"Careful, he might burst into flames." Rose said, nudging Seth's shoulder, her voice joking. Not that he noticed. "His dad wouldn't like hearing about that." He just transferred the glare he had focused on Scorpius, who was walking down the hill in front of them, to her.
"He did it on purpose, you know." Seth grumped rubbing the back of his head where his hair was still matted with blood.
"I'm sure it was an accident." Rose answered rolling her eyes. "Besides, my dad fixed you up quick enough."
"Sure, whatever."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Rose snapped, sounding for all the world like her mother.
"He's spent a month at the top of the class in Charms and, suddenly, he can't perform a simple levitation." Seth spit back. "Likely."
"Everyone has a bad day." Rose tried.
"Yeah, but, it isn't like this is the first thing he's done." Seth answered. "He nearly blew my head off in potions the other day."
"It was a mix up."
"Really? The potion master's son, mixed up crushed gillyweed and powdered dragon claw." Seth shot back skeptically his hair, which had been tinged with orange, was now fully ablaze in shades of bright red.
"Come off it!" Rose ordered, her voice squeaking with anger, which, combined with the fact that she was several inches shorter than he, undermined attempt at an intimidating look. "It's not like you don't take much harder hits from Fred and James in practice."
"Bludgers don't exactly have corners, Rosie." With that he lengthened his stride, easily out-distancing her to join the rest of the Gryffindor boys at the paddock fence next to Hagrid's hut.
Rose slipped in beside Alice and the other girls, just as Charlie finished his introduction and stepped to the center of the paddock. She did her best to not to make eye contact with her uncle, Seth, or Scorpius.
"Thanks for joining us Rose." Charlie said with smirk at his niece. "How about you and be the first ones to show us just how we ought to approach a hippogriff?"
Seth swung his legs over the rail with the studied ease of practice and walked towards the nearest hippogriff, beginning the complicated ritual with the same air of familiarity. Once his had offered him its knee, he threw a self-satisfied grin over his shoulder at Rose who was only in the middle of her own jerky routine.
"Well, since you have time to see how others are doing," Charlie teased. "why don't you show us how to properly mount and ride that hippogriff you have, so expertly, established a bond with."
"Of course, professor." Seth replied in the same conspiratorial tone.
With another look over his shoulder at Rose, he swung his leg lightly over the hippogriff's neck. In one smooth motion it launched the two of them into the air and flew in lazy circles over the head of the students gathered around the paddock. As they approached the clump of slytherin boys, Seth worked his fingers into the feathers under its ear. With more speed than a shifting wind the hippogriff's eyes clouded over and it's wings snapped close and it dove straight towards Scorpius. Just before it bowled into Scorpius, Seth pulled his fingers from its feathers throwing his hands up in a gesture of helplessness and it pulled up at the second clipping Scorpius' shoulders
"Seth!" Charlie shouted, his face twisted in such uncharacteristic anger that Rose saw Albus' jaw actually drop ."Come down from there now!"
"Trying!" The worry in his expression and voice falling just short of convincing from where Rose stood. Her uncle, on the other hand, seemed inclined to believe the display as his face softened, he strode over to a bucket, on the paddock's edge, and pulled out a dead ferret waving it in the air. The second the hippogriff scented the carcass it dove straight down, landing in front of Charlie and snatching the treat. Seth slid off its back and took a few long strides to the fence, grabbing Rose's arm along the way and pulling her over with him.
"I suppose I should have told you Feathermane has a thing about people messing with his head feathers." Charlie said through his grimace as he hopped the fence to join the class. "I think we ought to call the rest of today's lesson off. Come on Scorpius will get you to Madam Wood and let her take a look at your shoulder."
As the two made their way up the hill towards the castle, the Slytherins filed past, most of them wore the same look Rose wanted to give Seth.
"We better be ready for some serious payback." Alistair warned. "The match next week just got about ten times nastier."
"Yeah, sorry about that guys." Seth replied, abashedly.
"Well, maybe, you will think about that next time you decide to act like a complete prat because you think someone is being mean to you." Rose snapped and stomped off up the hill leaving a stunned Seth and the rest of the Gryffindors standing at the bottom.
"Hey Rosie." Scorpius said, smiling, as she slipped into the infirmary.
"Hey, Scorp." she replied, choosing to ignore the use of her nickname. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. Madam Wood says the hoof put a slight crack in my collarbone." he answered. Before she could protest, he added. "She already fixed me up but, she said I should rest for a few hours to make sure it takes."
"I'm sorry you got hurt." Rose apologized. "Seth can, apparently, be pretty vindictive and has a good measure of typical Gryffindor brashness."
"He also comes with all the chivalry your house is known for. He's already been by to apologize Rose." Scorpius cut in. "Though I wish he hadn't, it would make it a lot easier to go on hating him."
"Oh, well…" Rose stammered. "That doesn't change the fact that he acted like total baby."
"Rose…" Scorpius started.
"Rose." Charlie broke in from behind her. "We need to talk." He motioned for her to follow him outside and she did so grudgingly.
"Look, Kiddo." Charlie started. "I think you need to lighten up on Seth."
"You think I should just forgive him for being petty?" Rose spluttered. "He could have really hurt Scorpius or anyone standing in that group for that matter! And all because he thinks Scorp has some sort of vendetta against him." At this her uncle raised his eyebrows like he didn't think that was too crazy of an idea.
"Maybe…" Charlie replied calmly. "Or maybe he was just trying to mess with Scorpius and Feathermane didn't take kindly to the way Seth chose to go about it."
"Yeah, right." Rose muttered. "His family owns one of the biggest breeding and supply operations for magical creatures in the world, he's been playing with hippogriffs since he could walk."
"Yes and what he did with Feathermane would have told any other hippogriff to just get close enough to be startling. But, Feathermane is tempermental about anyone, touching his head." Charlie explained, his voice hardening in response to her stubbornness. "As I said, part of the blame rests on me, I ought to have informed Seth that Feathermane was like that. I knew he would do some things that most of you don't even know are possible but, I wanted him to learn a little lesson in humility."
"Oh." was all Rose could manage.
"If it makes you feel any better I took five points from Gryffindor for his rash behavior."
"Yeah...That makes me feel so much better Uncle Charlie." She sighed. "I going to go now, if that's okay." Without waiting for an answer she turned and slunk away down the corridor to anywhere but, there.