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Chapter 14 –James' Tale
Almost all her relatives noticed that Rose seemed happier than she ever was. Her family though thrilled to find her in great spirits all secretly wondered what had caused the change. Fred& Hugo had bet on her being head girl as the reason while Roxanne, Lucy & Molly thought she was in love, Dominique thought she was just exceptionally glad to be taking NEWT that year, after all she was Rose Weasley. It was Lily who said it was because of her new found friendship with Scorpius Malfoy.
None of her cousins really had anything against Scorpius, though they had grown up hearing stories about the Malfoys. He seemed like a decent bloke, was the general verdict, coupled with the fact that Rose wasn't actually dating a Malfoy seemed to make him acceptable even. Al stayed oddly silent his mind wheeling towards the conversation he had had with his parents.
Their entire conversation had come to a halt when Rose had come skipping to them happily announcing lunch without noticing the sudden hush that had fallen.
"I wouldn't mind her dating Scorpius, if he is the reason she seems so happy" said James lost in thought looking in the general direction she had gone in. Al realized with a jolt that his big brother had indeed grown up; he was no more the immature boy he was in school. He felt even more satisfied to hear murmurs of ascent from others as well.
Nobody spoke of it once Rose joined them after lunch and the conversations frittered over to various things of no importance. It was one of those rare get-togethers where everyone had returned majorly unhurt, except for minor bruises (Fred, Hugo & Louis) which were always overlooked.
Rose wondered if Scorpius would feel at home at the Burrow among her rowdy bunch of cousins, her over protective dad & uncles and of course the fawning mum & aunts and loving grandparents. Erm..why would Scorpius have to feel at home at the burrow?, it was the logical side of her brain mocking her. If I invited him over as a friend of course, she chided back. She shook her head like she were swatting off a particularly irritating fly.
"Everything alright Rosie?" James walked towards the tree she was lounging under, he then proceeded to sit down next to her on the grass.
James was not as close to her as Al was but he was like an older brother to her in some sense. Though their sensibilities were miles apart, he was the only one who truly understood her relentless need to make her family proud of her. Even though he was the captain of the Quidditch team, he had let her, his best seeker, go when she stopped playing in pursuit of the head girl role. Though he was often juvenile, he was also very perceptive and smart, a quality often overlooked due to his constant need to prank others. A year as a Professional Quidditch player had indeed changed him into a responsible person much to everyone's surprise.
"Sure, why do you ask James?" She asked taken aback.
"You seem different Rosie…" he stopped, looking at her astutely.
"well how?" She frowned unsure of what James was hinting at.
He decided to be honest "Well, you seem happier Rosie, has something happened?"
She was taken aback by the question. She never realized that there was an obvious change in her behavior, sure she felt it, but to be asked about it? She gaped at James opening and closing her mouth trying to figure out a suitable answer.
"Its Malfoy isn't it?" James asked narrowing his eyes.
Now she was truly astounded, she did look like a fish out of water.
She finally found her voice to answer "He is just a friend."
He watched her face as myriad expressions crossed it. "I didn't say he is anything else" He laughed.
She looked thoroughly embarrassed. To her surprise, he tried hard to reduce her discomfort instead of making it worse. If not anything he said, that alone helped her get over her awkwardness.
"Did you know that I actually like Malfoy?" He paused waiting to see her reaction to his unusual statement. As expected, she gasped. He looked amused.
"I get the reaction Rosie, you must be wondering how arrogant, snobbish, immature and more importantly blinded by Gryffindor pride James Sirius Potter could make such a statement about a supposed family enemy, a snake hiding in Ravenclaw like I once famously insulted him." He rambled on distastefully.
He continued, without waiting for a response. "You remember the time Ellie & I were going through a lot of problems in our relationship? It was in our final year, your sixth of course"
Rose nodded her head, everybody knew about the problems, though nobody knew what the issue was, if any, there was constant fighting that always escalated to shouting matches with both parties marching off in opposite direction muttering curses. They were clearly on the verge of a painful break-up.
"It was the day of the Ravenclaw-Gryffindor match and we had beaten Ravenclaw by a very small margin, we were celebrating our unbelievably close victory when suddenly Malfoy turned up outside our locker room requesting to talk to me. You can't imagine the amount of unruly comments that got thrown his way, after all he was the Ravenclaw captain. Yet he waited unflinchingly, ignoring every remark meant for him. When we were out of earshot he said he had found my girlfriend in the deserted corridor on the 4th floor and he felt she was going through a serious breakdown. I freaked out of course, he put his hand on my shoulder and led me calmly. I followed him blindly but when the feeling of panic subsided slightly, I wondered if it was a trap but somehow there was something trustworthy about him that you feel instinctively. It was no trap obviously, I found Ellie looking like a complete mess, Zara Zabini comforting her."
Rose who was listening to the anecdote in rapt attention looked slightly confused.
He continued "I know it is not a story where he saved me from a mountain troll and we became best friends for life" and grinned, watching Rose's lips curl into a smile as well.
"But..there was something so noble about a guy, who goes out of the way to help his rival, at least on the Quidditch field, especially when he has just been beaten. To leave his girlfriend to take care of Ellie and finding and telling me in person, it takes courage. I wonder why he was not chosen to be in Gryffindor?" James wondered the last part aloud
"Because he asked the sorting hat to put him in Ravenclaw apparently" Rose answered him.
"ah you do know much about him eh?" James sniggered making Rose blush again.
"So tell me what happened to Zabini?"
"She is with Nott now" Rose didn't see it necessary to mention the whole complication to James.
"Oh ok, I should've guessed, there was always that angle hanging there I have hardly seen Zabini & Malfoy without Nott, not even on Hogsmeade weekends" James said thoughtfully.
"You seem to know a lot about him" Rose grinned widely at her cousin.
"Well, after the incident, Ellie and I sort of considered him a decent enough bloke to notice. Honestly speaking, Rosie, he saved our relationship that day" He said sincerely.
Rose didn't know how to react, it felt good to know that at least one person in her family approved of Scorpius. Again why did she need approval to have a friend, it was not like he was her boyfriend.
"You like him" It was not a question.
She gulped, "No" she said softly.
"Don't worry Rosie, you have my permission, not that you need it" laughed James jumping up suddenly. He ruffled her hair and walked away.
She gawped as her cousin left her to her thoughts, only making it much worse with a story on the subject of her thoughts. He was noble and courageous, she thought smiling to herself. She knew that already, which idiot would take all those buldger hits to save his team. He was also smart, intelligent and kind she loved that about him. He was also fun to be with, a great friend, incredibly loyal and a good kisser.
Stop. Stop. Stop Rose Weasley. You are not in love with Scorpius Malfoy, he is a friend, so stop listing out his qualities like you are describing a hero. Her mind wandered to the ball and the dances they shared. NOT helping! She thought of their routine conversations, studies and patrols. Too many good memories, she sighed. She was doomed wasn't she? She couldn't do that, no, just because her cousin approved doesn't mean her parents would, or relatives would or even other cousins would, no she couldn't do that, she had to keep this friendship at just that! Friendship.
A/N - Don't blame Rose, the first flush of love has made her pretty short-sighted to the faults (if any) of Scorpius :) Its only normal to notice the good things :)