AN: It's my day off so I thought I'd whack out an ol' chapter for you guys. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, I'm seeing a lot of dislike for Lucius and appreciation of Rose and Scorpius' friendship, which is lovely and thank you for taking the time to tell me!

Open-eyed-dreamer333, if I have writer's block I usually just relax and wait for the inspiration to come back to me, also sometimes draw upon real life situations me/my friends experience, just embellishing them slightly.

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter/didn't have to work, then trust me Penelope M. Jones, I would post everyday.

"I can't believe the poor thing's ill," Rose wailed, sounding distraught as we walked into the Inter-House Common Room. Her pink lips were curled into a frown, and I could tell she was genuinely distressed, something which I couldn't help but smile fondly at.

We'd left our friends and headed to Charms about ten minutes ago, the way we always did first thing on a Friday morning, only to find our classroom completely empty. There was a note from McGonagall on the blackboard, explaining Professor Flitwick had fallen ill and was currently residing in St Mungo's so he had round-the-clock carers looking after him. Her chalked explanation for our professor's absence hadn't been thoroughly detailed, which was why Rose was so upset. "I love Professor Flitwick."

"I know you do," I chuckled, putting an arm around her shoulders in an attempt to comfort her. There might have been several professors who she considered family friends, but Professor Flitwick was easily her favourite professor, something which I'd known even before we'd become friends. She always hung behind after our lessons ended to talk to him, and I knew she liked that he'd never compared her to her mother when she'd excelled. "He'll be fine soon, Rosie. Don't worry too much, Flitwick's a fighter, even if he was a Ravenclaw."

"Was Charms that bad, that you decided to leave?" Louis chuckled as we sat down, and I couldn't help but chuckle as Rose looked almost offended by the suggestion of ditching her favourite subject. Louis, James and Fred had also continued Charms at NEWT level, but only because they needed it for their future careers; it was one of the most undersubscribed higher level subjects.

Looking around the circle, I could see that most of the boys were still sat in the same positions we'd left them in, with the exceptions of James, Fred and Toby. "Flitwick's in St Mungo's," I explained, and the redhead next to me let out a practically mournful sigh. "He'll be fine," Frank said reassuringly. "You've not missed much, we were talking about James' surprise party tonight."

I flashed him a grin, thankful for the light-hearted subject change. James was turning eighteen tomorrow, and whilst we usually celebrated birthdays in The Three Broomsticks, we thought we'd do things a bit differently for the eldest Potter's last birthday at Hogwarts. We'd invited all his friends and family members, and planned to set up in the Room of Requirement and get Alice to distract him until we were ready. Pretty much like she was doing now.

"He's gonna love it," Lucas said, grinning as he looked over at James and Alice, sat at what now had become their usual area in the common room. "He literally has no idea, and you know James always appreciates a good surprise." "Who have you guys invited?" Albus asked Louis and Frank, and the two older boys exchanged a grin, knowing what he was really asking.

"Yes, Albus, we invited Tilly," they chimed in unison, smirking as Albus' cheeks flushed. The rest of us couldn't help but laugh; since Lysander had revealed that he and Tilly were merely friends, we spent even more time trying to convince Albus to tell her how he felt. I'd gone out of my way to call her over to ask about an essay whenever I was with my best friend, and the Gryffindor boys had nudged him whenever she entered a room. Lucas had even resorted to telling him to man up and ask her on a date if he really liked her when she was within earshot.

"Prats," Albus grumbled, folding his arms across his chest defensively. Despite our efforts, Albus still got tongue-tied whenever he was around her. We had a few NEWT classes with her, and she hung out in the Inter-House common room just as much as we did, but Albus was too shy to make a move on her. "I was just asking a generalised question."

"Sure you were, Al," Rose said, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she shook her head at her cousin. She sat up straight, giving him a pointed look. "Seriously, channel your inner Gryffindor – it is in your blood after all – grow some balls and go tell her you've liked her since first year. What's the worst that could happen?"

"She could say no."
"Rejection in front of the entire common room."

"She might laugh at the thought."

"Potential friendzone."

"Or maybe it'll be so awkward that she ends the friendship all together."

"You are not helping guys," Rose groaned, watching as Albus grew paler with each of our joking answers. They might not have spoken as much this year due to Albus' feelings growing even stronger for her, and her constant support for Lysander, but I knew that last year, Albus considered her one of his closest friends outside the group.

Last year, they'd studied for most of their OWL exams together, attended the other's Quidditch matches and even flew together sometimes. Usually, Albus was so private when it came to Quidditch, not wanting any other house teams to steal Slytherin tactics, but he'd always made an exception for Tilly, even going to the effort of helping her improve her Keeping skills. It was strange to see him being so awkward around her, especially after liking her for so long.

"I can't tell her," Albus insisted firmly, looking over at one of the silent study areas, where Tilly was thoughtfully biting her lip as her eyes scanned what appeared to be a scroll filled with notes. She must have gotten to Charms before Rose and I had, and decided to do some work instead of just sitting and talking like we were. Oh, Tilly was definitely a classic Ravenclaw.

"Rose, help me."

We all turned at the sound of Fred's voice, and I felt my jaw drop in shock at the sight of him. He looked like normal Fred standing in front of us, his broad figure clad in a Gryffindor jumper and dark trousers, his caramel skin splattered with even more freckles than the average Weasley had, due to hours of lounging in the sun over the summer holidays. But there was a significant difference: he had no eyebrows.

"What in Merlin's name happened to you?" Ben asked, as the rest of us roared with laughter. It was strange how someone could look so different without their eyebrows, especially someone with hair as dark as Fred's. Fred scowled at all of us, before sitting down on the other side of Rose. "I was sat outside the Ravenclaw entrance, waiting for Celestia, so I could apologise for being such a douche –"

"Aw that's kind of cute," Louis said, but I could tell by the smirk on his face that he was going to make a dig. "In a creepy stalker way." Fred glared at him, and I resisted the urge to laugh again. Since Rose had told him a bit more about Celestia, after our run-in with her a few days ago, Fred had been determined to make it up to her and apologise. I think what both Rose and Celestia herself had said had made him feel a bit guilty: he should've known who she was, and didn't. But she'd gone out of her way to avoid him, walking away whenever he came near, avoiding the communal common room at all costs. It just surprised me that Fred had resorted to waiting outside Ravenclaw Tower.

Rose took her wand and murmured softly under her breath as she flicked her wand, and Fred's eyebrows slowly re-appeared onto his face. "Thanks, Rosie." "I just don't see what the big deal is," Rose admitted, pocketing her wand once again. "Honestly, Fred, you're in your final year and you hardly know this girl. I know you feel bad for not knowing who she was, but you've only got a few months left. You probably won't see her once you've left this place. If I were you, I'd just let it go."

"I know that, but she stood up to me," Fred said matter-of-factly. "Girls, minus you and Mum, never stand up to me. And she seriously put me in my place, despite the fact I'd never noticed her before. And I'm sorry, but she's one of those girls that is seriously hot when she's angry. Merlin, I'd wind her up just to see her when she looks like that."

"I can relate," I admitted, the words slipping out of my mouth before I could stop myself. My eyes widened as I realised who I was sat next to. The very same girl I used to love to wind up, just to see the spark in her blue eyes. She was currently staring at me, her lips curled in amusement at my confession, but her cheeks were tinged pink, and I could feel mine going into a similar state.

"Guys," James said as he walked over, and I thanked Merlin he managed to deflect the attention off my idiotic agreement. I could see Alice walking out of the common room carrying a Magical Creatures textbook, her lips curled into a massive grin, and her boyfriend had an equally dopey expression on his face. "Alice and me just said I love you to one another."

"Merlin."

"That was fast."

"You two will be married before you're twenty."

"Congrats, bro."

"Albus," Frank said, grinning at James' younger brother. He seemed surprisingly calm by James' announcement, especially for someone who was ridiculously protective of their little sister. "Just think, that could be you and Tilly if only you –"

"Shut up, Frank."

/

I took a sip from the glass of Butterbeer in my hand as I looked over at the drunken duo in the corner. James was draped all over a tipsy Rose, whose petite frame was struggling to hold him up as he leaned all of his weight on her.

We'd been in the Room of Requirement for the past two hours now, and James had done nothing but drink and dance since he'd gotten here, though the dancing had gotten progressively worse with every glass of alcohol he consumed. But I'd expected nothing less from James on his birthday; when he'd turned seventeen, he'd gotten so drunk that he ended up trying to Apparate and had managed to splinch himself. I could still remember Louis throwing up at the sight of it, whilst Albus and I had tried to figure out who was the most sober, so they could get him to St Mungo's in one piece. Or well, y'know, to get him back to being in one piece.

It was almost comedic watching Rose trying to hold up someone who was more than a foot taller than her. Her knees were bent and her brow was furrowed in concentration, her arms shaking as she tried to hold him up. James wasn't just tall; he was also broad, as most Beaters are, and though Rose wasn't weak, it can't have been easy for her. Alice was taking photos of them, doubled over with laughter as she watched the pair. Part of me wondered if James would even make it to midnight, we still had an hour to go and he was struggling to stand.

As I looked around the vast Room of Requirement, I couldn't help but think back to how different things were this time last year (and not just because we weren't in The Three Broomsticks), which was strange, given the fact the attendees were pretty much identical. It was just that usually, all of us boys would be stood together, until the very end when we went off with different girls. It had all been so different this year, especially because James and Alice were in a committed relationship.

Lily was stood by the drinks, drinking something that looked a lot stronger than Butterbeer, as she chatted to Toby. Lily might have been the Potter sibling I knew least, but I could recognise a flirty smile when I saw one, and to my surprise, Toby looked almost shy. What was that about? Still, I couldn't help but be surprised that their close proximity, especially at her older brother's birthday party, where she was surrounded by not only her brothers, but her equally protective male cousins.

Meanwhile, Albus was talking to Tilly, and I couldn't help but pray to Merlin he wouldn't make a fool of himself. He'd relied on quite a lot of liquid courage, whilst Tilly had to remain sober, because she was playing in a Quidditch match in the morning. Fred, Frank, Louis and Lucas were having a race to see who could down their Firewhiskey the fastest, and Ben wouldn't be there for another hour, because he couldn't get time off work at such short notice.

I could see the Scamander twins conversing with Zach Thomas and Heather Finnegan (both were fifth year Gryffindors, who were family friends of the Weasleys) as my eyes scanned the room, and a few more familiar faces. But I found my eyes landing once again on Rose, who was bent over, clutching her sides and laughing hysterically at the sight of James face planting the ground. The corners of her blue eyes were crinkled, her eyes were shining with tears of laughter at the sight of her completely smashed older cousin, and I felt my lips curling into a smile at the sight.

"You're so obvious, you know that Malfoy?."

I blinked in surprise at the sound of Beth Tindall's voice. Her Northern accent was easy enough to distinguish, especially considering most of the Weasley/Potter family friends were from down south. I'd never really paid much attention to her; we'd passed one another in the Burrow for years, and she'd sat at the occasional Quidditch match with us boys and Hugo, but I'd never said a word to Hugo Weasley's best friend. I couldn't help but assume her approaching me had something to do with the alcohol she'd probably been drinking: Beth going out of her way to talk to me was quite out of character.

"Hello to you too, Tindall," I said sarcastically, smiling politely at her nonetheless. She looked amazing; her long, blonde hair fell down to just below her ridiculously big boobs, which were practically bursting out of her low-cut white top. She was taller than most girls her age, and I found myself giving a quick appreciative glance at her long legs, clad in a pair of tight, black jeans.

"Yeah, yeah, enough with the formalities," she laughed, and I wondered why I'd never noticed how friendly her Geordie accent sounded. Her red lips were curled into a toothy smile, and she shook her head at the confused look on my face. "You haven't taken your eyes off Rose all evening. I know what that look you're giving her means."

I felt my stomach lurch at the thought of her telling Hugo, or worse, Rose. Beth Tindall had no loyalty to me; she was practically like a little sister to Rose, which meant that I could kiss our friendship goodbye. A million different scenarios ran through my mind at the thought of her finding out, and though I'd made fun of Albus in the common room earlier, I now knew exactly how he'd felt. "I'm not going to tell anyone, you idiot," she said, rolling her eyes at the alarmed look on my face. "Not even Hugo."

"Not even Hugo?" I repeated, raising an eyebrow at her and smirking as she blushed. "That's not the only secret you'll be keeping from him, is it?" "You're an arse," she said matter-of-factly, but I could tell by her slight smile that she didn't mean it. "I only noticed you were looking at Rose because you were being just as obvious as I've been with Hugo for the past three years."

"And neither of them have a clue," I said solemnly, downing my Butterbeer and wiping the excess off my lips with the back of my hand. Beth was the only person I'd confessed my feelings to, and I knew that it wasn't just the alcohol I'd been drinking; she could relate better than most of my friends could, having been in the same position for the entirety of their friendship.

"Hermione once told me that Hugo and Rose can occasionally have the emotional capacities of a teaspoon," the pretty blonde said, and I felt myself nodding in recognition; Albus had said the same thing before, grinning, after one of our many fights. I assumed it was a Weasley inside joke of some sorts. "Apparently they got it from their dad. Drove her insane when they were our age."

"Did they get their inability to see what's in front of them from him too?" I said jokingly, and Beth laughed. "You know what? They probably did." A pensive look crossed her face and she pointed at something behind me. "At least you've still got a chance."

I glanced over my shoulder and found myself watching Rose's younger brother engaging in a game of tonsil tennis with a brunette Hufflepuff in their year. I could recall seeing them walking around Hogwarts together, but I hadn't realised that they were exclusive, which was what Beth was implying. Nonetheless, I turned back to her and snorted. "Please, it's not like it's any girl that I have feelings for. It's Rose frickin' Weasley."

Beth bit her bottom lip and leaned forwards to whisper in my ear, surprising me with the flirtatious look on her face. "Well, maybe if you paid more attention, you'd see that you might have more of a chance than you think." She smiled at me, and I scrunched up my brow confusedly as she walked off; I thought she'd been attempting to flirt with me, but there hadn't been a hint of suggestion in her tone of voice just then. Had she just been trying to make it look like she was flirting with me? And why would she do that?

As I contemplated an answer to those questions, I looked up and found my eyes locking with a pair of familiar blue eyes. Rose was no longer laughing at her cousin, who must have been dragged off by his girlfriend in the hope of sobering him up. Instead, the redhead was staring right at me, and though I immediately noticed how beautiful she looked, I couldn't ignore the way her pink lips were curled into a frown. Her eyes were narrowed slightly, and if I didn't know any better, she looked almost… jealous.

"Scor!"

I broke eye contact with Rose as Albus came over to me, his breath reeking of Firewhiskey. "I've been talking to Tilly all night," he said proudly, puffing out his chest. "And it was just like it used to be. I really like her, Scor. I just can't bring myself to tell her because I'm scared it will ruin our friendship. Because she is the coolest girl I know, Scor. And I've never liked a girl like this before. You know I haven't. Godric, I've got with loads of girls before, but I would take all that back if it meant I could have Til."

I nodded, strangely understanding exactly what he meant. I glanced over at Rose, who was stood next to Lysander, nodding as he whispered into her ear. "Trust me, Al. I know exactly how you feel."