Scorpius stayed close to Albus's side as they walked down the seventh floor corridor. Nothing from the Room could be heard outside of it, so there was no way to judge what kind of crowd they were walking into.

The door had remained visible, one of Rose's countless wishes that she'd been happy to see had worked.

"Ready?" Albus asked Scorpius, nudging him in the arm.

Scorpius nodded several times though he didn't look ready as he fiddled with the sleeves of his robes.

"It'll be fine," he muttered, and Albus wasn't sure if it had been meant for him or not.

Albus pushed the door open, and there was far more noise in the corridor than there had been before. Scorpius's hand shot out and wrapped itself around Albus's wrist. Albus smiled gently and tugged his hand off to grip it in his own instead.

There were a lot more people in the room than Albus had thought Rose could convince. Most of them were Gryffindors. Many of the seats had been filled, and it looked like more had been added since the last time they'd been in the room.

"Albus, Scorpius." Rose appeared at their side. "I'm glad you're here."

She was bouncing on her toes and glowing. Albus wondered if maybe she hadn't believed that anyone would show up either.

Truthfully, there weren't that many people, but the room was just the right size to be full and Albus could see members of three houses as he looked around. He and Scorpius accounted for the fourth.

Rose was in her element.

"Rachel was here earlier," she said. "She brought along a couple of her friends. They weren't all that happy to be here at first, but I greeted them and showed them how to use the enchanted jukebox. They stayed for a couple of hours after that."

"You have an enchanted jukebox?" Scorpius asked in disbelief.

Rose gave a short nod and pointed over to a corner where, sure enough, a machine that must have been a jukebox was sitting against a wall.

"No one knows how to use it," she said with a frown, "so it's been sitting there turned off mostly. I think once people catch on, though, it'll be a lot more popular."

Scorpius, for his part, was in awe of the thing.

"I've never seen one before," he said. "Only read about them in a book once."

Albus wasn't sure what the thing was. All he knew was that it looked like a giant box with a lot of buttons. He let Scorpius drag him over to it. It was nice to see him loosening up in the room, more focused on his curiosity than his worries.

Rose followed them.

"If this is only the start, then I think I'm going to prove everyone wrong. Everyone who's come seems to leave happy. I'm going to make some tweaks to the room when I get a chance. People have been giving me ideas, and I think taking their advice is a great way to make them feel invested in the room. It's a team effort, not just mine."

Scorpius began pressing buttons on the jukebox, and it came to life. Albus could recognize Muggle CDs, like the ones Rose had received in the past from her Muggle grandparents, now that the machine was lit up. Scorpius flipped through the titles with interest. There was a mixture of wizard and what must have been Muggle music. Albus had never seen wizard music on a CD before.

"How many Slytherins have you seen?" Albus asked, though he dreaded the answer. Rachel was the only one he'd talked to.

"Just Rachel and her friends," Rose said, but she didn't sound bothered. "I have a feeling they'll be back, and hopefully they'll bring more people with them. No offense, Al, but I get the impression that they'd be better at influencing people than you."

"You wouldn't be wrong," Scorpius said, eyes still on the jukebox. "Rachel's one of the most popular kids in Slytherin. What she says is cool, but Albus and I make things uncool."

Albus rolled his eyes.

"Scorpius is right," he admitted. "Rachel has a ton of friends–"

"Albus, Rose, Scorpius."

The three of them whirled around to see Agustín approaching them, a butterbeer in his hands that he was gesturing with as he greeted them.

"You have butterbeer in here?" Scorpius asked as Agustín took the last several steps needed to reach them. "How? The room can't provide food or drinks."

"House elves love doing favours," Rose stated simply. "Though I don't believe it can be a permanent feature. I don't want to give them more work all the time, so I wasn't sure if it was a good idea to let people come to expect it."

She shrugged and looked at the butterbeer in Agustín's hand as if she still weren't sure if she'd made the right decision.

"Well, it was nice of you to do it now anyway, Rose," Agustín said.

He had a strange air around him that was never present in class, and from the way he kept side eying her, this seemed to be caused by Rose's presence. Whatever it was, Rose wasn't bothering to acknowledge it.

"I know you three have been sitting together in Transfiguration, but how close have you all become?" Rose asked, her finger roving over the three of them and daring them to lie to her.

After watching Agustín hesitate for a second, Albus spoke up.

"We don't talk outside of class much," he said. "Just say hello in the corridors and whatnot."

"Oh," she said.

Agustín detected the disappointment in her answer, and his eyes widened. Albus had to stifle a laugh.

"That's still nice," Rose continued, causing Agustín to relax. "I only ask because any friendships between Gryffindors and Slytherins could help this place, you know? Though it would be nice if someone could befriend a Slytherin other than Albus and Scorpius."

Her eyes roved over the gathered students as if she were sizing each of them up. Albus wouldn't have been surprised if, in the future, he heard about Rose recruiting specific Gryffindors to make friends with Slytherins.

None of the Slytherins he knew would appreciate such a thing, but he didn't think Rose would get that.

"I can't place blame," she continued. "I haven't done my best either. I thought I would befriend Albus and Scorpius and it would be a nice sign, but it hasn't helped as much as I hoped it would. It wasn't until I was talking to Rachel earlier that I thought that I might be concentrating my efforts too much."

"This whole thing is a well-oiled machine to you, isn't it?" Agustín sounded both amused and impressed.

Scorpius mouthed the unfamiliar phrase 'well-oiled machine' but didn't ask about it, which was just as well as Agustín and Rose were too occupied with each other to acknowledge anyone else.

Rose had been startled by Agustín's question. One of her eyebrows was raised, and the sight of it caused Agustín to take a step away from her. Despite his fears, Rose wasn't angered by Agustín's remark as much as she was surprised and, then, amused if the smirk on her face was anything to go by.

"You don't achieve anything without a plan," she remarked, sending Agustín a wink.

She brushed her bushy hair over her shoulder and pivoted on one foot, heading in the direction of two Ravenclaw girls who had just entered the room and were looking around with inquisitive gazes.

"That was weird," Scorpius whispered. "What was that?"

"That," Albus said in disbelief, "was Rose flirting, I think, which was...weird to say the least."

Scorpius looked between Agustín and Rose as if he were seeing them differently.

"Oh," he said in muted surprise. "That's what was happening?"

"No," Agustín snapped.

A second later, he regretted his sharp tone and apologized to Scorpius.

"Your cousin makes me nervous, Albus. She's never done anything to me, but I know she could if she wanted to, and that's unnerving."

"Tell me about it," Albus said. He crossed his arms against his chest and tried to appear like an overprotective cousin, despite the grin that was struggling to break free. "What I don't understand is why that makes you want to snog her."

"I don't—"

At Albus's sceptical gaze, Agustín cut himself off. He rocked backward and forward on his feet before groaning.

"Maybe I wouldn't be entirely against snogging her," he admitted. "But it's not that big a deal. Really. It's not like I'm dreaming about her. Besides, Rose would be vicious to anyone who said they wanted to snog her if she didn't also want to snog them, and I'm not putting myself up for that kind of slaughter."

"Rose isn't the public humiliation type," Albus said. "She'd tease you privately. Besides, if it helps, I think she already knows you like her, mate."

"I don't think she'd be mean," Scorpius said. "She'd probably be mean if you lied about liking her. Rose doesn't like stuff like that, but she likes when people say what they're thinking. She told me that before, so if you told her you thought about snogging her, she'd like that you told the truth. At least, if she was telling me the truth and not doing that thing people do where they say they like something in people but don't actually."

"There you go," Albus said. "I agree with Scorpius. Just walk up to Rose and say it flat out. What's the harm?"

Agustín stared in Rose's direction, forehead creased. She and the Ravenclaw girls were conversing in front of one of the room's bookshelves. Rose was pointing at the spine of one of the books as the other girls leaned in to get a closer look.

"One day maybe I'll be brave enough for that," he said, "but today is not that day. I guess this is just another way I don't live up to the title of Gryffindor."

Before Agustín could say anything else, Scorpius, who had turned to the jukebox again, was bobbing on his toes and pointing excitedly at the glass window of the machine.

"I found a song I recognize, a Muggle song! Mum used to listen to this."

Albus promptly forgot about Agustín's troubles as he turned to see what song had managed to grab Scorpius's attention.

XXX

Over the next couple of weeks, several more Slytherins made appearances in what had come to be called "the room" by many (though Rose still called it the All Houses Common Room to anyone who would listen), but they were far rarer to see than students of the other houses.

That wasn't discouraging to Rose, who could be found in the room anytime she wasn't in class.

Scorpius was less than fond of the place.

"I wish she'd spend some time with me in the library," he admitted at lunch one day when Albus had prodded him about why he seemed down.

After that, Albus had made it a point to go to the library with Scorpius after classes each day, effectively avoiding the room most afternoons despite Rose's wishes. She was adamant, though, that they come occasionally, being two of the remarkably few Slytherin regulars that she'd managed to amass.

They went out of duty, not enjoyment, particularly in Scorpius's case.

While there, they would often scope out the most secluded corner and do what they often did in the Slytherin common room: not interact with anyone unless approached by one of the few friends they could count on to say hello.

Rose always spent time talking to them, though she would rush off sooner or later to deal with something or greet someone.

On one particular day, Albus had been going about his time as he frequently did, working on his homework while Scorpius did the same across the table from him. He was about to ask Scorpius if he could remember the twelfth use of dragon's blood when Rose appeared, leaning over their table.

"Rose," Albus said in surprise.

He'd noticed her before Scorpius, who took his time finishing a sentence before he glanced up from his parchment. For a moment, Albus waited, expecting Rose to pull out a chair and sit down like she usually did.

When she didn't, Albus cleared his throat.

"What's up?" he asked.

Rose wasn't interested in his question, but she did use it as a prompt to finally speak.

"Al, can you come with me for a second?"

His brow creased in a frown, and he glanced at Scorpius to share his confusion.

"It won't take long," Rose continued. "I want to ask you about something."

That still sounded rather odd to Albus, but he stood, offering Scorpius a shrug before he followed Rose away from the table.

She led him to the other side of the room, as far away from Scorpius as they could get. There were more people on this side of the room, but Rose didn't approach any of them. When they came to the wall farthest from where Scorpius sat, she leaned against it.

"What's this about?" Albus asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Honestly, Albus, I'm tired of watching the two of you."

She gestured in what seemed to be Scorpius's direction, but as she was careful to conceal the gesture from Scorpius's possible view, Albus had to infer as much for himself.

"Me and Scorpius?" Albus asked. He felt butterflies fluttering in his stomach, and he became conscious of the need to stand in a nonchalant way, making his every move feel artificial. "Tired of watching us what?"

As soon as the question was out of his mouth, he would have rather not asked it. Once she started giving you her opinion, Rose wouldn't stop until it was all out on the table.

"I know falling in love with your best friend can be difficult."

Albus panicked, turning his head from side to side to gauge whether anyone could have heard what Rose had said.

"Honestly." Rose rolled her eyes. "No one's paying attention to our conversation, but if you keep acting like you're hiding something, then you better believe they'll be interested."

She was right. Albus struggled to look at Rose and only at Rose. He was nonchalant, he told himself as he leaned his hip into the wall, facing his cousin.

"What is it you're wanting me to do exactly?"

There was always something Rose expected of you once she'd expounded her wisdom. She thrived on giving out homework. If she didn't become a professor, then she'd be somebody's boss one day.

She tilted her head and smirked.

"You know what I want you to do," she said. "It's what you should have done ages ago. I want you to walk back over there and tell Scorpius you're in love with him."

Albus couldn't help but glance over his shoulder. Scorpius's back was to them as he leaned over the table, his nose close to the parchment as he scribbled with his quill.

"No way in hell," Albus muttered, turning back to Rose. "Look, I plan to talk to him, I do, but I'm not doing it here, and I'm certainly not using the word 'love' when I do it."

"Fine," Rose said with a shrug. "There's plenty of time for the 'L' word later, but you need to do something now. It's getting ridiculous, and if you do it within the next week, then I win the bet."

"There's a bet‽" His ears began to heat up in anger. "Who have you been betting with?"

Rose looked far too pleased with herself, though Albus suspected she'd just broken one of the terms of said bet.

"Just me and a few of our cousins. James and Lily are both in on it of course."

"Did you or James start this?"

"James," Rose replied. "You think I have time to organize something as silly as a bet when I'm busy with this?" She motioned around the room. "James is tracking the entire thing on a sheet of parchment charmed against cheating. He makes sure we're regularly updated on who's in the lead."

"I hate all of you," Albus informed her before turning his back on her and beginning the walk back to Scorpius.

"That's fine, but seriously, Al, within the next week. I'd appreciate it."

He shook his head, and he couldn't control his expression before he dropped unceremoniously into the chair across from Scorpius. His essay looked even less appealing than it had earlier, and that was saying something.

"'Within the next week' what?" Scorpius asked, watching Albus with curiosity.

Albus panicked as he realized that Rose's final words had been loud enough for most of the room to hear. They couldn't have possibly heard the rest of it, he reminded himself.

His mind worked on overdrive coming up with a response that would both make sense and not be incriminating, but even as he thought about it, he felt guilty. Lying to Scorpius was perhaps his least favourite thing in the world. He didn't want to, but in this one case, the alternative was too frightening.

"You know Rose," Albus said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "She's always trying to get people to help her out with her next scheme and whatever."

It was a vague answer, which wasn't lost on Scorpius. Even as he nodded, Scorpius's eyes watched Albus, just as curious as they had been before. He didn't ask for for more information though, not even what new scheme Rose had cooked up that she supposedly wanted Albus's help with.

The twelfth use of dragon's blood still hadn't come back to him. Albus growled in frustration.

XXX

Running into James was a game of chance. Albus had never figured out how to find his brother when doing so was necessary. James had a habit of appearing at times whether you wanted him to or not. If you needed him at other times, you were out of luck.

There were times, though, where Albus thought that James could sense when someone wanted to talk to him because Albus wouldn't have to search him out. He'd appear on his own.

"Little brother," James said with his usual smirk.

James's hand gripped Felicia's, who also smiled at Albus and greeted him in a way that wasn't obnoxious. They'd been walking down the corridor in the opposite direction of Albus, and there was nothing to indicate that they had stumbled upon him on purpose except for the fact that Albus had been internally cursing James only moments before.

"You made a bet about me?" Albus asked abruptly, not bothering with greetings, though he did give Felicia a slight nod of the head.

Felicia's smile turned sheepish when she heard his question. She stepped back slightly as if wanting to make it clear that she was not involved in the brothers' argument.

James, however, didn't appear nervous. He shrugged.

"Not just me," he said. "I assume Rose told you? All the cousins are in on it except Louis, Victoire, and Teddy."

Albus looked at Felicia.

"Not me," she assured him. "I turned them down. Didn't feel right."

Albus wanted to thank her but also didn't want to let down his stern facade in front of James.

"Look," James said, taking several steps forward and wrapping an arm around Albus's shoulders, "we want you to be happy. It's why we're anxious for you to confess your love and live happily ever after."

Albus stepped out from under James's arm, swatting at it with his own.

"That's nice and all, but I can handle my life by myself, thanks."

He went to walk away but then paused, turning back around.

"Rose said she would win if I confessed by next week. When did you guess I'd say something?"

James almost answered but then paused and smirked.

"If I tell you, you'll make sure that I don't win."

Albus scowled. It was the answer he had expected, but he felt like he had an entitlement to the information whether James wanted to give it to him or not.

His brother saluted him, causing Albus to roll his eyes.

"Just do it when it feels right, Al. I guarantee that I will win."

And with that, he and Felicia disappeared down the hall.

XXX

Possessing knowledge of the bet meant, of course, that Albus had a perfectly reasonable excuse not to admit his feelings to Scorpius for at least another week. Try as hard as he might, he hadn't been able to figure out what each of his cousins had bet and, therefore, who would be richer should he make certain decisions, but he did know Rose's bet. That meant he was at least going to get the satisfaction of knowing that she had lost.

Rose didn't like that plan and had taken to glaring at him each time they were in each other's presence. When she sat down to study with them in the All Houses Common Room, she stayed for longer and longer periods of time just to intimidate him, becoming increasingly annoyed as her deadline loomed.

She did not, however, actually say anything to Scorpius because that would have invalidated the bet all together. Albus's secret felt safer than it ever had before, and that gave him the drive to be bolder in how he rebuffed Rose's constant vague comments.

Currently, she was staring at Albus. He could feel it as he read a passage of his Potions textbook on common remedies for the flu.

"Rose," Scorpius said hesitantly, "are you sure you're alright?"

"Fine," Rose said, hardly glancing his way.

Her words didn't stop Scorpius from continuing to look worried. He had since Rose had started glaring, rather blatantly too, at Albus. There was no disguising her behavior, and it was getting harder for Albus to pretend that he didn't have any idea why she was angry with him.

Scorpius was preparing to say something else when a shadow fell over Albus's textbook. He looked up to find Javan grinning at Scorpius. Just like last time, he didn't seem to notice Albus's presence, but at least this time Rose was being ignored as much as he was.

Rose's eyes had a hopeful glint upon seeing Javan's Slytherin green tie and then became curious once she realized that Javan had no plans of looking away from Scorpius. She eyed Albus as if waiting for him to explain what was going on, but his eyes were too intent on Javan to notice.

Javan hadn't tried to talk to either of them since his failed attempt at asking Scorpius out.

"Hi, Scorpius." Javan greeted him in the same reserved, careful tone that he'd used last time, though he had gathered his nerves better this time around. His posture was straighter and his voice stronger.

Apparently he'd had enough time to get over rejection and had decided to go all in once more.

"Hi, Javan."

Scorpius's eyes were wide, and he wasn't able to look at Javan's face. He settled on looking at Albus instead, his eyes pleading for help.

Albus glanced between the two other boys, assessing the situation. He hadn't thought that Javan would make a second attempt at asking Scorpius out, and he hadn't considered how nervous Scorpius might get if he had to talk to a boy who he knew had feelings for him.

"Javan," Albus greeted, struggling to sound neutral, not particularly friendly. "Have you met my cousin Rose?"

Rose's eyebrows rose briefly at the surprise introduction, but she took the bait, standing from her chair and maneuvering around Scorpius to stand beside Javan.

"Rose Granger-Weasley," she said, holding out her hand. Javan shook it, looking confused as he glanced back at Scorpius. "Welcome to the All Houses Common Room. I don't believe you've visited before, but I assure you that it has the usual comforts of the Slytherin common room as well as more company. Let me know if you have any ideas for improvements. The great thing about using the Room of Requirement is that we can do whatever we want with the place."

Javan nodded along to Rose's rehearsed speech, but his eyes had glassed over in thinly concealed boredom.

"Yeah," he said, realizing that Rose had stopped speaking and was watching him expectantly. "The place seems cool."

He cast a customary glance around the room, and Albus had no doubt that he was cataloging the house colours present. He wasn't finding any Slytherins other than the two he was standing in front of. Not even his friends had accompanied him.

"Not really all houses though, is it?" he asked.

He smirked as if it were a joke, but Rose, if she noticed, ignored his intentions and focused on her continuing frustration.

"I know." She let out a short growl. "I'm trying my best, but you lot don't want to come. If you have any ideas on how to fix that, then do let me know. I'm desperate, and these two," she motioned to Scorpius and Albus, "are useless."

Javan followed Rose's hand as she waved towards Scorpius and used it as an opportunity to refocus his attention.

"Do you spend a lot of time in here?" he asked, quirking his head to the side as if the thought of such a thing amused him.

Scorpius shrugged. His eyes had settled onto a place on the opposite wall slightly to Javan's left.

"Quite a bit," he said. "Rose is always here, so I can't spend time in the library with her like I used to. We hang out here instead."

The fact that Scorpius spent time with Rose was new information to Javan. He glanced at her again as if seeing her in a new light.

"Huh," Javan said, trying not to sound as surprised as he looked. "I had wondered why I hadn't seen much of you in the common room lately. You're only ever passing through."

"You've been looking for me in the common room?" Scorpius's voice cracked.

He looked scared about this, but Javan had taken his reaction as encouragement.

"Of course," he said. "Did you think that I was never going to speak to you again? I thought I'd made it rather clear that I'd like to get to know you better."

The sharp breath Scorpius took was audible. Javan looked pleased to have elicited it, and it angered Albus that the other boy didn't get that Scorpius wasn't trying to flatter him.

Scorpius fumbled with his quill, dropping it on the table and splattering ink across the wood. In other circumstances, Rose would have cast scourgify before it could sink into the table, but she was too interested in Javan. Like Albus, she could see how Scorpius felt, and she appeared as turned off by the idea of anything happening between Javan and Scorpius as Albus was.

"You know, Javan," Rose said, a wide grin on her lips, "I wouldn't mind getting to know you more either."

She wrapped an arm around his shoulders and tugged him to her side. This startled Javan, who went stiff.

"I'm serious," Rose continued. "The two of us should get together some time to discuss your ideas on how to bring more Slytherins around. You have friends, right? Surely you do, a handsome guy like yourself. You'd be a great asset. Think about it."

Javan's nose had wrinkled in disgust, but he smiled at Rose, trying to conceal it.

"I'll think about it," he said in that tone of voice that let them know he wouldn't be doing anything of the sort.

His gaze turned back to Scorpius, but before he could speak, Albus stood, moving so that he stood between Javan and Scorpius as he began throwing his books, quills, and parchment into his bag.

"I think we should finish our homework in the library," he said, being careful that his words were directed only to Scorpius and couldn't be taken as an open invitation to Javan.

Scorpius nodded and began throwing his things in his own bag even more haphazardly than Albus had. His rush to escape was clear even to Javan, who, when Albus turned around to look at Rose, had backed up and was watching Scorpius and Albus with a keen eye.

"Nice seeing you," Albus said to Rose.

Her smirk towards Javan showed that she knew what had prompted Albus's hasty goodbye.

"We're not parting ways," she said with a short laugh. "I'm coming with you. It'll give me time to do some research for my Potions essay. There's a book that Kayley told me about that I've been meaning to check out."

It was probably a real reason she needed to go, as Rose had hardly stepped foot in the library over the last several weeks, but Albus narrowed his eyes at her all the same, knowing that this particular trip had an ulterior motive.

She didn't have a bag to take with her as she followed Scorpius and Albus out of the room, and she was the only one who didn't ignore Javan, throwing a loud, "Nice to meet you," over her shoulder.

Javan gave her a half-hearted wave. There was a nagging thought in Albus's mind that he should have felt sorry for Javan considering how dejected he looked at being left behind, but he didn't.

When they left the room, Scorpius's shoulders drooped in relief, and he began to breath easier.

"What was that?" Rose demanded as she led the way to the library. "Who is this Javan fellow, and how did no one tell me that a reasonably attractive guy has his eyes set on Scorpius?"

Scorpius groaned. "Don't say things like that, it makes me nervous."

Rose laughed.

"I don't know," she said. "He doesn't seem like a gem. Granted, I only spoke to him for five minutes and he didn't have any interest in talking to me, but I think you could do better."

She shot a pointed look to Albus, which Scorpius missed. Albus narrowed his eyes before turning away from her and placing a careful hand on Scorpius's arm.

"I figured that I butchered it up so much when he asked me to Hogsmeade that he wouldn't try again," Scorpius said. His cheeks were stained red. "It feels like I only just stopped being nervous about him coming to talk to me. Now it has me all worked up again."

"I'll be okay," Albus said. "He can only get rejected so many times before he realizes you aren't interested." He paused for a moment, watching Scorpius carefully. "Unless you've decided that you're interested."

"No," Scorpius replied hastily as they descended a staircase. "I'm not. Not at all. To be honest, I'd be happy if he never talked to me again."

"I can take care of that," Rose said.

The boys couldn't see her face as she walked in front of them, but Albus could imagine the devious grin that he could hear in her voice.

"I get the feeling that he's rather fun to mess with," she continued. "I'm more than willing to get him off your back."

Scorpius waved his arms back and forth in alarm.

"No, no, you can't tell him I'm not interested, Rose. That's embarrassing. Besides, he's never actually said he likes me, so what if we're wrong and he doesn't? Then, if you made it sound like I thought he liked me, it would be even more embarrassing than if he did."

Rose chuckled and paused long enough for Scorpius and Albus to catch up to her.

"Trust me. He does like you. No one stares that intently unless they're a goner. This isn't a casual crush. From the sound of things, you could have him wrapped around your finger. I'm almost jealous. Imagine the power."

"Well, I don't want that," Scorpius replied shortly. "I don't like the attention, and I've been watching him a bit since the last time. He's a prick mostly. His friends are worse, but he was laughing along with them the other day when some third year girl tripped in the hallway. I don't like them."

Rose tapped her chin.

"There are several options here, some of which I know you won't take, like flat out telling him you don't like him. Another is always to date someone else, as it shows you're uninterested."

Her eyes travelled between Scorpius and Albus. There was an air of desperation about this, as if Rose was picturing the countdown to when she'd lose the bet in her mind. Albus rolled his eyes.

Scorpius had begun fidgeting with the hems of his sleeves at the suggestion. He kept his face averted from them.

"I don't think that's a possibility," he said quietly. "That requires having someone to date."

Albus didn't think he had imagined the way Scorpius's eyes had briefly glanced at him. Rose had seen it too. Her smirk grew, and she rubbed her hands together.

"Are you sure you don't?" she asked, but she didn't wait for an answer, even when Scorpius's eyes widened and he opened his mouth to speak. "But there is another option. I'll talk to him and make it clear that I don't appreciate his sort hanging around my friends. If he's a prick, he'll understand what I'm talking about, and I like to think that I can be reasonably intimidating. By the time I'm finished, he'll be too scared to approach you."

Scorpius shifted in place, not looking reassured by that proposed course of action either, but he didn't try to argue Rose out of the plan. Instead, he replied with a quiet, "Okay."