act like a school girl every time you see him?!
He clears his throat and I stop mentally chiding myself. "Glad to see you finally showed up, Weasley."
I glance at my watch. I am three minutes early. "Maybe you shouldn't arrive so early, Malfoy. That way you wouldn't have to wait and I wouldn't have to hear you complain. Let's just get this over with."
He seems to agree, and we walk for a while in almost companionable silence. Then he decides to ruin this.
"Weasley, how can you stand to wear your uniform so prim and proper all the time?"
What?
"Umm, what are you talking about, Malfoy?" I give him a befuddled look.
"Your uniform, Weasley," he says slowly, as if speaking to a rather daft child. "You always wear it all buttoned up and crisp looking. Even when you're just lounging around the common room after classes. Don't you ever just, you know, loosen up a bit?"
Still confused as to why Malfoy is asking about my uniform, I respond with, "I dunno, Malfoy. I find it comforting to know that it looks professional."
"Hmm," he says thoughtfully. I look at him with flat out confusion written all over my face. "Well, let's keep moving then, Weasley. This is 'patrol', remember? Not 'look stupidly at your patrol partner.'"
Point taken. We keep moving.
Why was Malfoy of all people asking me about the way I dress, anyways? What's it to him? Is it really that fascinating? I'll answer that. No. Not at all.
Maybe he was just trying to make conversation. You know. Pass the time.
Or maybe he is actually interested in me.
Ha! I wish.
I mean, no! I don't wish. That came out wrong. I don't want Malfoy to be interested in me in any way, shape, or form. Not at all. I just meant that it'd be nice for him to actually be nice occasionally. I don't want him interested in me by any means, just a little congeniality would be lovely.
My thoughts are interrupted once again, by the opening of Malfoy's mouth.
"I saw your little friends today at Hogsmeade."
"And? I'm sure a lot of people did, Malfoy." He smirks and continues.
"So, now that the romance between you and Longbottom didn't play out, he's going for your cousin I see." His smirk gets wider.
"What are you getting at, Malfoy?" By this point, I am fairly irritated. Think of Tyler, think of Tyler.
No good. Nothing can distract me from the great annoyance that is the voice of Scorpius Malfoy.
"Longbottom and Potter. A love connection. More like a loser connection, actually."
Ugh, what a prat! "Malfoy, stop talking about my friends like that! I know that you just want to annoy me, and SUCCESS! You have ruined the night after my perfect day. Can't you just be nice for once in your life?"
He looks at me thoughtfully and then says, "Sure."
I'm taken aback. That would be too good to be true. "Umm, what?"
"I said 'sure,' Weasley," he sneers. "I'll try it out now. I consider this nice, since there are plenty worse things I could say. Actually, this is probably one of the nicest things I can think of about the lose- I mean love connection. I think that your little cousin, 'Lilykins,' deserves that twit, Longbottom. Of course, she doesn't really have a choice with a face like th-"
But before he can finish, my hand makes contact with his face, slapping him loud and hard. He looks at me, stunned, right before the last thing we could ever want happens.
"Excuse me!" Professor McGonagall's voice rings out commandingly across the empty hallway. Malfoy and I turn to face her.
"Miss Weasley, I am appalled at this behavior. From the Head Girl, nonetheless. Detention this Wednesday. Feel free to join her, Mr. Malfoy."
"But, Prof-"
"You must have done something to provoke this, Mr. Malfoy. My decision is final. Detention this Wednesday evening."
We both begin to protest, but the look on McGonagall's face instantly silences us.
"You two had better bite your tongues, unless you want an entire week's worth of detentions. Go back to your dormitory. I better never witness anything like this again."
Malfoy and I walk back to the Heads' dorms in silence. Once we enter the common room, he turns towards me.
"Good going, Weasley."
I give a defeated sigh. "What do you want from me, Malfoy? You wanted me to get mad, and that's what I did. You should be happy. I know you love to see me upset."
That flash of emotion crosses his features once more.
"Well what I didn't want was detention."
"You know, I'm really torn right now." I smirk and Malfoy looks at me questioningly. "I'm fairly overjoyed to have gotten you detention. But then I remember that I have to be there with you. I have to survive another night of your insults and snide remarks. I have to be stuck in a room with only you for company. And as happy as I am that you are unhappy, it cannot mask my dread that I will have to spend a night in your presence. You are truly intolerable, Malfoy. And I cannot stand you."
I walk into my room and close the door behind me. But not before glancing back at Malfoy's empty expression watching me leave. Just before I close the door I see something flash across his face, however. But it's not that usual complex look. This I can clearly identify.
It's a look of guilt.
So Malfoy still hasn't found out about Tyler... but don't worry, that's coming soon ;)
Also, I got a few questions about Tyler, so here's a little bit of backstory: He is the son of Oliver Wood and an American girl he married (hence the way he talks... I've heard he sounds a bit like he's from the Southern US). He is first in his year, but not a prefect... McGonagall probably thought quidditch and his studies were enough to keep him busy without throwing prefect on top of that! Rose isn't much of a quidditch follower and keeps mainly to herself when she isn't with her family, so that's why she didn't know Tyler.
I know this was a shorter chapter filled mostly with cheesey Rose/Tyler bliss, but next chapter will be up in a few days! Hopefully Saturday, but definitely by Sunday at the latest! And it's a good one, I promise... a lot of Rose/Scorpius interaction ;) In the meantime, thanks for the support and let me know what you think! I love reading your reviews :)
