A/N: Hello everyone! I know it took me a bit over a week to get this chapter up and I'm sorry but I'm leaving to go back to school soon so I had a number of things to take care of. Updates probably won't happen more than once a week but the tradeoff with that is that the chapters are relatively lengthy. I hope that's okay. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, I tried to get back to a few of you this time! Also of course thank you to everyone reading, and adding the story to your various lists. As always, constructive criticism is always welcome and if you have any ideas for the story, I would be happy to hear them!
Disclaimer: Disclaimed.
"Oh, it's so wonderful to be back!" Lily exclaimed in a chipper tone of voice as the two of us stepped into the Gryffindor common room. Glancing at her out of the corners of my eyes I could see a broad, toothy smile on her face as she glanced around the common room, a look of admiration on her face.
I nodded in agreement and took a few steps further into the room to provide space for the students streaming in behind us. The castle elves had lit the fireplace and it was starting to roar to life. The air in the room was fresh, crisp and cool, as if the windows had been open for hours and someone had just recently shut them. Though I had thoroughly enjoyed the holiday it really did feel fantastic to be back at Hogwarts. Even more so because I knew that these were my last few months at the school I had grown to love.
"Getting nostalgic Rosie?" Lily asked as she took a few side – steps towards me. She was looking at me quite sympathetically, as she very well already knew the answer.
"A bit." A sad smile accompanied my reply. I was more than a bit nostalgic but this wasn't the time or the place to act sad and morose. After all, it was the first night back and there was plenty of fun to be had.
"Rose." Frank's deep, familiar voice spoke my name from behind me. Instantly, my eyes went wide and I could feel my heart pounding against my chest. Perhaps this evening wasn't going to be as much fun as I had anticipated.
Taking a deep breath, I spun around on my heel and came face to face with Frank. His expression was solemn but there appeared to be an apologetic look in his brown eyes. "Frank," I barely managed to choke out. On Christmas Eve I had written to Frank in the hopes that when we returned he would speak to me and yet now, I had to admit that I was afraid of what he was going to say.
"Can we uh…" Frank paused, scratching at the back of his neck nervously as he shifted his weight from foot to foot "you know, go somewhere and talk for a bit?"
Instinctively, I looked to Lily for some sort of reassurance. She may have been two years my junior but I could always count on her for good advice. Especially when my own judgment was clouded by emotion.
For a moment Lily was silent. Her green eyes quickly darted between Frank and I in an almost amused manner. The smirk threatening to break out across her lips vaguely resembled the one James flashed when he did something he found to be particularly clever. "I'm going to head up to my dorm. I'll see you later Rosie." Lily threw me a stern look before she slinked off towards the stairs. Evidently she thought I ought to go talk to Frank.
Once Lily was out of ear - shot, I turned my attention back onto Frank and nodded, "Yeah, sure."
Frank nodded and gave me a very small, very clearly forced, smile. With that, he turned on his heel and the two of us headed up to the seventh year boy's dormitory. As I followed Frank into his dormitory I was greeted by the sight of two other seventh year Gryffindor boys peering at me curiously.
"Guys…" Frank trailed off and cleared his throat as he arched a brow at the two boys. Getting the message, the boys scurried out of the room, letting the door slam shut behind them.
For what seemed like hours, but was really only a few minutes, Frank and I stood facing each other in complete and utter silence. I couldn't force myself to look at him so instead I kept my eyes focused on the Chudley Canons poster across the room. The silence was deafening and I was so uncomfortable that I couldn't even bring myself to stand still, so I began to rock back and forth on my heels. After another minute however, the silence became too much to bear. "Frank…" I started. However, I was quickly cut off.
"No Rosie, let me go first." Oh, so now he decided to pipe up.
As Frank sighed and sat down at his desk I begrudgingly pressed my lips together and refrained from any further commentary. Frank motioned for me to sit down on his bed and I obliged him.
After I sat down, Frank looked at me and cleared his throat; "I got your note on Christmas Eve." He smiled lightly at me and even though the smile was barely visible, this time it was genuine. "After how I treated you Rosie, it was really nice of you to write me."
Hearing this, I tilted my head to the right and smiled at Frank in a sympathetic manner. "Frank, no, your reaction was completely understandable." I knew that what I had done was wrong and I didn't want Frank to feel bad for reacting in a completely natural way, even if I did want him to be my best friend again.
Frank clasped his hands together and glanced down at the floor for a few seconds, "Maybe at first. But I shouldn't have ignored you for as long as I did. I was upset but you've been my best friend since we've been in diapers. I should have remembered that and not put our friendship in jeopardy." Frank finally raised his eyes to meet my own and his entire expression spoke to how sorry he was.
Without saying a word I stood up and crossed the room to where Frank was sitting. Bending my knees, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, "Our friendship was never in danger because of your reaction." My tone was soft and reassuring. Even if Frank had wound up ignoring me for two months instead of two weeks I would have still forgiven him just as easily.
Frank chuckled and stood up, turning his body towards me and enveloping me into a hug. As I returned the gesture I sighed happily, glad that things were getting back to normal between Frank and I. After a few seconds, Frank pulled back and put his hands on my forearms, "Friends again?"
A small laugh left my lips and I nodded my head enthusiastically, "Of course Frank."
With a smile on his face, Frank nodded his head, "Very good." Once the words had left his lips, Frank reached his hand up and ruffled my hair. Though my nose was wrinkled in displeasure, I let him get away with it for old times sake.
"I need to go unpack but I'll see you at dinner?" The words came out as more of a hopeful question than a statement. I had been sitting with Frank at dinner for the last six years and I wanted to keep up all of my routines for these last few months.
Frank smiled and nodded his head once, "You got it Rosie." He threw me a wink and I couldn't help but laugh as I opened the door and stepped out of his room. Now that Frank and I had made up I felt a hundred times lighter. There was a goofy grin prominently displayed across my face but no matter how hard I tried I couldn't suppress it.
Waltzing into my dormitory, I found Lily lying on my bed, waiting for me. As soon as the door clicked shut behind me my cousin sat up and eyed my expression. "You and Frank make up?" She questioned, arching a well – sculpted brow.
"Yes, we most certainly did." I proclaimed cheerily as I began to unpack my trunk.
"Good!" A sigh of relief left Lily's lips as she fell back onto my bed. "The awkward tension between the two of you was getting to be really exhausting for me."
Hearing this I shook my head and as I hung up a few of my clothes, I rolled my eyes. "Oh, you were exhausted? I'm terribly sorry for putting you in such a situation." Sarcasm dripped off of every word and as I turned around I could see a grin twitching at the corners of Lily's lips.
"It's quite alright Rosie," she replied nonchalantly as she rolled onto her stomach so she could look at me, "Just don't do it again." Lily tilted her head to the left and threw me a cheeky grin.
I chuckled and shook my head at Lily for a second before turning my attention back onto my trunk. As I looked into my trunk I saw the letter Scorpius had written to me in response to my holiday note. I smiled lightly and without thinking, I picked it up out of the trunk. For some reason still unknown to me, I had kept the letter. It just didn't feel right to throw it away.
As I began to unfold the piece of parchment I failed to notice that Lily was inching closer and closer to the edge of the bed. That is, until she snatched the paper out of my hand and flitted across the room with it. "And what do we have here?" She questioned merrily as she opened the letter and began to read it.
"No Lils, stop. Give it here!" I exclaimed nervously as I took a few steps towards her. Lily, like the rest of the Hogwarts student body, was aware that Scorpius and I no longer loathed one another. Given the amount of time the two of us spent together one would have to be both blind and deaf not to realize that we could, at the very least, tolerate each other now. However, despite that fact, I didn't want anyone in my family knowing that Scorpius and I had written to one another over the holiday break. Those letters signified that the two of us were good friends and I wasn't sure if anyone in the Weasley – Potter clan would be comfortable with my having such a level of familiarity with Scorpius Malfoy.
Lily of course did not give me back the letter and she kept on reading it. Every time I tried to snatch it out of her hands she evaded my grasp and with a sigh I eventually gave up.
A few moments later I could tell that Lily had finished for her eyes had stopped moving across the page. However, she didn't look up at me immediately. Instead, she kept her eyes focused on the bottom of the parchment, on what I could only assume was Scorpius' signature.
"Lils, come on…" I muttered impatiently as I frowned at her.
Hearing my voice, Lily looked up and arched a brow at me. "Since when do you and Scorpius Malfoy exchange letters?" She asked, an amused tone in her voice.
I sighed and rolled my eyes, frustrated that I had been caught. "Since Christmas Eve." I muttered, snatching the letter out of her hand and gently folding it once more. Without another word, I crossed the room and gingerly placed the letter back into my trunk. Not wanting to meet Lily's gaze, I busied myself with unpacking the rest of my trunk. As I put a few book on my desk I heard Lily sit back down onto my bed.
"Well, I think it's quite nice." She proclaimed. Upon hearing this, I was startled and furrowed my brows in confusion. Slowly, I turned on my heel to look at her. Lily was grinning at me in an almost triumphant manner.
"Nice?" I questioned incredulously, lowering my chin as I looked at Lily. "You think it's nice?" This was most certainly not the reaction I had expected to get.
Lily seemed to be unfazed by my astonishment and she merely nodded her head before rolling onto her back so she could stare at the ceiling. "Don't sound so shocked Rosie. Yes, I think it's nice. You and Scorpius are alike in a lot of ways and I assume he's not always such an insufferable git. Plus, I've noticed that ever since you two have been acting quite friendly he's been less likely to try and rile up Albus, which is always a good thing."
"Scorpius and I are not alike in a lot of ways!" I exclaimed indignantly as I placed my right hand on my hip and peered down at Lily. Though the words had left my mouth in a rather convincing manner, I knew that I was lying through my teeth. The truth was that Scorpius and I were alike in quite a number of ways.
On her end, Lily mere arched a brow and blinked at me in an exaggerated manner. "Do you want to try that again Rosie?" She questioned.
Frustrated by the fact that Lily was right I groaned, "You're not going to tell anyone else in the family are you? You know, that Scorpius and I wrote to each other over break?" I could only imagine the lobster red color that would come over both Albus and Hugo.
Upon hearing this Lily bolted up in my bed and shook her head rapidly from side to side. "Are you mad Rosie? Of course not! I already have my O.W.L.S to worry about, I do not want to have to worry about Albus, or any of the other boys, having a heart attack."
At Lily's words, I couldn't help but start to laugh. I could practically imagine steam coming out of my brother's ears if he were to hear about this. A second later, Lily began to laugh and soon the two of us were in a fit of giggles. Lily was the first to regain her composure and she took a deep breath before hopping off my bed, "Come on Rosie, let's get down to dinner." A small laugh escaped her and so she took another breath to steady herself.
Filling my lungs, I nodded my head in agreement and put down the shirt I was in the middle of folding. As I made my way towards the door I paused and glanced over my shoulder, my eyes landing on the 'Unraveling Ministry Mysteries' book that I had suggested Scorpius pick up. I bit down onto my lower lip as I considered whether or not I ought to bring it down to dinner. After all, he had said he would like to borrow it. With a sigh, I walked over to my desk and snatched the book off of my desk before heading towards the door.
"Seriously?" Lily questioned as we walked down the stairs into the Gryffindor common room. "You're bringing a book down to dinner on our first night back?"
Quickly, I glanced around to make sure no one was within earshot. "It's not for me." I replied hastily as we stepped out onto the corridor. "It's for Scorpius." I added in a whisper.
"Oh, it's for Scorpius." Lily teased in a sing – song voice, giggles following her words. Seeing this response, I couldn't help but groan.
"Oh lighten up Rosie, I'm just teasing." Lily playfully slapped at my upper left arm as we made our way into the Great Hall. The Professors had decided to keep the two massive 'Ravenpuff' and 'Slythindor' tables as opposed to resorting back to the four traditional house tables. At the very head of the Slythindor table I spotted Frank having an animated conversation with Albus, Emily Boot and Frederick Finnigan. At this site, I smiled. Now that Frank and I had made up there would be no awkward feeling when I joined them.
"Hey guys," I greeted as Lily and I joined the others. A collective greeting was heard from our three dinner companions.
"What's with the book Rosie?" Albus questioned before shoving a forkful of garlic potato into his mouth.
"It's for a friend," I replied without skipping a beat. Quickly I began to fill my plate with food and not wanting anyone to question which friend exactly the book was for, I attempted to start another conversation, "So do you guys think we'll find out what the next challenge is tonight?"
Luckily, my fellow Gryffindors took the bait. "I sure hope so!" Frederick exclaimed. "I was trying to figure out what it could possibly be over break but I didn't come up with a single thing."
The rest of our dinner conversation was split up between brainstorming possible challenges, complaining about our impending N.E.W.T exams and exchanging tidbits of petty gossip. As dessert appeared on the table, the sound of Headmistress McGonagall clearing her throat filled the Great Hall. Slowly but surely, the various conversations started to die out as everyone turned their attention towards the headmistress.
After the conventional welcome speech, McGonagall turned her head to the left and looked at Molly and Emmanuel, who had made their way over to the elevated staff table. "I will now turn things over to your two heads, Miss Weasley and Mr. Zabini. I believe they have some rather exciting announcements to make." With that McGonagall took her seat and Molly and Emmanuel quickly made their way to the center of the staff podium.
As Molly and Emmanuel stood next to each other, I heard Albus begin to mutter angrily to himself. No doubt he was reiterating some of the things Uncle Percy had said to Molly after she had made her big announcement. Narrowing my eyes, I glared at Albus and kicked his shin under the table. I knew how happy Emmanuel made Molly and so I was not going to tolerate any of my cousins making Molly's life difficult. As my foot made contact with Albus' shin he grunted in pain and leaned forward. Before Albus could even utter a single complaint, I turned my attention back onto Molly and Emmanuel.
"Welcome back! I hope everyone is excited for the new term." Molly proclaimed cheerfully, smiling from ear to ear. "As Headmistress McGonagall said, Emmanuel and I have some exciting news. In fact, we have two rather stirring announcements." The moment Molly informed the student body that there would be two announcements the great hall erupted in a flurry of whispers. We had all been expecting them to simply announce the next challenge.
"Two announcements?" I whispered, furrowing my brows as I looked to Emily. "They're not going to announce the next two challenges at the same time, are they?" The tone in my voice was incredulous and Emily merely shrugged her shoulders, unable to offer me any alternate explanation.
"If you would all stop talking then you wouldn't have to speculate about what we're about to tell you. We would just tell you." Emmanuel piped up over the whispers of the crowd, an amused look on his face.
I couldn't help but chuckle as the Great Hall became silence once again. At this, Emmanuel nodded curtly, "Good. Our first is announcement is that, with the permission of the Headmistress, Molly and I have planned a House Unity ball to take place at the end of this month." Excited whispers rippled through the Great Hall and from beside me, Lily elbowed my side. Both Emmanuel and Molly remained silent in order to give the student body a few moments to digest the information.
"A ball!" She exclaimed, her green eyes going wide as she leaned forward to chat with Emily across the table, "How exciting!"
On my part, I couldn't decide whether I was excited or annoyed by the prospect. On the one hand, I was a fan of dressing up in fancy gowns and enjoying a night off from the usual, mundane routine. On the other hand however, I was not looking forward to the prospect of hunting for a date. Securing a good date was sure to be a trial and I didn't have the heart to put in the necessary effort. For a brief moment, I thought of going with Frank. However, I realized that after what we had just been through, it would be highly inappropriate. Inwardly, I began to curse the situation.
"Now, now, settle down. You're going to want to hear the rest of this!" Molly stood on her tiptoes, as if that action would help project her voice better. She was, however, right in her assumption that the student body was eager to hear more and so the Great Hall fell silent, allowing Emmanuel to continue. "For this event you must attend with a member of another house. It doesn't have to be with a member of the house your own is partnered with for the competition; it just has to be another house. So, Ravenclaws, you are not required to go with a Hufflepuff. You could go with a Gryffindor, or a Slytherin." As those words left his mouth, Emmanuel turned his head slightly to the right and gave Molly a small smirk. I could have sworn that out of the corners of my eyes I saw Albus pretend to gag.
Though for entirely different reasons, I too was displeased with what Emmanuel had just said. Now that I couldn't go with a fellow Gryffindor, whom on earth was I going to go with?
"The ball will take place on the night of January thirty – first and everyone better come with a date!" Molly exclaimed, making an effort to look stern, as if she was chiding the student body. A small laugh rippled through the Great Hall and Molly smiled, evidently pleased with the reaction. "Okay, on to our next announcement!"
Hearing this, I couldn't help but let out a small groan. There was only so much 'excitement' I could handle in one evening.
"Emmanuel and I are ready to announce the next challenge! This challenge is different from the previous two, in that it is purely academic in nature." The look on Molly's face was quite self – satisfied and I couldn't help but conclude that it was because she thought her own house had the advantage this time. "The next challenge will be set up as a trivia contest of sorts. The mixed houses will select ten students from each year to participate. Those ten students will go up against ten students of the same year, from the other mixed house team."
Upon hearing this I concluded that yes, this challenge did in fact give the upper hand to the Ravenpuffs. Not only were the Ravenclaws naturally bright, but the work ethic of the Hufflepuff students would ensure a very broad base of students to select from. Instinctively, I turned my head in an effort to see if I could spot Scorpius. After searching for a few moments, I saw him sitting a few feet away from me with a group of seventh year Slytherins. His nose was wrinkled in displeasure and the concentrated look in his eyes told me that his thoughts closely mirrored my own. I was so focused on Scorpius' expression that I almost missed Molly's further explanation. Luckily, Lily poked my side, returning my attention to the front of the Great Hall.
"The challenge will take place during the first weekend in March so you all have about two months to prepare. Use that time wisely. That warning is especially relevant to those of you who will be competing in the seventh year groups as you all will have seven years of knowledge as your question pool. Good luck!" As those last two words left her lips, Molly smiled broadly and bounced on the balls of her feet before she and Emmanuel gracefully made their way off the platform.
As soon as the two heads had disappeared from the site, the hall erupted in chatter and students began to stand and wander out into the corridors. I too stood up and waited for Lily to rise. As I did so, I realized that I had completely forgotten to give Scorpius the book. I frowned and stood up on my tiptoes, craning my neck to see if I could spot him. Within seconds I managed to spot Scorpius' blonde head and I quickly turned to Lily, "I'll meet you at the bottom of the stairs." Without waiting for a response, I began to weave my way through the crowd. For some reason I was positively determined to give Scorpius the book this evening. A part of me realized that it was because I wanted to speak to him, to throw a few remarks his way and to see that insufferable, albeit attractive, smirk grace his face. That part me however, was soon suppressed.
Within a minute I found myself directly behind Scorpius. I opened my mouth to call out his name but I hesitated. Sure, when we had written to each other we had used first names but I wasn't sure of whether or not that would be appropriate now. Instead, I reached out my hand and gently placed it on his shoulder.
Scorpius quickly glanced over his shoulder and upon seeing me he smiled lightly, "Rose!" He exclaimed in surprise. With great effort I resisted the urge to sigh in relief. So it was appropriate for us to use first names now.
"Hey," I replied, returning the smile. "I have that book I told you about." As if I needed to prove to him that I wasn't lying, I held out the book for his inspection. A look of amusement crossed Scorpius' face and his smile was quickly replaced by a smirk. He nodded his head before he grabbed my wrist and pulled me off to the side so we were no longer blocking the slowly streaming crowd of students trying to leave the Great Hall.
"You didn't have to bring it down tonight." Scorpius said, arching a brow. The look of amusement had not left his face.
Upon hearing those words, I began to feel quite silly. He was right – I could have waited until tomorrow to give him the book. Furthermore, there had been no need for me to rush after him in order to give it to him. "I just didn't want to forget, that's all." I replied coolly, shrugging my shoulders, "Saving you from your own ignorance isn't high on my priority list Scorpius, so it would have likely slip my mind." As the sound of his name left my lips I realized how stupid it had been of me to avoid calling him by his first name. Scorpius sounded so much better than 'Malfoy'. Once more, I held out the book for him to take.
A chuckle left Scorpius' lips and he slowly shook his head, as if to show his contempt. "The only ignorant person you have to worry about is your cousin Albus." He countered before taking the book in his right hand. "That having been said, thank you for bringing me the book. I look forward to reading it." Scorpius glanced down at the book and smiled lightly before looking up at me. "Here, I have something for you as well." With that, he held out the book on Gellert Grindelwald that until now I hadn't even noticed he had been holding.
A look of surprise washed over my face. I had not anticipated Scorpius bringing me the book this evening. "You didn't have to bring it down tonight," with a smile, I mimicked his earlier words.
Scorpius chuckled, "Yes well, it's a rather dense book so I figured that if I wanted it back by the end of term I would have to give it to you tonight." Upon hearing this jab at my reading abilities, I pursed my lips in displeasure. Scorpius however, did not give me a single second to retort. "I also wrote some notes in the margins when I was reading the book but I used some pretty big words in them so I doubt you'll be able to understand them. Perhaps I should lend you my dictionary as well?" Scorpius frowned and tilted his head to the side, a pensive look on his face as if he was seriously considering the proposition.
"Better lend me a thesaurus so I can recite to you all of the different synonyms for git," I retaliated, hitting him over the arm with the book.
Scorpius laughed and rubbed his arm despite the fact that I had barely touched him; "Don't send me to the hospital wing Rose! You're going to need me for this next challenge."
Hearing this, I couldn't help but roll my eyes. A scoff left my lips, "Don't be such a pansy." I snapped before throwing him a smirk and walking away to find out whether or not Lily was still waiting for me.
Scorpius
It was only the second night back at Hogwarts but already I found myself seated in the library, deeply engrossed in an essay for Transfiguration. It was annoying to say the least, but entirely necessary considering how much work the Professors were piling on us. I almost pitied those students who were procrastinating studying for their N.E.W.T exams. Almost.
Upon finishing up the third paragraph in my essay I sighed and gingerly placed my quill down onto the desk, careful not to smudge any of the ink on my parchment. As I looked up I stretched out my hand, which had started to feel cramped. Now that I was looking up I noticed Rose weaving her way through the book stacks. Seeing as how the young Gryffindor woman practically lived in the library, this was not an unusual site. It also wasn't an unusual site to see her heading in my direction. For the two weeks preceding the winter holidays, the two of us had started to study together. It only made sense that we help each other study for the N.E.W.T. exams, considering that we were constantly vying for the top spot in our year and we could both learn a lot from the each other.
"Hello Scorpius," Rose greeted with a small smile as she sat down across the table from me and began to spread out her books. Pressing my lips together, I nodded my head in recognition of her greeting as I did my best to refrain from smiling at the way my name sounded coming out of her mouth. It was nice to finally be on a first name basis with Rose. It had only taken us six and a half years.
As I watched Rose spread out her books, I took note of the fact that my book on Gellert Grindelwald was among those she had been carrying. "So I see you took my advice and started early?" I asked, clearly amused.
Rose's eyes flitted up and she pursed her lips, as if daring me to make a snide remark pertaining to her intelligence. "Yes, I started it last night." She replied coolly.
"How far did you get? Page two?" I teased, letting a chuckle escape me as I leaned back into my seat and sat with my hands folded over my torso.
Rose merely narrowed her eyes at me and refused to dignify my retort was a snappy response. "I did notice one thing as I was reading though." She mused. She did not however continue, as if she was trying to goad me into pressing her for more information. After a few seconds I relented with a dramatic sigh, "And what is that?" I questioned, feigning disinterest.
"That you have the absolute worst handwriting I have ever seen." Rose wrinkled her nose in disgust, "Calling it chicken scratch would be far too kind." Now that insult was out Rose smiled smugly and batted her lashes, as if it would make her appear innocent.
Almost immediately, I began to glower at her, "I was in a rush when I wrote those side notes," I countered, sitting up right once again, "I hate to break it to you but the minds of fairly competent people work faster than the ability to write. Sorry I couldn't take the time to loop my letters to your liking." A sneer accompanied the end of my sentence.
"Well, those of us who are more than fairly competent can hold a thought for more than two seconds." Rose retorted, without skipping a beat.
"And how would you know that?" I said smugly, arching a brow at Rose as the signature Malfoy smirk spread across my face.
Rose narrowed her eyes at me and pressed her lips thinly together, shaking her head. She may not have been pleased with my response but I was happy to take my victories where I could get them. Despite myself, I chuckled before returning to my work. These witty exchanges with Rose kept my evening study hours entertaining and, though I would have to be tortured to admit it out loud, I didn't know what I would have done without them.
The two of us worked in silence for an hour and as I finally finished my essay, I put my quill down and sighed triumphantly. Glad to have gotten that over with, I stretched out my arms and watched as Rose picked up her head.
"Finished?" She questioned, peering at me over her stack of textbooks. A mere nod was my only response. "Want me to proof read it later?" She offered. Once again, I nodded.
A second later, Rose also put down her quill, "So how do you think we should go about handling this new challenge?" She questioned, shoving her books off to the side for the time being.
There was no doubt in my mind that over the last term Rose and I had emerged as the leaders of the Slythindor team and, seeing as how no one else had put forth any ideas, it was clearly up to the two of us to organize something. "Well, I think we'll have to get the other prefects in on this." I begrudgingly admitted. My dismay was written all over my face. The more people included in planning an affair like this, the higher the likelihood of discord. Frankly, I simply did not want to expend any energy disciplining an out of line prefect.
Rose considered my words for a moment before she nodded her head in agreement, "True. They're likelier to know the students in their years than we are. Though, that still leaves the question of how we're going to pick the students for the lower year teams. We don't have prefects to rely on for fourth year and below."
"Hmm…" I thought about the situation for a few moments. "You don't suppose the Professors will release first term grades to us?" I questioned, a slightly hopeful tone in my voice.
"Fat chance of that happening." Rose couldn't help but laugh at the thought.
Nodding my head, I sighed. "We could always just ask for volunteers."
Rose considered my proposal for a few moments, scrunching up her nose in concentration. "I suppose, but we'd have to do a bit of screening first. You know, make sure we're not putting complete dunderheads on the team."
Upon hearing Rose's suggestion I couldn't help but groan in agony at the mere thought. Despite the fact that I was partially traumatized by the idea, I had to admit that I couldn't come up with a better screening process. "Oh, that'll be loads of fun." I grumbled.
"I bet." Rose replied in a similar tone of voice.
"Now since when does your family have enough money to just throw around betting Rose?" I teased lightly. As soon as the words left my mouth however, I realized that the joke was in poor taste. It was the sort of remark I would have made at the start of first term, back when I still disliked Rose, not now. I knew very well that while Rose's grandparents had, had to live extremely modestly, her parents both held high ministry positions and were doing quite well. The look on Rose's face told me that she was not amused. Her left brow was arched, her jaw was clenched and she was pursing her lips.
Unsure of myself, I glanced around awkwardly before dropping my gaze down onto my completed essay. From across the table, I heard Rose sigh in a frustrated manner before she picked up her quill and began working once more. Clearly just because we were friends now it did not mean that we were immune from truly irritating each other.