Rose

Fourth Year, First Term

"Roxy, that's not the point, and you know it!" Lucy said huffily, pointing a sausage at her sternly. I snorted into my plate of Lasagne. I loved the day before Halloween, and I wasn't entirely sure why. I think it was the excitement of tomorrow's feast, where Professor Longbottom, Head of Gryffindor, had decided we should all come in fancy dress.

"How isn't that the point?" Roxy challenged. "Professor McGonagall says that fancy dress is customary."

"Yeah, but going dressed as a house elf?" Lucy scoffed. "That's a – what's the muggle phrase? – a lawsuit waiting to happen."

"Why? It's not racism. It's just fancy dress!" Roxy argued.

James rolled his eyes at me from across the table, and I grinned. He pointed at Louis, who was sitting next to him, and mimed him swooning over Violet Brown. I bit back a laugh.

"You want to listen to Lucy, Rox." Fred put in wisely, gazing at his fifteen year old sister with amusement twinkling in his eyes.

"Why would I want to do that?" she asked dangerously, and Al nudged me in the side, with a 'here we go' expression on his face.

"Because, she's a prefect," Fred said, his eyes all twinkly with mock reverence. Everyone except Lucy burst out laughing. Luce just flicked mashed potato at Fred's head.

"You sound like Grandma," Al, James, Roxy and I chorused.

Hugo was completely away with the fairies from where he sat beside Roxy, his eyes wide and his expression blank. I grinned at him. My brother was really dopey.

"Of course, being a prefect isn't as good as being Head Girl!" James, Louis and Fred chorused as one, shouting over to where Molly sat at the Ravenclaw table, the shiny Head Girl badge plain on her chest. Molly rolled her eyes and ignored them, opting instead to pick up a conversation with Lorcan Scamander. He caught my eye and grinned.

"I wonder how lonely Lily is?" Fred said abruptly, craning his neck to see over to the Slytherin table. "She's stuck over there with the snakes..."

James and Louis hissed theatrically. Al shook his head at them.

"Uh, guys? Lily is one of the 'snakes'." He made air quotes with his fingers, laughing. I glanced behind me to see Lily laughing hysterically at something Lysander Scamander had said. It had been a bit of a shock to us all when those two were put in Slytherin, but then, I suppose, they were always scheming little so and sos.

My eyes locked for a minute with a pair of stormy grey ones, and I felt the colour rise in my cheeks. I had barely spoken to Scorpius since I kissed him in the Entrance Hall, and that was way back in June. Sure, we had sent owls to each other over summer as usual, but I had been avoiding a face-to-face conversation between us where it would just be me and him. I was a bit scared of what to say to him. I didn't really know what he was thinking, most of the time, and that unsettled me. I was used to knowing the answers. So I had managed to weasel out of it for four months.

It was unavoidable today though. It was Scorpius's birthday, and I had to give him his present.

Fifteen. It was really weird that he was nearly a whole year older than me. My birthday was in July, so by the time it got all the way round... Scorpius was nearly at his next one.

"Rosie? Earth calling Rosie!" James waved his hand in front of my face. "Wow, you're nearly as dippy as your brother!"

"Hey!" Hugo protested weakly, but everyone just gave him a disparaging look.

"Sorry, I... uh... zoned out," I explained, swinging my legs over the bench. "Um... I'm gonna... I'll see you in the common room."

I stood up and walked away, leaving my bewildered family staring after me.

As I passed the Slytherin table, I stared determinedly ahead, trying not to make eye contact with Scor at all. I succeeded, and I ducked out of the oak doors, breathing a sigh of relief.

I had one foot on the staircase before I heard my name.

"Rose." He said it softly, quietly, but it echoed in the empty hall, and I'd recognise it anywhere.

"Follow me," I instructed, and began to ascend the staircase. I didn't want to stay in the Entrance Hall – it was too public. I carried on up to the third floor, before stopping abruptly at a statue of a one-eyed witch. I heard Scorpius's footsteps halt after me. I pulled out my wand, and tapped the witch's hump.

"Dissendium," I muttered, and a passageway opened to admit me. "Inside," I murmured to Scorpius, and lifted myself off the floor to clamber through. I slipped a bit on the stone, and instantly his hands shot out to catch me, lifting me easily from around my waist.

It felt like his fingers were searing through my skin, and I held my breath to see if it would lessen the sudden pounding of my heart. It didn't.

When Scorpius had dropped into the tunnel beside me, he took a look around him at his surroundings. He was hunched over to avoid scraping his head or shoulders against the passageway.

"You sure like your small spaces, don't you Rosie?" he said dryly, sitting down again to avoid breaking his back. I remained standing, dithering, trying to stop my knees from shaking. It didn't do much good.

"Happy Birthday," I said eventually.

"Thanks," he replied, every bit as awkward.

"I got you a present," I told him, shuffling my feet on the ground. He smiled hopefully, like he hadn't been expecting me to get him anything. I instantly felt guilty. Had I been avoiding him that much?

"Is it invisible?" he asked, smirking. I rolled my eyes, feeling a little of my tension be relieved.

"No... but..." I dug my hand into the pocket of my robes and pulled out a small package. "Here."

Scorpius reached out his hand slowly, his pale skin almost glowing in the darkness. "Thank you."

"You shouldn't thank me before you open it," I replied gravely. "It's not much..."

I watched nervously as he tore into the paper, my heart drumming a new rhythm against my ribcage. He pulled the paper off in one sweeping motion that I couldn't have managed half as gracefully, and studied the object lying in his palm.

"Is that...?" he breathed, looking totally amazed.

"The glove that caught the Holyhead Harpies' eighth win in the championship? Yeah. Aunt Ginny told me I could have it, and I knew that you loved her team, so..." I trailed off, unsure of how to finish my sentence.

Scorpius grinned. "Wow."

"Do you really like it?" I fretted. I had been obsessively worried that he wouldn't. He looked at me like I'd lost my mind.

"Duh!" he answered, rolling his eyes. I laughed. His eyes suddenly clouded over, as a memory came rushing back to him. "Hey, Rosie... do you remember when I promised you that I'd give you the first snitch I ever caught?"

"Yeah," I replied, smiling. "You never did."

"No, but I saved – you know, it doesn't matter. So...?"

The awkwardness expanded between us like a physical barrier once again.

"Scor, we need to talk about what happened," I sighed.

He nodded slowly. "Yeah. This is just getting awkward."

I raised my eyebrows at him. "Getting awkward?"

He chuckled. "Okay, it's been awkward for a while," he admitted.

"What happened... you know... what do you...?" I wasn't being very articulate.

He stared at me for a second, seeming to be trying to read my face. Then he spoke in a calm, even tone. "I kissed you. You kissed me. Let's just leave it at that."

My heart sank, but I feigned relief. "Like midsummer madness?"

He smirked. "Right. So we'll just draw a line under it."

I didn't want to draw a line under it, but Scor obviously did. "Yeah," I answered dispassionately.

"Okay, then we're sorted. Right?"

"Right."

We stared at each other for a minute, never flinching from the other's gaze. As I looked at him, I wondered how he could be so incredibly dense about the way I felt. That's why I didn't manage to control the question that bubbled to my lips.

"What are we, Scor?"

"Eh?"

"What am I to you?"

He looked at me hesitantly, as though he wanted to say something but didn't quite trust himself to speak. "You're my best friend," he said slowly. I nodded, not letting him know that he'd just delivered another knife to the heart.

"Good. Okay. Well, then, enjoy your birthday," I said, with a smile as false as plastic. I turned away to climb out of the passageway, but his voice stopped me.

"Rosie?" Before I turned around, an image flashed through my mind of him standing at my shoulder, ready to pull me round into a kiss again. My heart thumped violently.

When I actually turned, however, he was still sitting on the ground, staring at his shoes pensively.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"I will give you that snitch. I promise." His eyes blazed with his words, and I nodded helplessly, butterflies crashing around in my stomach.

"Bye, Scor," I murmured shakily, and made a swift exit.

As my legs hit the stone floor of the corridor, they nearly gave way. I felt dizzy, and faint, and nauseous, and a million and one other things that should be unpleasant but weren't.

I walked away with my legs feeling like jelly.

A/N: Wow, Sundays really seem to be my day for updating... I may well see if I can make it four in one day... though my record is five, so I just might try to break it. I'd better get writing!