A/N: Ok, so here we go!

Chapter 11

I woke to my alarm at ten in the morning. My head still felt fuzzy, and last night still wasn't completely clear. Usually the details filled out as the day went on, so I wasn't too worried. I dressed lazily, taking my time before heading down to breakfast. Dom and Emily were already there, looking rather chipper, while Al rested his head on his folded arms in his seat beside Emily. He looked a lot worse than I felt, so I figured I got off pretty easy. I sat down, grinning at his hunched form.

"How you feeling, Al?" I asked, the smile evident in my voice. All I got in reply was a grunt.

"So how was the rest of your night after I left?" Dom asked me, taking a bite of toast. I grabbed a piece for myself.

"Good. Scorpius and I talked for a bit then went to bed," I replied. Something was nagging at me, but I wasn't quite sure what. I raised my glass to take a sip of pumpkin juice when Scorpius walked into the Great Hall.

Lips, pressed against mine. His arm around my waist, my fingers threaded in his hair. His hand gripping mine firmly, yet gently.

I choked on my juice, spitting out whatever had managed to get into my mouth in the first place. Dom smacked me on the back, confused.

"You ok, Rose?" She asked, frowning.

I couldn't find words. All I could do was clap my hand over my mouth and shake my head, an action I remembered from last night as well. What did I do? Before I could be questioned any further, I rose rapidly and made my way as quickly as I could out of the Great Hall. I needed to get as far away from him as possible. I needed to figure out what I was going to do. I kissed Scorpius Malfoy last night. For all of my anger about Adrian's jealousy, I'd gone and proven him right. What was I supposed to tell Adrian? What was I going to say to Scorpius? How was I going to make this right? Rose Weasley didn't do things like this. This wasn't me. I wasn't this girl. I didn't cheat on my boyfriend. Oh, Merlin. I'd cheated on my boyfriend. With Scorpius Malfoy.

Relax, Rose. I told myself sternly. This wasn't as bad as I thought. It was only a kiss. No big deal, right?

"Rose?"

I cursed to myself as I turned to find Scorpius standing in front of the portrait hole. I had no idea what to say. I wasn't ready for this.

"Hey…" I replied, my discomfort very evident in my voice.

He shoved his hands in his pockets, looking awkwardly at the ground.

"Look," I started, still unsure of what I was going to say.

"We were both pretty drunk last night," he supplied. He was offering me an out. Why was he offering me an out? I nodded.

"We meaning me," I clarified without really intending to. "This is my fault. I'm the one who crossed the line."

"We both did," he offered.

"Right. Well, however you want to lay blame, it shouldn't have happened."

His face was unreadable as he replied, "Right."

"So, can we just pretend it didn't? I like being your friend and I don't want things to be weird."

"Sure," he answered.

I exhaled loudly in relief. "Thank Merlin."

He shrugged, walking past me to the staircase leading to his room. I got the feeling it wasn't as simple as I was trying to make it, but I could pretend, couldn't I?

Turns out my pretending only lasted for about a week. Scorpius barely spoke to me, and what was worse was how much it bothered me. Adrian was distinctly colder toward me as well, though I didn't mind as much. That alone worried me. Why was Scorpius's apparent anger more troubling than Adrian's? Not to mention the intense guilt I felt around Adrian. Why should I feel guilty if that kiss meant nothing?

"Rose? Is everything ok?" Emily asked as I sat down across from her in Gryffindor Tower.

"Why wouldn't it be?" I asked, feigning cheer.

"Because you haven't seemed right since the party. Are you upset with Adrian?"

I shook my head. "Just a bit tired I guess. I can't wait for Christmas holidays."

"Me neither," she agreed. I sighed in relief, thinking I'd successfully changed the subject. I was wrong. "What's going on with you and Scorpius? Did you guys have a fight after the party or something?"

"What do you mean?" I asked carefully.

"Well you guys haven't really talked since that night. Usually you're a lot friendlier."

I tried to shrug it off. "Maybe we reached our limit of friendliness."

Emily shook her head. "That's not it. Something happened."

Before I could stop myself, I spit it out. I guess I just needed to finally tell someone. "I kissed him."

Her quill dropped out of her hand, spraying ink droplets across her Potions essay. I flicked my wand to clear them away when it became apparent she was too shocked to. "Can you repeat that?"

"Please don't make me."

"I- uh- Wow. Uh- I- Wow."

"I know. It's a huge mess. I don't know what I was thinking. We were talking and suddenly I just… I don't know I guess I just realized… I don't know how to explain it."

"Have you told Adrian?" She asked, trying to compose herself.

I shook my head. "I didn't think it meant anything and it would only cause problems, or worse."

"You didn't think it meant anything?" She prodded.

I sighed noisily, dropping my face into my hands. "I don't know! I brushed it off when Scorpius and I talked about it and now he's mad and it bothers me that he's mad and I just… It changed everything, and I try to pretend it didn't, but it did. I wanted to stay friends with Scorpius but it's obvious he's angry so I don't think that's going to happen."

"Rose, I don't think he's angry," she told me softly, "Well, he is angry, but maybe he's angry because he's hurt. It sounds like you basically told him it was a mistake."

I shook my head before thinking.

"It wasn't a mistake?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No. Yes. I don't know. It was… I don't know, Emily. Tell me what to do!" I pleaded desperately.

"I'm afraid I can't do that. For what it's worth, I think the fact that we're talking about Scorpius's reaction more than Adrian says something."

I stayed silent, assessing things. "I just feel like Adrian doesn't really know me. Not anymore, at least. There are things I talked to Scorpius about that Adrian just didn't get. It's like he doesn't get me anymore."

"And Scorpius does."

I nodded, growling in frustration. "This is such a mess. Stupid Malfoy."

"Whoa, are we going to have to restart the bet?" Al asked, plopping himself down in time to hear my last comment.

I sighed. "Oh, probably."

I didn't provide any further explanation when he probed for more. I was surprised at first that Scorpius hadn't told him, but after thinking about it I couldn't see why he would. I was Al's cousin. That would just be weird. I excused myself quickly to go meet up with Adrian, leaving the two of them to whatever it was they talked about when they were alone.

"Hey," I greeted him, kissing his cheek.

He touched my chin lightly with his finger, bringing my lips to his and kissing me slowly. It was the kind of kiss I found unbelievably sweet and romantic. They usually made my knees weak. There went another thing Scorpius ruined. "Hey."

Acknowledging that I definitely couldn't pretend the kiss hadn't happened didn't make it any easier. I'd tried to talk to Scorpius on a few occasions but he'd pretty much blown me off. I'd had enough.

"Wait," I snapped, taking two quick strides and catching his arm as he tried to leave the dormitory. My hand tingled strangely and I dropped it from his arm immediately. He turned around, staring at me expectantly. "Look, I'm sorry if what I said last week was the wrong thing to say. I didn't want there to be awkwardness but clearly it had the opposite effect."

"I'm not sure what else you were expecting."

"I don't know. Not this. I figured it wouldn't be this big of a deal. You've kissed lots of girls; I'm just one of many."

He pressed his lips together into a thin line, rocking back on his heels. "Right. I'm the one you can throw yourself at when you're having problems with your boyfriend without the worry that I'll have any kind of feelings whatsoever. You can use me to your heart's content because I'm, what did you call it? A 'Hogwarts Hunk'?"

"That's not-"

"Yes, it is."

"I didn't- It wasn't because of Adrian. I wasn't just using you to make myself feel better. It wasn't just some random-" I stopped abruptly, realizing what I'd just admitted.

"What are you saying?" He asked.

I shook my head, pressing my lips together and trying to shrug it off. He closed the distance between us in one step, lifting my chin to force me to look him square in the eye. I really didn't like how close he was. I was very aware of every inch of him standing in front of me as his eyes burned into mine. My heart started racing as I instinctively leaned a bit closer. What was this weird compulsion I had to kiss him again? Where did it come from and how could I make it go away?

I took in his smoldering eyes boring into mine before his lips touched mine gently. It was soft and slow, making my knees give out. Scorpius's arm caught my waist, pulling me against him and deepening the kiss. What started out gentle soon turned heated as I felt my back hit the wall. I gasped as he pulled back, breathing heavily. I stared up at him, lost for words. His hands braced him on either side of my head against the wall, preventing me from escaping even if I'd wanted to. It hadn't been the alcohol; I knew that much with absolute certainty. There was something about him that drew me in. It was addictive. It drew me into this strange whirlwind of a friendship and now it was turning into… whatever this was. It wasn't in the plan. This wasn't supposed to happen.

"This isn't right," I breathed, voicing my thoughts. Everything about this was wrong.

His eyes closed and his chin dropped to his chest. I heard his sigh before he looked back up at me. This time, his eyes sparkled with anger instead of desire. "What are you saying?"

"We can't-"

"No, you can't, Rose. You can't. Because I'm a Malfoy."

"No, it's not that! I love Adrian," I said weakly, pleading with him to understand.

He leaned in ever so slightly, eyes sparkling wickedly. "Could have fooled me."

I remained pressed against the wall as he pushed himself off and backed away from me. I instantly missed the feeling of his body so close to mine, berating myself a second later for thinking it.

"Are you in love with him?" He asked.

I frowned, "What do you mean?"

"You said you love him, but are you in love with him?"

"I- they're the same thing!"

He shook his head, already walking away from me. "You don't kiss other people when you're in love with someone."

Scorpius Malfoy was a bad influence. It was as simple as that. He'd disrupted what was supposed to be my perfect seventh year. There was no other place to lay the blame except on his shoulders. Before we became friends, I was content to pursue a Ministry career and a possible life with Adrian. Now, I was throwing all of my plans out the window and kissing another guy. This was not how I planned for this year to go at all. This was not what my parents expected of me; it wasn't what anyone expected of me. The Head Girl (especially a Weasley) was supposed to have it all together, but everything was falling apart, and it all started when I began talking to Scorpius Malfoy.

I'd also recently remembered Vanhousen's words to us at the beginning of the school year, and a fresh round of guilt and apprehension bore down on me. She trusted us and we'd crossed the line. Twice.

"Scorpius," I called out as he made to walk past me to the portrait hole. I would say our meeting was a coincidence, but I'd been waiting for him to emerge so we could talk. When it was obvious he wasn't planning on turning to face me, I ploughed through what I wanted to say, needing to get it over with. "Do you remember what Vanhousen told us at the beginning of the year? About informing her if our relationship changed?"

He turned to look at me then, his face half-amused. "Yeah, so?"

"Well… don't you think it has?" I asked.

He snorted. "Weasley, would you say we were friends at the beginning of this year?"

"Of course not."

"Then I see no change, since we aren't friends now, either."

He didn't give me a chance to say anything in response before he continued on his path out of the dormitory, leaving me with my mouth hanging open slightly in disbelief.

Scorpius's words stayed in my head the rest of the day, despite my attempts to forget all about him. It took Adrian awhile to notice I wasn't paying attention to anything he was saying.

"Everything ok, Red?"

"Yeah, fine," I answered. Adrian shrugged, smiled, and looked back at his book without a second thought. That's what finally made me snap. "No, actually, everything's not fine. We're not fine. I feel like we don't know each other anymore, Adrian. If we aren't fighting we're tip-toeing around each other trying not to start anything. That's not the kind of relationship I want."

"This is about Malfoy," he accused, glaring at me. I had to take a deep breath to prevent myself from panicking. There was no way he could know.

"No," I shot back before I could fully realize that was technically a lie, "Not entirely. Look, you can't tell me things haven't been off. I've been trying my best to make it work, but I can't pretend anymore. My life has been spiralling so out of control lately that I think I just needed something to hang onto. Something familiar. Something that didn't change. But we have changed. We aren't the same people we were last year. Maybe those people were right for each other, but these people… These people just aren't."

"Where is this coming from? The Rose I knew…" He trailed off as understanding kicked in.

I smiled sadly, "We've been holding on to the memory of what we were too tightly to realize we aren't the same."

"You aren't."

"What?"

"You aren't the same. I am. Ever since you started whatever's going on with you and Malfoy, you've been different."

"Maybe you're right."

He sighed. "So are you. We aren't working, Rose."

I tried not to feel guilty about not telling him about the whole kissing thing, but it gnawed at me. It shouldn't matter, since it wasn't the reason things didn't work with me and Adrian. There were so many other factors working against us that me kissing Scorpius only served as the wake-up call I needed to finally put a stop to it. Though it was a big part of what caused me to finally break it off, and it made me a hypocrite to keep it from him after all of the problems his jealousy over Scorpius caused. Perhaps he had a right to know he'd been correct in his worries, but a larger part of me didn't want to deal with the fallout. There was that accountability thing again. I'd done something wrong and here I was avoiding it.

I was so preoccupied by my thoughts that I turned the corner without paying much attention, running straight into Albus.

"Hey there Rosie, why the long, contemplative face?" He asked cheerfully.

"I just ended things with Adrian," I told him. It seemed unreal to be saying it after the months of them hounding me to do exactly that.

He stood, speechless, for a moment before I could see him trying to fight a grin. Glad to see I'd finally done what everyone else seemed to want. "Why?"

I shrugged, "It just wasn't right anymore. I was trying too hard to hold onto something that wasn't there. Time to stop kidding myself."

"Well, I'd say I'm sorry, but I'm not. I never liked that bloke."

"Thanks, cousin. So supportive."

He grinned, linking his arm through mine as we walked. "It's one of my best qualities, it is. You don't seem too broken up about it, though."

I considered his statement for a moment before relenting. "I guess not. I think it was over before today, I just made it official. I'm sad we couldn't make it work, but I guess 'making it work' isn't really the kind of relationship I want to be in anyways. You shouldn't have to make it work, it should just work."

He smiled, "You know, that's the first time I've agreed with your relationship outlook this term."

I rolled my eyes as we continued toward Gryffindor Tower.

"Can I ask a potentially sensitive question?" He asked once we ascended another staircase.

"Sure…"

"What's going on with you and Scor? You guys are… Well, you were friends, and now it's like it was at the beginning of the school year. Actually, it's worse. I tried to ask him about it, but all he said was that you'd had a difference of opinion."

"You could call it that," I supplied vaguely.

"Seriously, that's all I get? My two best friends have some falling out and all they can attribute it to is a difference of opinion?"

"That would be correct. It happens sometimes. People disagree. People screw up."

"Screw up? Which one of you screwed up?"

I sighed, "I did."

"So fix it."

I smiled sadly, "It's not that simple, Al. Not this time."

Dom was far too excited about my split with Adrian. You'd think at least one person would be able to pretend to be sad for me. Even James's next letter expressed happiness at my decision. I clearly needed new friends. Perhaps some who weren't my family.

Scorpius still wasn't talking to me, even after he probably heard about what happened. Not that I expected him to. What I'd told Al was right, as much as I hated to admit it. I'd screwed up. Trying to make things better, I'd only made them worse. After the strides I'd made in eliminating my prejudices, I'd reverted back to them when faced with the possibility of finally tossing them all out the window. He's a Malfoy, I'm a Weasley. That's why it wasn't right, and we both knew it. He was Scorpius Malfoy and I was Rose Weasley. It wasn't supposed to work. But then again, we weren't supposed to be friends in the first place, and that worked out. Until I ruined it, that is. He'd even gone so far as to trade patrols with intimidated fifth years to avoid me.

Watching him walk past me in the corridor, studiously ignoring me, I sighed. I'd ruined our friendship, the one thing that I hadn't wanted to do. Another thing I hated to admit: I missed our friendship. As suddenly as it had come on, it had become an important part of my life. He understood me in ways no one else seemed to. He saw through my act when no one else did, and wasn't afraid to call me on it. He challenged me to go for what I wanted, despite the expectations piling on me from all directions. He defied all of my expectations himself, but maybe that was what made him so appealing in the first place. Maybe the reason we found so much common ground was because of the expectations everyone seemed to have for us. He understood what it was like to be me, and I understood what it was like to be him. Well, not completely, since people weren't conditioned to hate me, but the basic principle was the same.

Sighing, I realized my thoughts weren't really making much sense anymore. I just needed to stop thinking so much. It was done and over with. I'd screwed up my friendship with Scorpius by kissing him and that was that. It was simple. I couldn't change anything by analyzing it, so I should just stop trying.

"You look… preoccupied," Emily's voice broke my concentration. I looked up, startled, to see her slide into the seat next to me in the library. "What's on your mind?"

I shook my head. "Nothing. I just made a mess of things. I don't even know how it happened, Em. I wish it hadn't."

"Why?"

"Because it ruined everything. It's hard to explain, but Scorpius was someone I could be myself around, you know? Everyone wants me to be the version of Rose Weasley that's expected, but Scorpius had no expectations. It was nice."

"What do you mean by expected?"

I shrugged slightly, starting to feel a bit uncomfortable. "I guess… people just expect me to follow a certain path. You know, top grades and on to the Ministry afterwards. They expect me to follow in my mother's footsteps."

"You don't want to work in the Ministry?"

"Honestly, I have no idea what I want to do," I sighed, dropping my head into my hands, "I don't have the plan everyone seems to think I do, Emily. The school year's halfway over and I still don't know what I'm going to do afterward. Scorpius made it all sound so simple. Just do what I want, to hell with everyone's expectations, but it's not that simple, is it?"

I felt her arm wrap around my shoulders, though she said nothing.

"I mean, Al wants to be an Auror, Dom's got her heart set on opening a fashion boutique, you're going to become a Healer. Your parents all approve of your choices."

"You're losing me, Rose."

"My mother called Alchemy 'funny magic' when I asked her about it, and Dad said he found it pointless to even try. It started out as just a desire to do something different from them. I wanted one thing to separate myself from them, you know? Albus isn't the only one who doesn't want to be continually compared to his parents. Imagine my surprise when I actually liked it…"

"Alchemy? You took Alchemy?"

"I'm still taking it. In fact, thanks to Scorpius's bad influence, I have about seven brochures in my trunk on the different career paths I could pursue in the field."

"Why didn't you tell me?" She asked, sounding hurt.

I looked up from my hands apologetically. "It wasn't just you. I didn't tell anyone at all. At first I didn't want anyone to laugh at me, but then it became more than that. Everyone seemed to take it for granted that I'd go on to the Ministry after Hogwarts, and I didn't think they'd understand if I said I didn't. My parents certainly wouldn't be pleased with my decision to drop the stable, respectable career path for Alchemy."

"They're your parents. They'll understand and support you no matter what," she replied quickly, "But if you were so set on not 'disappointing' them, what changed your mind?" I was silent for a moment, giving her time to make the connection herself, mostly because I didn't want to say it out loud. It was strangely cathartic, finally saying everything out loud. It made much more sense putting it into words than it did in my head. "It was Scorpius, wasn't it?"

I nodded. "He understood. It was… nice, having someone who got the whole desire versus expectation thing. I guess it makes sense. Scorpius was the one able to get Al out of his own head, and he was the same person for me. Then I screwed it all up. How come no one's ever told me I talk way too much?" I asked, frowning.

"Mostly just to be polite," Emily answered, laughing when I scowled, "I'm kidding, Rose. You definitely don't talk too much. You do worry too much about what people think, though. Just do what you want. Don't worry about anyone else."

"That's essentially what Scorpius told me."

"He's a smart bloke."

I tried to smile as Emily wrapped her arms around me briefly.

"Ok," I said, "Enough moping around. I'm sorry I dumped all of that on you. I kind of lost my last sounding board a week ago."

Emily smiled sympathetically, "Well, as long as you promise not to kiss me, I'm here for you."

I laughed, hitting her in the arm.

My talk with Emily had been good for at least one thing: I now knew how stupid I was to think my friends would laugh at me taking Alchemy. They were my friends for a reason. She'd only confirmed everything Scorpius had been trying to tell me, but hearing it from another source seemed to be what I needed.

I sat down in my room after breakfast to read the letter I'd received from my parents. I'd decided to tell them during Christmas holidays that I wanted to pursue Alchemy. It was something I needed to do face to face, not in a letter.

Rosie,

Glad to hear your year is going well so far. Hugo mentioned how pleased he was at the end of your relationship with one Adrian Davies in his last letter. Though your father says second chances are overrated, I know he's as sorry as I am that the two of you couldn't make it work. No one is perfect, Rose, and I'm proud of you for looking past Adrian's shortcomings, even if it didn't work out. I'm glad to know we raised a daughter capable of forgiveness.

On a happier note, I was speaking with Robert Thicke, Head of the Muggle Relations Department, not two days ago, and I mentioned your interest in the department after graduation. Well, as you can imagine, he was very pleased to hear that a Weasley is planning to apply after school, and offered to allow you to shadow him for a few days during the Christmas holidays. He inquired after your academic record and seemed very impressed. Your father and I are thrilled, and we know you will be as well, which is why we couldn't wait to write you with this wonderful news. Your father would like me to add that it will also look quite impressive in the research portion of your career counselling. We trust that you know this experience is invaluable for more reasons than impressing Professor Longbottom, though. Many students would give their wand arms for this chance. You've worked hard for this, and that work is now paying off.

We can't wait to see you and your brother next week. We're so proud of you, Rosie.

Love, Mum and Dad

I exhaled loudly, casting the letter aside. Great. How was I supposed to tell them I didn't want to go into Muggle Relations when the head of the department was offering me something like this? They were proud of me, and I was planning on disappointing them. What kind of daughter was I? I would be ungrateful to turn down the opportunity to shadow Mr. Thicke. If it went well, it could guarantee I had a job after school finished in June. I suspected part of my reluctance to let go of Adrian was because of the familiarity and stability he represented. He was the one constant thing amidst all of the confusion, the one thing left from before Scorpius's words started eating at my plans. Just when I'd decided to completely let go of everything from before, this comes up, pulling me back toward my original plans. Maybe it's a sign.

Sighing again, I turned to look at the clock beside my bed. The sight of the red numbers 10:35 sent me flying across the room, gathering up my coat and pulling my hair back into a ponytail. Today was the Ravenclaw/Slytherin Quidditch match, and even though I didn't really feel like going to watch either team, I'd promised Dom I'd come keep her company since Emily had a 'mirror date' with James. We were supposed to meet in the Entrance Hall in five minutes and it would take me at least ten to get there.

I rushed out of my room, trying to close the zipper on my handbag while walking. I should know better than to try multitasking by now but I still tried, and still met the same results. I ran straight into the only other person with access to the dormitory, and would have fallen back if he hadn't reached out to catch my arm.

"Sorry," I mumbled, avoiding looking at him as he dropped his hand.

"It's fine," he replied, just as quietly.

"Good luck today."

"Thanks."

I turned and hurried out of the portrait hole, trying to escape as quickly as possible. It killed me that our relationship had deteriorated back to strained remarks with as few syllables as possible in such a short time. There was nothing I could do about it, though, so I needed to suck it up.

"Hey!" I greeted Dom, pasting a smile on my face. It fell, though, when I saw Emily standing beside her. "What are you doing here? I thought you had a date?"

She gave me a shrug, "James is being weird. He just appeared long enough to tell me he had to bail on me."

I frowned, "That doesn't sound like him. But does that mean I can-"

"Not a chance, Rosie," Al's voice boomed from behind me as he dropped an arm over my shoulders. He'd approached with Ben while we'd been talking.

"Seriously? I have so much to do!"

"Too bad. Take a break, watch Scor pummel Davies. It'll be fun."

I rolled my eyes, walking forward, letting his arm drop and falling into step with Dom as we headed toward the pitch.

"Welcome to the second Quidditch match of the season, Slytherin versus Ravenclaw! It's Scorpius Malfoy's first game as Slytherin Captain, and Gregory Doyle's first as Ravenclaw's, so we'll see how these two teams measure up. We've yet to see what Hufflepuff's Samantha Grevont has compiled, as well as the team Albus Potter of Gryffindor has managed to scrape together, but this match sets the bar."

I felt Al tense up beside me at Harriett Smith's commentary. Harriett had been commentating since our fifth year, and she had never been favourable toward Gryffindor, but she seemed to be much more so this year. I threw Al a questioning glance, seeing his sheepish expression and understanding immediately. Of course, he'd snogged her at some point between the end of last season and the start of this one. Why didn't that surprise me?

"And Madam Kittinger starts the match. Quaffle in Slytherin possession, Macaber, to be precise. Malfoy and Jeeter head up to circle the pitch and see if they can spot that pesky snitch while Macaber passes McCutchin, who passes to- nevermind, intercepted by Ravenclaw's Hinter. Hinter takes the Quaffle up the pitch, dodging poorly aimed bludgers by the Slytherin beaters to score! Ten points to Ravenclaw, and I'm betting Malfoy's wishing he had some experienced players at this point…"

"Did he snog her, too, or something? She really seems to hate him as much as she does you," I mused to Albus.

My cousin shifted uncomfortably. "At the party last night."

"Did he seriously?" I snapped, "I did not want to know that."

"You asked," he pointed out, keeping his eyes on the game. How could he get mad at me for accidentally insinuating that I was using him when he went out and did the exact same thing? Stomach churning with some cross between disgust and anger, likely at his hypocritical behaviour, I also returned my attention to the match.

"Ravenclaw scores again! Quaffle in Macaber's possession as he manages to dodge a bludger sent his way by Ravenclaw's Adrian Davies. Davies is definitely an experienced, and did I mention newly single-" Harriett's words stopped short as Professor Chang scolded her lack of focus, "Sorry, Professor. As I was saying, Davies rarely misses a target, and had Macaber not dodged in the nick of time that bludger would have connected. Looks like a two for one deal as Malfoy was also forced to dodge the ball before continuing his circles of the pitch. And Macaber loses possession again. At least Slytherin can dodge, at any rate…"

The score continued to rise in Ravenclaw's favour, causing Al's shoulders to continue to slump as time went on.

"And another goal for Ravenclaw. That puts the score at 110-40 for the blue and bronze. If Malfoy can't find that snitch soon, Slytherin may as well cast a vanishing spell on their hopes of winning this match. Sorry, Professor. Speaking of Malfoy, he dodges another bludger sent by Davies, uncharacteristically missing its target of McCutchin but causing him to drop the Quaffle in surprise nonetheless. Malfoy's beginning to look frustrated, and I can't say I blame him."

Al slumped further down in his seat, covering his face with his hands.

"On the bright side, they'll probably be worse off than us, right?" I tried cheerily.

Al shot me a glare. "They remind me of us. When we play it will probably be the most hilarious match this school's ever seen."

"I thought you said you guys were getting better!"

"Yeah, meaning we can pass for Quidditch players. Ravenclaw's definitely better than us."

"Well, you still have some time to improve?" I forced an over-the-top smile onto my face, earning another dark look from my cousin.

"And Malfoy dives in order to avoid getting hit with another bludger from Davies that just barely misses its target of Macaber. At least Ravenclaw's star beater also seems to be having a bit of an off game today, giving Slytherin's chasers a little reprieve."

"Maybe Davies will keep this up all season. It would certainly be better for us if he's losing his touch," Al muttered.

I smacked his arm, both out of habit and genuine offense on Adrian's behalf. We may have broken up, but that didn't mean I wished him any sort of ill will.

"Slytherin scores! This brings the score up to 170-50 for Ravenclaw. Davies wastes no time aiming a bludger at McCutchin, but it flies wide and Malfoy dodges yet again. While this is a good thing for Slytherin, Malfoy must be getting tired of paying for Davies's mishaps. Or maybe not… It seems in his haste to avoid the bludger, Malfoy has spotted that precious golden ball! Yes, yes, he's diving! Jeeter trails him by a broom-length, and it doesn't look like he's catching up anytime soon. If Malfoy can catch the snitch, Slytherin will still win the match despite their less-than-admirable play- Sorry, Professor. Malfoy's closing in! He's stretching out his hand, folks, and any second now he's going to carry his team to victory!"

"Her opinion of him sure has changed," I sniped bitterly to Albus.

"Yes! Scorpius Malfoy has- OUCH! Oh Merlin!"

Harriet's exclamations were punctuated by two thuds and cracks. My heart stopped and my hand clamped over my mouth as Scorpius tumbled over the end of his broom and toward the ground. The entire crowd went silent as several teachers rushed forward to slow his momentum.

"And a bludger from Davies finally finds its mark. An injury like this just might end Malfoy's Quidditch career."

A/N: Ok, so just to be mean I'll leave Scorpius's fate hanging. Reviews are love!