A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the somewhat long wait but college keeps me busy! Anyway, this chapter is a bit shorter than the ones directly preceding it and I apologize for that but I thought that it was best to end this chapter were I did. I hope that you guys enjoy it nonetheless. Thank you to all of you who have subscribed to this story and to those of you who favorited. Like usual, a huge thank you to those of you who reviewed BUT an ever larger thanks to those of you who reviewed the last chapter and gave me ideas! I liked a lot of the ideas and will be using a few of them as the story progresses. Credit will be given to those people whose ideas I used at the end of the chapter in which I use their idea. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: My bank account will clearly speak to the fact that I do not own harry potter/hogwarts/ etc...

Scorpius

Four days later and Weasley had yet to utter a single word to me. It was strange because for the last six years bickering with Rose Weasley had always been a given. I had always known that I could count on getting into some sort of spat with her no matter what else was happening in my life. Now however, no matter what I said, she refused to speak to me. I had tried to goad her into having an argument with me on several occasions, but each time she had refused to take the bait and had simply walked away from me. At this point I was even willing to let her win an argument so as long as she took me up on the offer. It might seem strange that I was so eager to have Weasley insulting me once again but after six years it was almost a comfort to me to exchange witty banter with Weasley, especially considering the fact that she was the only person I knew who could keep up with me. I groaned and rolled my eyes, annoyed that thinking about this whole ordeal was taking up so much of my time. Running a hand through my hair, I swung my legs over the side of my bed and stood up, stretching my arms out. With a quick glance at the clock hanging on the wall I noticed that I was already late in meeting my friends for the Hogsmeade outing. No matter, I knew that no matter how late I was, they would wait for me. Leaving Scorpius Malfoy behind would be absolute blasphemy.

As I was getting dressed, the door to the dormitory opened up and Emmanuel walked in, a distressed look on his face. I slipped my black sweater on before turning to face my friend, "Mate, you look like you're going to be sick. What's wrong?" I asked, arching a brow at him. It was a very rare occurrence for Emmanuel to look the least bit frazzled, and I couldn't remember the last time I had seen him look this distressed over something.

Emmanuel's head turned in my direction and he gave me a small, apprehensive grin as if he wasn't sure whether or not to tell me what he was so worked up over. Clearing his throat, Emmanuel rubbed the back of his neck. "Nothing man, nothing's wrong. I'm just a bit nervous that's all." He cleared his throat once more before he began searching through his trunk.

I scoffed and rolled my eyes as I walked over to the mirror to check my appearance. "Who do you think you're talking to Emmanuel?" I questioned, looking at him through the mirror. "I'm not dense."

Emmanuel stopped digging through his trunk and stood up, "I'm taking Molly Weasley out today." He mumbled, glancing at my back apprehensively. My hands, which had previously been occupied with smoothing out my sweater, froze in their spot. Slowly, I turned around, away from the mirror, so I could look at Emmanuel. Arching a brow, I lowered my chin and looked at him with an incredulous expression on my face. "Are you kidding me?" I questioned, my brows furrowing in confusion. I couldn't come to grips with the fact that not only was Emmanuel loosing his cool over a girl, but he was loosing his cool over a Weasley.

Emmanuel groaned and ran a hand through his hair, "Come on, don't do this to me right now Scorpius. I get that you don't like her but I'm already late to meet her and for the life of my I can't find my wallet." Emmanuel threw his hands up in frustration and once more began to dig through his trunk.

Sighing, I shook my head before walking over to Emmanuel's bed. I leaned down and pulled out his wallet from under his bed, handing it him with a smirk on my face. A look of relief washed over Emmanuel's face and for a second I even felt bad for him. "Thanks man, I owe you." He muttered, taking the wallet from me and sticking it in his pocket.

I laughed and shook my head, "You would have found it eventually. I just decided to put you out of your misery. You haven't even gone on one date with this girl and she's already got you loosing your mind." I made my way back over to the mirror and watched as Emmanuel glowered at me.

"What? Did I say something that wasn't true?" I asked, raising both brows. Emmanuel opened his mouth to reply, but realizing that I was right, he shut his mouth. I chuckled and shrugged my shoulders.

Emmanuel sighed and made his way over to the door, "Whatever mate. You just wait until you find a girl that you like as much as I like Molly. Then I'll pay you back." At this, I couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, okay, don't hold your breath waiting for that day." I called after Emmanuel as he left the room. The idea that I would ever get that worked up over a girl was positively preposterous. That would require me, at the very least, to find someone that was worth putting in the effort for a real relationship. It hadn't happened yet and I doubted it ever would. While there were plenty of good-looking girls around, none of them could ever really hold my interest for very long. I had been hooking up with Claudia for almost a year now, but I could only have her around for two or three hours at a time. After that, she began to bore me.

After one last look in the mirror, I grabbed my wallet and shoved it into my pocket. I swept the area around my bed with my eyes just to make sure I had everything I needed. After having made sure I had everything, I nodded my head and left the room, sauntering down the stairs and into the Slytherin common room. Sitting in the common room were the people I had decided to go to Hogsmeade with today. I nodded my greeting and slowly, one by one, Claudia, Charles Flint and Adeline Crowley stood up and made their way over to where I was standing by the exit. As the four of us walked out of the common room and made our way through the dungeons, I heard Claudia and Adeline begin to speculate as to what the next house challenge would be. As I eavesdropped on their conversation, I couldn't help but wonder what Emmanuel and Molly would throw our way next. As I tried to come up with my own list of speculations I realized that once the next challenge was announced, Weasley would have to speak to me. A smirk tugged at the corners of my lips as that realization swept over me, I would give her hell for ignoring me for so many days.

"So, where do you all want to go first?" Charles asked, turning around to face the girls as we entered the village of Hogsmeade. I blinked, snapping out of my thoughts and glanced over my shoulder to see what the response would be.

"Oh, can we please go to Madam Puddifoots?" Claudia asked, widening her eyes at me. "Adeline and I haven't eaten anything all day."

I couldn't help but scowl at the suggestion. I found Madam Puddifoots teashop to be a disgusting place and I tried to steer clear of it as much as I could.

Seeing the apprehension on my face, Adeline piped up, "Come on Scorpius, please. Last time we all went to Hogsmeade together you and Charles spent an hour in the Quidditch store." Both girls nodded and gave me a pointed look. From beside me, Charles laughed and clapped a hand on my shoulder, "I think we've lost this one." The scowl remained on my face for a few moments. I was in no mood to admit that I had lost but I also did not have the energy to argue with two girls at the same time. "Fine." I mumbled, before turning around and walking towards the teashop.

As soon as we entered the store, the girls spotted an empty table and dragged us over. Luckily, the table was next to a window and so I had something to look at other than the pink frills that adorned every square inch of the shop. As I was looking out the window however, something in the corner of my eyes caught my attention. Frowning, I turned my head only to spot Weasley sitting with Frank Longbottom at a table on the other side of the shop. My eyes widened in surprise and I quickly looked away, not wanting anyone at my table to see what I had been looking at. However, it was too late for that.

"Is that Weasley with Longbottom?" Claudia asked incredulously, her eyes widening as she stared at the couple across the table. I glanced over, and tuned out the girls as they began whispering about the development. Frankly, I couldn't believe my eyes. What was Weasley doing with Longbottom? Though I wouldn't admit it even if I were being tortured, Weasley was smart and witty, while Frank Longbottom was neither of those two things. As I was about to turn my attention back onto my own table, I saw Weasley stand up and head over to the bathroom. For a few seconds I sat still and then I bolted up out of my seat, "I'll be right back." I mumbled before weaving my way through the shop over to the restrooms. Once I found myself standing in between the doors of the men's and women's restrooms I glanced around, confused as to what had gotten into me. When I had watched Weasley leave her table, I had been overwhelmed with the urge to confront her.

Shaking my head, I realized how stupid a move that had been. However, before I had the chance to turn around and head back over to my table, the door to the women's restroom opened and Weasley walked out. When her eyes landed on me, a look of surprise washed over her face. The look of surprise was soon replaced by a frown and she walked forward, intending to push past me. However, before she could pass by me, I took a step to my right and blocked her pathway. This caused her to sigh and try to sidestep me once more by moving to the left. However, I blocked her pathway again.

"Malfoy, stop it!" She hissed, pushing my shoulder back. Ah, so this is what it took to get her talk to me again. As she tried to move to the right, I sidestepped to the right as well, once more blocking her pathway. "Stop what?" I questioned, smirking down at her.

"That!" She snapped, looking up and glowering at me. "Your moves are deliberate." Her lips were pressed thinly together in annoyance but I wasn't fazed in the least.

"Yeah, I'm deliberately trying to get to the bathroom." I lied, pointing to the men's bathroom behind her. Weasley rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Yeah right." She muttered.

"I see you and Longbottom are here together." I stated, arching a brow. Weasley frowned and took a step back, crossing her arms over her chest. Her nose was wrinkled in annoyance I couldn't help but notice that she had let her hair down, out of its usual ponytail. "Yeah, and?" She questioned.

I shrugged my shoulders and sidestepped so that her pathway was clear. "I just can't understand why. I doubt he can hold your attention for very long." I whispered, leaning down so my mouth was only a few inches from her ear. Weasley's eyes opened wide and she stared at me in surprise. However, before she could respond, I chuckled and waltzed into the men's bathroom. The look on her face had been absolutely priceless. The moment I walked into the restroom however, my smirk fell off of my face and was replaced by a look of utter confusion. I wasn't sure what had possessed me when I had decided to get up and confront Weasley. Shaking my head, I wrote it off to my deep-seeded desire to antagonize the girl. I waited a few seconds to make sure that Weasley had made her way back to her table before leaving the restroom. On my way back, I noticed that she and Longbottom were on their way out. As I reached my own table, I followed the couple with my eyes. As the duo was about to exit the teashop, I spotted Weasley loop her arm around Longbottoms' and shoot me a nasty look as she did so. My eyes opened wide as they slipped out the door, surprised at Weasley's audacity.

Rose

"How'd it go?" Lily squealed, practically jumping on top of me as I entered the seventh year girls' dorm. My eyes widened in surprise and I took a cautious step back, attempting to get out of her grasp.

"Uh, fine." I replied cautiously, sidestepping Lily so that she couldn't pounce on me again.

"Fine? Really? That's all you're going to give me?" Lily asked, arching a brow as she crossed her arms over her chest. I nodded and watched her warily out of the corner of my eye as I walked around her. As I passed Lily, she spun around so she could keep her gaze on my face.

I was in no mood to divulge to Lily the details of my date. If I were to write out the details of my date out on paper, Frank and I would appear to be a perfect couple. There hadn't been a single moment of silence between the two of us, something that was a consequence of the two of us having been friends for so many years. Even Albus and Hugo had approved of my going out with Frank. Of course, they had hurled a few threats his way for good measure but all in all they were taking it rather well. It seemed like we were some sort of golden couple. However, over the course of the afternoon it had become obvious to me that relationships could not be assessed on paper. I had, had a good time with Frank, but there was none of that spark that I longed for. I still viewed him as a friend. Albeit an attractive friend, but he didn't make my stomach churn in anticipation nor did he give me sweaty palms.

What I most wanted to avoid telling Lily about was my little encounter with Scorpius Malfoy. I knew that Malfoy liked to antagonize me but I was a bit surprised at the lengths he was going to achieve his goal. When I had made my decision to ignore him I had thought that he would welcome the chance to never speak to me again, but apparently I was wrong. Inwardly, I cursed Malfoy and his sadistic personality. At the very beginning of my date with Frank I had made up my mind to act purely as just a friend so that I wouldn't feel too guilty in telling him that I didn't want to take our relationship in the same direction in which he wanted to take it. However, after my little encounter with Malfoy, something had snapped in me and just to spite the little ferret, I had thrown myself at Frank while leaving the teashop. Now it would be more than valid to say that I was giving Frank mixed signals.

"Yeah, basically." I muttered as I sat on my bed, kicking off my shoes. I was still preoccupied with replaying today's events in my mind and was thus not giving Lily my attention. Something that, I had learned over the years, she did not enjoy. A few moments later Lily sat down next to me and casually bumped her side into mine. Shifting my gaze, I noticed that she was giving me an expectant look. "What?" I asked defensively. "There's nothing else to say."

Lily arched a brow and remained silent for a few minutes before she shrugged her shoulders and stood up. "Fine. Whatever. I don't believe you but I'll figure it out eventually." The look on her face told me that she fully intended to snoop around until she was satisfied. All I could do was sigh in response; Lily had inherited her fathers stubborn and determined personality and once she set her mind to something, there was no stopping her. Obviously, I could always hex her as a preventative measure but I was fairly certain that, that would not go over too well at the next family dinner.

"Anyway, let's head to dinner!" Lily exclaimed, her tone of voice changing almost immediately. Rather than question her motivations for changing the subject, I accepted the development gratefully and nodded my head, shoving my feet back into my boots. With that, I followed Lily down towards the Great Hall, exchanging inconsequential conversation about how, excluding my date with Frank, the two of us had spent our day.

Once in the Great Hall, we found it abuzz with lively chatter. The occupants of the hall were even more animated than they usually were and Lily and I exchanged confused glances before heading for the head of the Gryffindor table, taking our seats beside Albus, Hugo, Frank and a few of the members of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. Frank and I exchanged small smiles before I quickly turned my attention onto Albus.

"What's going on?" I questioned.

Before Albus could say a word, Frank leaned in, his shoulder touching mine, "Emmanuel and Molly are going to announce the next challenge." Both of my brows rose in surprise and I turned my head towards the faculty table to see Molly and Emmanuel exchanging words with McGonagall. I had thought that Emmanuel and Molly would wait a little longer before announcing the next challenge. My gaze did not leave Molly and Emmanuel for a few minutes, but when it became apparent that they were going to make the announcement on their own time, I looked away and listened to the conversations going on around me as I ate my dinner.

It wasn't until the dessert appeared that McGonagall stood up and cleared her throat, causing the whole Great Hall to go silent within a matter of seconds. Without another word, McGonagall sat down and Emmanuel and Molly stepped forward. The two heads exchanged glances and Molly grinned sheepishly.

"So, I hope everyone is enjoying their dinner and we don't mean to interrupt," Molly began, clasping her hands together. The grin on her face was ridiculously wide and I couldn't recall ever seeing her smile this broadly. Well perhaps when we were toddlers on Christmas morning, but most certainly not since then. I highly doubted announcing the next challenge was the cause of all of Molly's joy and I made a mental note to go see her and ask how she was doing.

"But we're here to announce the next inter-house competition challenge that will take place in a month from today!" Emmanuel proclaimed, shoving his hands into the pockets of his slacks as he rocked back and forth on his heels. There was a relatively broad grin gracing his handsome face as well. A resounding cheer went through the Great Hall and Molly and Emmanuel looked at each other and laughed.

"Our next challenge is going to be a tournament! A dueling tournament!" As soon as the words were out of Molly's mouth chaos erupted in the Great Hall. The volume rose ten fold and people began to run up and down their respective house tables to go talk to all of their friends. The small grin that had previously been gracing my features fell and I groaned, placing my forehead into my hand. Giving a bunch of Slytherins and Gryffindors a reason to use hexes around each other was just asking for trouble.

I felt someone rubbing my arm and I looked up to see that it was Frank. "Cheer up, it can't turn out any worse than the Quidditch challenge." He reasoned before he leaned in and kissed my cheek. I opened my mouth to respond, but no words came out and I sat there gaping like a fish. I wasn't sure what to address first – the imminent disaster that was this dueling tournament or the fact that I had failed to deliver the 'just friends' memo to Frank.

Credit to xoxosmileyfacexoxo for giving me the idea of a dueling challenge! Thanks a ton!