DISCLAIMER: I don't own Rose, Scorpius, Al or shocking things. I do, however, own Bea. :)

Getting it Right.

Blurb …

Rose and Scorpius share a hate/hate relationship. So everyone thought. Even Rose and Scorpius themselves. It just took them a while to get anything right. :ScorpiusRose postDH NextGen:

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR: The Shocking One.

Twelfth Night was a huge success, if the reaction of Hogwarts was anything to go by! The following Monday, it was all anyone could talk about. However, when we got to our Muggle Studies class for the day, none of us would speak a word. We were all too nervous at Professor Finch's judgement; was our performance good enough to keep Muggle Studies going?

"We did great, Bea," I muttered under my breath and Bea nodded. But I could tell she wouldn't believe it until Professor Hanson said it. I knew I wouldn't believe it.

It was only the second time Professor Hanson had walked into a completely silent classroom, the first being when we had discovered her and Professor Ackerly snogging behind the stage backdrop. Only this time was much more serious.

I felt my insides fill with dread at the look on Professor Hanson's face. It was one of someone trying to look cheerful, but clearly hiding her sadness.

"… Professor?" Amy asked bravely when Professor Hanson eventually reached her desk. "What's … what's the verdict?"

I guess we were all hoping she'd burst into a cheer, tell us she was just tricking, and that we got to keep Muggle Studies after all. But she didn't.

"Everyone," she said, morosely. "You all did absolutely wonderful on Saturday. You were all brilliant and I'm so proud of you. Professor Finch loved you."

"Yeah, not enough, apparently," Libby muttered under her breath to Geraldine.

Professor Hanson heard her and shot Libby a look. "It was enough. He said we get to keep Muggle Studies."

I wanted to cheer, but Professor Hanson's face was telling me that there was more to the story. Nobody said anything.

"… but isn't that good, Professor?" Nancy Carter asked, eventually.

"Well, yes and no," Professor Hanson sighed and leaned forward. "Look, everyone, this is the deal. Professor Finch loved Twelfth Night, but he is afraid that we spent too much time practicing and not enough class time studying for your O.W.L's. He's afraid that the result of the play will be lower test results."

There was uproar at this.

"What?!"

"Pardon?" Harley said in disbelief.

"That's not fair!" Parker agreed.

"We've done nothing but study all year!" Toby said, outraged.

"To be honest, Toby, not as much as we could've done," Professor Hanson said, cutting over our complaints. "This is my fault of course – I shouldn't have encouraged it–"

"Professor, if it was anyone's fault, it's mine," Leanne Kite said. "I suggested we perform the play!"

"Well, Parker's the one who didn't understand it, it's his fault!"

"It's none of your faults!" Professor Hanson cut in before things got out of hand (again). "But this means that … well, in order for Professor Finch to keep Muggle Studies as a subject here at Hogwarts, you all have to pass your O.W.L. at the end of the year."

There was silence.

"We … all have to pass?" Bea said, sounding like she didn't want to believe it.

"With A or higher," Professor Hanson confirmed, sadly.

"Geez, so no pressure or anything," Trevor muttered. I gave him a look that said I totally agreed with him.

"So I'm assuming that with all the work we've done, you should all pass the Muggle Literature part confidently," Professor Hanson said, getting down to business. "But we have a lot of work to do in the other areas! Right everyone, quills and parchment out! I want you all to copy this down …"

"I have been neglecting my work," Bea muttered to me, as we copied down notes about Muggle Transportation. "The entire play, I just ignored everything else and now this has happened! I'm an awful Ravenclaw!"

"No, you're not Bea, there's no such thing!" I said firmly, though I sort of agreed with her. Twelfth Night, not to mention all the other crap I've been through since the year started, had taken up a lot of my study time. "Let's face it, a lot's happened this year. You've just had other stuff to think about."

"What, you mean Al?" Bea snorted. "Yes, falling in love is definitely an excuse to not do work."

"Bravo, that was a brilliant display of sarcasm!"

"I learnt from the best," Bea was smiling, but it was clear that she was forcing it for my sake. My best friend was absolutely miserable and I didn't think it was just because of the sudden added pressure of passing Muggle Studies. "Look, Rosie, it doesn't matter," she continued. "I was always wasting my time with Al anyway. I should just forget it. He has a girlfriend and bloody fancies someone else!"

"Are you kidding me?" I said. That's it. It was time to turn into Agony Aunt Rosie. "Al is a bloke. His brain turns to sawdust whenever girls are concerned! You haven't seen him from my point of view over the years and I swear, Al has feelings for you. You want to know why he wants to get with Rachelle so badly? To prove to you that he actually likes her, because you're right every time you accuse him of not really being into it!"

Bea stared hard at me for a moment. "Really?"

"Oh, you can't make this stuff up," I grinned. "He tried to deny it, but then admitted that he was sick of trying to convince you. The thing is, he's trying to convince you because he loves you and doesn't want you to find out!"

When Bea continued to look sceptical, I sighed and added, "Look, Bea, you're his best friend. That's got to count for something!"

"Have you ever fallen for your best friend, Rosie?" Bea asked me.

Uhhh – er, well, I wouldn't call him my, y'know, best friend …

"Not really," I said, hoping that didn't sound too much like a question.

"Exactly," Bea said. "It's not a picnic, Rosie! All I know is that there are all these feelings and I don't know what to do with them! Then there's the whole wrecking the friendship thing! I'd probably do anything if it means I get to stay with him."

Bea didn't know it, but I could empathise a lot better than she thought.

Pretty much, I had been avoiding Malfoy ever since the play ended. If things were awkward after the Pointless Ball, it was nothing compared to how it was now!

I just didn't understand it. How had this happened?! As a person, Scorpius Malfoy was just an arrogant prick! He was cocky, up himself, irritating, knew exactly what pissed me off and used it to his advantage! I'd spent the past four and a half years writing essays for him against my will, making stupid bets with him, unwillingly helping him study, giving him girl advice and spending every hour of every day as the subject of all his insults!

And my heart just decided that that was the bloke I was going to fall in love with?! HELL BLOODY NO!

I had hated him for so long, it was no wonder I didn't figure it out until now. After I'd come to this stunning conclusion about my feelings, I'd thought back to several moments over our disastrous relationship and recognised moments that clearly indicated that I'd felt this for him, even back then; hell, my jealousy towards any girl he spoke to wasn't clue enough? And I call myself a Ravenclaw!

I'd also been rather shocked by the sheer intensity of it. I mean, it had been so long since I'd actually liked someone that I'd just figured I had likely forgotten what it really felt like. This feeling was familiar, but hell, sometimes it made me just want to curl up and die. I mean, I was barely sixteen! Who the hell falls in love this young?!

So all of this added up to the definite conclusion that, naturally, I should avoid Malfoy until we finally left the castle in three and a half years. However, in Defence Against the Dark Arts, I obviously couldn't get away, so I therefore spent most of those lessons sitting as far away from him as possible, trying to ignore my hammering heart, while on the inside, I would slam my head into the desk, saying, "Why me? Why me?"

So a week continued in which we studied non-stop for Muggle Studies and I managed to keep up the avoidance train like Malfoy was the plague. I had a small hope that maybe, just maybe, what I felt for him would just go away, but if anything, it seemed to get worse! I was pretty sure love was just making up the rules as it went along and in the end, it got to the point where I even considered writing a letter home to Dad.

Oh, yes. I have gone insane.

But I had other reasons as well; hell, Dad fell in love with his best friend and I hoped that he could give me a bloke's perspective on what Al was going through. Because, let's face it, any advice that I give is going to be utter crap. But mostly, it was all just an excuse to rant about Malfoy.

Unfortunately, I chickened out at the last second.

Dear Dad,

All is good here at wonderful Hogwarts! Hugo says hi and I must mention that Lily has stopped taking bets for nearly three weeks now; we're so proud of her! Claims she can quit any time she wants, but I've got the address for Gambler's Anonymous just in case.

Our play for Muggle Studies went really well! Seriously, it was all 'wherefore art thou?' or, more appropriately, 'I'll be revenge'd on the whole pack of you!' So do we get to keep Muggle Studies? Not even close. Professor Finch (the git) loved our play, but wasn't convinced we'd done enough work and now, in order to keep Muggle Studies, we all have to pass our O.W.L.s! Everyone is freaking out, but I'm a Ravenclaw. I'm sure I can manage.

Ok. All of that was just me rambling before I could get to the main reason I'm sending this letter. This needs to be kept in confidence! Dad, I know in your opinion girls should not be interested in boys until they are thirty and ready to give you grandkids, but I'm afraid there is trouble afoot in the boy department.

You see,

I stopped there, not knowing how to phrase my situation without Dad exploding. Why the hell was I sending this to Dad? While Mum might've been the safer option, I don't think I could stomach her 'ooh, Rosie likes a boy!' voice (which, yes, you can totally hear through a letter). Dad told it like it is. Should I even mention that I was talking about Scorpius Malfoy?

In the end, I gave up and told him about Bea.

You see, I've been asked for advice and I have no idea what to say. You remember my friend, Bea? She came and visited us during one summer and she's gone and fallen for Al (I know! Of all people!). Thing is, he's her best friend, and she's kind of sending me crazy because she doesn't know what to do about it.

So I figured, you fell in love with Mum and she was your best friend, right? Well, from what you've told me. I don't think I need all the details. But coming from a bloke who's already been there and apparently gotten it right (hell, you're married and have two stunning, wonderful children!) what should I tell Bea to do? Or Al for that matter, because at this point in time, all I want to do is kick him up the arse! That, or force their heads together, yelling 'Kiss! Kiss!'

Please, help me be a good friend and conspire to get my best mates together without me kicking them.

And before you ask: no, there is no 'boy I have a fancy eye on'. C'mon, Dad, who the bloody hell says that?

Thank you and love you!

Rosie. xox

When I got Dad's reply a couple of days later, however, I had clearly not realised how much he could bloody read through my words.

Dear Rosie,

Congratulations on your play! I'm sure it was marvellous; you would've been a wonderful Viola (that was your character, right?). Don't worry, I'm sure you'll pass your exam. You've always had your mother's brains! Good thing you didn't turn out like me, or you'd be finding your own Hermione somewhere to force her to help you.

And don't worry, your mother hasn't seen this letter. How could I forget Bea Bowmen? You talk about her non-stop! And you know, I sort of got the feeling that she had a thing for Al! I remember seeing them at that family barbeque we had during the summer she stayed with you and they kind of reminded me of myself and your mum. Should've been my first clue!

Anyway. I suppose this is the part where I try and give you amazing advice. Thing is, Rosie, I had no idea what I was doing with your mum! Actually, I had no idea what I was doing with girls in general. I guess it all just depends on how strong her feelings are. I know you don't want to read my ramblings of how in love your parents were when they were your age, but I'm afraid it proves my point. See, I was a bit dense back then (not now, of course) and I didn't really figure out the extent of how much I felt for her until I was about sixteen. Your mum always said she was fourteen. Sometimes, I wonder what might have happened if I'd figured it out sooner, but really, I think it would have been a disaster. I was not, in any shape or form, ready for a relationship back then! Your mum would attest to that.

Merlin, I think that's the longest paragraph I've ever written! Look what you're doing to me, girl! But back to my long, rambling point: if Bea is sure that this isn't going to pass, that it's not just an attraction that will go away after a while, then why the hell shouldn't she go for it? One thing you can do, Rosie, is give Al that well-needed kick up the backside to straighten him out. Who knows? Maybe he'll come to his senses and go for it first!

Ok, yeah. Bit too hopeful there.

But life's too short to waste time. I grew up in the middle of a war. People eloped all the time! (No, that's not my advice! I think my sister would kill me if she found out I was the one who encouraged her sixteen-year-old son to elope!).

So I wish Bea luck! Oh, and Rosie, I can see right through your little charade. There's a boy you have your fancy eye on, isn't there?

Love you, my darling daughter!

Dad.

His advice was rather helpful for Bea, but not exactly for me, which was the entire reason why I tried writing to him in the first place! All in all, it was not the best week.

I told Bea my dad's advice in whispers as we worked in the library the very morning I had received it. Al was off gallivanting around with Maya and Madam Pince was busy telling students off for breathing loudly, so we were reasonably safe from being overheard by anyone who mattered.

"Are you bloody nuts?!" Bea hissed once I had told her dad's advice. "I can't just tell him!"

"It's either that or never tell him," I said back. "You could just keep it bottled in, never saying it until the day Al moves away to some exotic land to loll around on beaches with Rachelle, or until you die! Whichever comes first!"

"Way to cheer me up, Rosie," Bea said, hiding her face on her arms that were resting on the table we worked at.

"I'm sorry," I said, rubbing her back soothingly. "But I do agree with Dad. It might not seem like it half the time, but he knows what he's talking about."

"But your mum loved your dad back," Bea pointed out. "and there weren't any girlfriends or boyfriends in the way!"

"God forbid," I muttered. "Look, my mum had no idea what Dad's reaction would be. Uncle Harry tells the story a lot, I think in the end, she got fed up and just snogged him on the spot."

"So that's it!" Bea said sarcastically, sitting up and knocking my hand away. "I just go up to Al and snog his pants off?"

"Er … yes?"

"Brilliant," Bea said. She stretched her arms then, before seeming to think of something and giving me a truthfully scary grin. "And throughout all this," she said to me now. "there's absolutely no one you fancy?"

My insides lurched as my thoughts turned to Malfoy. Ohhh, great, now I feel sick. Trying hard not to panic, I shook my head at once. "No, Bea, I don't. Honestly, though, it's been so long that I think I've forgotten what the hell it feels like, so what on earth do I know?"

Bea snorted with laughter. "It's not simple, I can tell you that."

"Lord, that I remember."

"Who was the last person you liked, anyway?" Bea asked then.

Oh, dear. I actually had to struggle to remember. "I remember liking Teddy when I was eleven," I said, thinking back. "But let's face it, that wasn't exactly serious. I suppose I kind of liked Trevor, but I was never exactly into that, was I? I had a bit of a thing for a Gryffindor in Al's class last year, but it passed rather quickly. Honestly?" I added. "I think my love life's been pretty pathetic. I don't do anything other than homework now."

Bea managed to laugh at that statement. I couldn't believe I was lying to my best friend, but it had unfortunately come to that!

"You're no more pathetic than I am," Bea said. I wasn't sure if she believed me or not, but I would concentrate on that when it came to it. "But you are right, we'd better finish this damn essay, or Professor Hanson'll have our heads."

I agreed and pulled my own homework towards me. Ever since we'd realised that we had to pass our exam in order to keep Muggle Studies, Professor Hanson had been throwing homework at us, left, right and centre. Most of our class looked about ready cry these days, but strangely enough, no one complained. It seemed that we were all too determined to do our best for Professor Hanson that no one even thought of moaning and groaning.

Working silently at our table, I thankfully managed to get my mind into the work zone for about fifteen minutes. I actually maintained normal heart rates when I was concentrating on homework! But then someone approached our table and when I glanced up absently, my chest exploded and I froze.

Holy god, Malfoy. Of course.

He stood there, seeming about as awkward as I felt, avoiding my gaze and looking like he was trying to hide his face underneath his fringe. Since I was still completely tongue-tied, it was Bea who first raised an eyebrow and said roughly,

"What?"

"I wanted to talk to Weasley," he answered, shooting Bea a look.

Oh, lord. This wasn't – crap, I couldn't handle this! What was he going to say?! Still in shock from him turning up in the first place, I didn't even have the sense to try and come up with escape routes: I was just finishing up, sorry I'm heading to dinner now, I've got to go feed Layla, I hate you … come on, Rosie! Anything will do!

Unfortunately, all my mind managed to get out was, "Um … talk?"

"Yes," Malfoy answered, shortly. He sat down in the chair adjacent to mine and glared at Bea. "I would, however, like to talk to her without you listening in."

"Yeah, yeah, got it, Malfoy," Bea huffed. She gathered up her books and parchment with her half-finished essay on it, before giving me a tell me everything later look and disappearing. I had to supress a giggle when she not-so-subtly bashed Malfoy round the head with one of her books. Bea really was the best friend a girl could have.

Suddenly, that was when the situation I was in actually hit me. I was simultaneously pissed off and somewhat aroused when I realised that I was sitting at a table in the library with Malfoy … alone. In fact, we were barely ten feet away from the spot where Malfoy had once seduced me.

Ohhhh, damn it.

"What d'you want, Malfoy?" I asked, hoping I sounded disgruntled enough. I was kind of annoyed he was cutting into my study time, so it wasn't exactly all put on.

"Okay, listen," Malfoy said, dropping all pretences and suddenly looking desperate. I glanced sideways at him despite myself and to my utter surprise, I realised that he was … well, embarrassed. "Quite frankly, I can't believe I've resorted to this, but I need your help."

"Come again?"

"I need to pass my Muggle Studies exam!" Malfoy explained. "Not only will my mum kill me if I fail, but Professor Hanson will lose her job and we will lose one of our favourite subjects!"

I was actually touched at the tenderness in his voice. He actually cared about keeping Muggle Studies; he wasn't only interested in passing for his sake. Although, that wasn't exactly helping me hate him anymore, so I was quick to ignore his sentimental reasons and simply blurted out,

"So what?"

"So what?" Malfoy repeated, indignantly. "C'mon, Weasley, you know. I'm asking for your help! Let's face it, we both know that I suck at studying and you're … er, yeah," He trailed off, awkwardly. He seemed reluctant to start raving compliments about me, which I'll admit I was thankful for. If he started commending how brilliant I was at studying, I might just have a Twelfth Night flashback and snog him on the spot.

In in the end, I was quiet for so long that Malfoy simply huffed in annoyance and simply stood up to leave. "Hang on, where are you going?" I found myself calling out before he had even taken several steps.

"Back to the Slytherin Common Room, Weasley," Malfoy said, sounding resigned. "I don't know why the hell I bothered, since it's clear that you are content to just watch me fail–"

"I'll do it."

Malfoy spun around to face me. "You what?"

"I'll do it … um, apparently," I added, since I had absolutely no idea where those words had come from. The sight of Malfoy leaving had kind of sent my brain into a meltdown and before I was even aware, my mouth was talking!

Malfoy hesitantly sat down next to me once more. "You're serious?" he said. "I mean, you don't have to–"

"You were the one who asked!"

"Yeah, but I didn't actually think you would say yes!" Malfoy said, looking sceptical. "If you're doing this just to screw up my answers–"

"Oh, come on, I thought you knew me better than that," I scoffed. I had realised that I had made a mistake in saying yes so quickly, so to try and turn the heat down, I added, "Look, I love Muggle Studies as well and I don't want to see it go. If you fail, we all fail. So, yes, I'll help you."

For a moment, Malfoy didn't say anything. Then … he smirked.

Oh, lord. I didn't realise how much I'd missed that until I saw it once more.

"Brilliant!" he said, turning and swinging his bag off his shoulder, letting it fall to the table with a loud thump. Of course he smashed it on top of all of my books, so I was forced to jump backwards as I let out a protesting sound. "Now, I basically haven't looked at any of this since we last studied, so I'm afraid you may have your work cut out for you – how about we start with that essay that's due tomorrow?"

"Malfoy, you've got to be bloody kidding if you think I'm going to write it for you," I said at once.

"Weasley, I would never!" he gasped, dramatically. "… just let me look at yours?"

"No!" I cried. "Besides, what makes you think I've done it?"

Malfoy just snorted. "Weasley," he said with all the air of believing himself the reasonable one. "Come on."

"No."

"Weasley–!"

"No!" I yelled again. "I said I would help you study, not help you cheat–!"

However, that was when there suddenly came an extremely terrifying, "Ahem," from behind one of the nearest shelves. I hadn't even realised how close Malfoy and I had gotten in our argument until now, when we were practically nose to nose. Turning, we both noticed that Madam Pince had been stalking the shelves, probably listening into our entire conversation and just waiting for it to turn violent so she could throw us out again.

"Now," the old hag began, viscously. "I have completely had it with you two, but apparently, I am 'unauthorised' to ban you from the library for the rest of your miserable years here," she gave an irritated sigh at that and grumbled, "Only been working here for over forty years …" She continued with, "But I can still throw you out for short periods of time! I've done it before and I won't hesitate to do it again! So I'm warning you both: if there are any raised voices, funny business or otherwise, you will be out of here in three seconds flat! Got it?!"

Too red to say anything, I simply nodded while Malfoy just looked horribly embarrassed once more.

"Good!" Madam Pince snapped, before stalking off.

"… that woman needs to get out more," Malfoy said, warily.

When I met up with Bea once more at dinner, it was to find her looking incredibly uncomfortable and eating by herself.

"What the hell is up with you?" I asked, sitting down next to her.

Bea shot me a look, but then her face lit up as she exclaimed, "Rosie! Good, tell me what happened, what did Malfoy want with you?!"

I sighed. I should have known that I would get no answer out of her. There was no deterring Bea once she got going. "It was nothing, really," I insisted, more to get her off my back than anything. "He just wanted me to help him study for Muggle Studies."

Bea stared for a moment. "… I don't believe it."

"It's true."

"I still don't believe it."

"We used to study together all the time!" I said, exasperatedly. "How is this different?"

"Maybe because you guys have been weird?" Bea pointed out. "Which reminds me, you never really explained what that was all about. Seriously, why is Malfoy suddenly coming to you for help now?"

"Muggle Studies, Bea!" I pointed out. "If he fails, we all fail, it's the only reason I'm doing it. So!" I added in a brighter voice. I noticed Bea suddenly turned back to her dinner plate. Yeah, like that's going to stop me from talking. "What makes you sit here eating by yourself like you're afraid of anyone noticing you?"

"Well …" Bea's voice trailed off under the hasty gulping of Pumpkin Juice. When she continued eating without saying another word, I complained,

"Aw, come on! What's happened?! Did Al–?"

"Oh, it's not something Al did!" Libby's cheerful voice said. She and Jo were quick to join us, both girls throwing themselves onto the bench opposite us. "This time, Bea was the one to cause all the drama!"

"What the bloody hell happened?" I asked, wide-eyed.

"Seriously, we don't have to talk about this–" Bea began, hastily.

"It was flipping epic!" Jo cried, taking no notice of Bea's words. "We were all in the joint common room, right? Al was in there, snogging his girlfriend, and that's when Bea decided to go bloody nuts!"

"Oh, dear lord," I said.

"Oh, yes!" Libby continued the story as Bea hid her head in her hands. "It was like something just snapped, 'cause the next thing we knew, she was storming over and yelling for all she was worth! You should've seen her, Rosie, you would've been so proud," she added.

"The words that came out of her mouth!" Jo continued with a snigger. "Who would've thought our little innocent Bea had it in her?"

"Not me, clearly," I answered in bewilderment. Hell, in the end, I felt nothing but shock! "Bea, what in Merlin's name did you say?"

Bea just shook her head and didn't answer.

"I believe," Libby said. "it was something along the lines of, 'You, Maya, are a clingy, overprotective,'–"

"Don't forget 'whiny'," Jo put in.

"Right, 'whiny idiot, who can't see a good thing sitting right in front of her'," Libby gave a laugh again, as I stared at Bea, who was actually so embarrassed she was turning about seven shades of red (which, coming from Bea, was rather extreme). "But wait – there's more! 'Al obviously doesn't deserve you, seeing as you are a pathetic, brain-dead'–"

"Ok, I think she gets it!" Bea cut in loudly, causing Libby and Jo to shake with laughter. I just let out an astonished laugh.

"Bea, you said that?"

"I didn't know what came over me!" Bea said, desperately.

"It gets better," Libby added then.

"Oh, of bloody course it does," Bea muttered.

When I just waved for Libby and Jo to continue, the former said, "After that rather brazen announcement, Al then yelled at Bea what the hell she thought she was doing. Note, he didn't exactly say she was wrong. Bea then proceeded to explain exactly why she thought Al was just as bad as Maya–"

"If I remember correctly, the line went, 'You never learn, do you? I've told you time and time again that I have a problem with you using people and you continue to ignore it! It's been there all this time and you've never noticed'!"

"Finishing with, 'and I don't expect you ever will'," Libby grinned.

Bea was looking positively mortified at this. "How the hell did you managed to remember all that?" she asked, faintly.

"How could we forget?" Libby snorted.

I wasn't sure whether to be mad at the fact that she'd yelled at my cousin, or frustrated at the fact that still nothing seemed to have come from it!

"… if it's any consolation, I'm fairly certain he hates me," she said, quietly.

"Bea, I don't hate you, and neither could Al," I said at once. "You were driven to a breaking point, yes, but I don't blame you for lashing out. Although, I wish you had waited so I could see it!"

"I've screwed up everything!" Bea moaned, hiding her face once more. "I was afraid of going there because I didn't want to ruin our friendship, but I've ruined it anyway! I never even got to kiss him again!"

"Which reminds me," Libby said, promptly turning to Jo. "You totally owe me five Sickles."

I have to admit, the drastic measures that Bea was driven to kind of worried me. If that's what happened to her, what the hell would happen to me?!

Naturally, things didn't go so well after dinner.

Al had disappeared from the Great Hall before I could talk to him. Therefore, once Bea and I reached the joint common room (Bea, admittedly, rather against her will for fear of running into my cousin) it was for me to notice Al walking towards us, clearly heading for the door. He didn't seem to have realised that Bea and I were in his way. In fact, when the two did notice each other, both stopped dead, standing several feet away and staring.

Ok, I'm going to go on record and say that if nothing happens because of this, I will most likely scream.

"Al," Bea said, quietly. "Hey."

"Hey," he said back in an equally low voice.

They continued to stand there awkwardly, so I like to think I did them a favour by shoving Bea closer, then moving to the back of the nearest sofa to watch the carnage. My two best friends both shuffled their feet and avoided looking at each other, until apparently Bea couldn't take it anymore and she exclaimed,

"I'm sorry I screamed at Maya, ok?"

Al raised an eyebrow. "But not sorry for screaming at me?"

"Ok, while Maya perhaps is a little in the dark about all this and didn't deserve everything I said, you did!" Bea huffed. It was rather unnatural to see Bea so agitated! I mean, this isn't a girl who gets angry easily (not like her beautifully temperamental best friend). I kept half expecting Bea to explode any second. "You're being a colossal idiot about this whole thing!"

"Bea, I don't get why you're so mad at me!" Al said, completely exasperated. "Yeah, ok, I've sort of been stringing a girl along, but it's got nothing to do with you!"

"It's everything to do with me!"

"How?"

"Al, I'm your best friend!" Bea cried. "Believe it or not, I care about you, and I hate seeing you manipulating people like this! You're only going to hurt someone in the end! Hell, you've already hurt me!"

It was clear from the look on her face that she hadn't meant for that to come out. Al looked slightly horrified for a second, before asking in a much lower voice,

"How … how have I hurt you?"

"Al …" Bea glanced away; she accidentally caught my eye, still watching them with avid attention, and I noticed that she was trying to hold back tears. Then, she turned back to Al and said, steadily, "I'm in love with you! There! It's out, I can't un-say it," she added, letting out a long breath. "Honestly, I thought it was obvious, but turns out it was obvious to every person in this bloody castle except for you!"

Al was simply staring at Bea. Clearly, he hadn't expected this! Libby and Jo had followed Bea and me from the Great Hall and hadn't really been paying attention up until this point … but Bea's words were, naturally, enough to make them practically leap onto the sofa behind me and lean over my shoulders to watch, almost laughing. While not talking overly loud, several people within the vicinity had noticed what Bea had said and were now trying to subtly watch the scene from behind books or their mates' backs.

… and Al was still staring. Hell, at this rate, we weren't going to get anywhere with this!

We might have all stood there all day if I hadn't have given him a good kick in the leg. "Ow!" he yelped at the sudden contact, shooting me a glare. Then, when I gestured back to our best friend, he looked at Bea once more.

"I – God …" he managed to say. "Bea …"

"I know, it's ridiculous!" Bea cried, cutting him off. "I mean, you've never once shown the slightest interest in me, so I should have expected this, right? But I couldn't help it, it just happened, and Rosie was no help! She seems to be under the impression that we should just get married and have a million kids, so what the hell does she know, right?"

"Hey!" I called.

"You stay out of this!" Bea yelled back.

"You …" Al suddenly said, still looking like the world had imploded. His world probably had. "Bea … you're honest to god in love with me?"

"Look, what are you waiting for?" Bea said, folding her arms with a scowl. "Just turn me down and get it over with! I know I'm no Maya, hell, I don't even bloody compare to Rachelle! And I'm sorry I've ruined everything, I swear I can try and still be your mate, I don't want to lose you, I've always been afraid of the idea of losing you, and–"

"I'm in love with you, too!"

I felt my mouth open with shock. Libby and Jo both shrieked like the little fan-girls that they were as it was Bea's turn to stare. Al was looking incredibly surprised at what had come out of this mouth, but nevertheless, he didn't take it back.

"I'm sorry, but what?" Bea said, her mind clearly blown.

"Um …" Al winced at the obvious hesitation in his voice. "I apologise, I didn't mean to yell that."

"Can I interrupt this moment to say WHAT THE HELL?!" I cried and both Al and Bea turned to look at me. "You mean to tell me that you've have feelings for Bea this ENTIRE BLOODY TIME?! WHY THE HELL HAVEN'T YOU DONE ANYTHING ABOUT IT?!"

"Hey! In all fairness, I figured it out roughly thirty seconds ago!" Al put in.

"Seriously?" Bea asked and he turned his attention back to her.

"I … seriously," Al muttered. Bea didn't say anything in answer for several moments, so Al moved forward hesitantly, prodding her on the shoulder. "Er … Bea, are you all right?"

"No," Bea said, bluntly. "No, in fact, I'm fairly certain I'm having a bloody heart attack! You're … god, you're in love with me?"

"Erm, I can't really deny it, can I?" Al said, weakly. I gave a snort of laughter and they both turned to glare at me.

"No, you can't," Bea said.

"Well, then … Bea, I love you."

Bea nodded. I saw her hide a full-blown grin by saying, "I guess I … well, I kind of … love you, too."

"Oh, okay," Al said. Bea gave a smile and … well, nothing.

They didn't say anything else.

They just stood there.

Looking awkward.

"'Oh, okay'?!" I yelled exasperatedly, not able to help myself. "That's all you're going to say? You've got to be kidding me! Al, you love that girl! For Merlin's sake, do something!"

"Like what?" Al said angrily, rounding on me.

"Er, just putting it out there, you could ask me out?" Bea said, helpfully.

"Exactly!" I said, gesturing to Bea. "You could ask her out!"

"But–"

"HEY! Hello?!"

We all turned to see Maya Wilson standing all but a few feet away, hands on her hips and glaring between both Al and Bea.

Oh, right! I forgot about her.

"Maya!" Al said, as if he'd only just remembered her too. "Look, I'm seriously sorry about all this, but … well, you're chucked."

"What?!"

Bea had to throw a hand over her mouth to stifle her snigger and exchanged an amused glance with me. I was stunned to see her eyes; they were lit up like I'd never seen them before.

"You're chucking Maya for me?" she asked through her fingers. She sounded positively ecstatic, yet disbelieving, like she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Al gave a small smile as he shrugged. "Yeah," he said at once. "Only took me a while," He turned to Maya, who was still standing there, shell-shocked. "I'm terribly sorry Maya, but I really don't fancy you like that. I hope … erm …" He trailed off, since the whole 'I hope we can still be mates' thing clearly wasn't going to work in this scenario. Maya simply shrieked in annoyance before shooting both of my best friend's venomous glares and stalking off out of the joint common room.

Libby and Jo actually applauded.

"You've been trying to chuck Maya for ages," Bea noted, sounding proud.

"I needed that push," Al answered. I noticed that he had taken another step towards her, so they were now much closer than they would normally stand. "The idea of losing you … that just made me snap. How I managed to convince myself I never liked you, I'll never know!"

"You know, you still haven't asked me out," Bea added, taking her own step forward. Al looked highly terrified at the thought, but the next words to come out of his mouth were,

"… you wanna go out?"

"I'll consider it," Bea smirked. Then, she reached up and yanked behind Al's head with her hands to kiss him. I wasn't the only one who cheered as Al was quick to kiss her back, arms wrapping themselves around her waist, and the grins beneath their lips plain to see.

"Hells yeah, Al and Bea!" Libby cried.

"Halleluiah!" Jo added.

"I believe that's more money you owe me," I heard a familiar voice say. I snapped my head around to see Malfoy smirking at me from the other side of the sofa.

It took me several moments for my head to focus from the spectacular show before me, to the bloke I reluctantly had feelings for. When it did, I felt my forehead crinkle in confusion. Was there some other bet we had made that I'd forgotten about?

"What the hell are you–? Oh, crap!" I said, hitting my forehead as I suddenly remembered.

"The Master of Observation doesn't reveal his secrets!"

"You're full of crap, you know that, right?"

He snorted. "I still won that bet."

"Fine!" I said. "I bet ten Galleons that Al Potter and Bea Bowmen will never go out, fall for each other or anything along those lines!" I held out my hand. "Deal?"

Malfoy grinned. "Deal."

~The Fourth One.

I couldn't believe that was yet another bet lost to the Great and Glorious Malfoy! Libby and Jo seemed more interested in watching the Al and Bea Show (not that I could blame them), so I shrugged out from under their arms to turn and lean against the back of the sofa.

"How the hell do you managed to always win these things?" I complained.

"Master of Observation, Weasley," Malfoy smirked. "I guess this means that Sir Toby and Maria are together in the end after all. I mean, they may as well have been singing to the high heavens what they felt for each other, as obvious as it was!"

"Oh, I'll give you singing," I scowled.

"Please, do!" Malfoy's smirk, if possible, became even more insufferable. "For if music be the food of love, my dear Viola, play on."

Then, he abruptly turned and walked away to where his mates were all crowded together in a corner of the joint common room. I swear, he walked like that just for the sole purpose of getting me to stare at his arse. I couldn't help it! I barely even remembered the snog fest going on behind me.

I'm quite certain that Scorpius Malfoy is the only person in the world to render my entire thought processes into one word:

… whaaat?

Conclusion to being forced to pass Muggle Studies, as well as when your two best friends admit they love each other:

-I know exactly how Uncle Harry felt when my parents got together! Pleased, yet slightly weirded out.

-Make sure you have a calming draught at the ready, because we've had one panic attack already, due to the stress of Muggle Studies. I don't think Libby's been to sleep longer than half an hour at a time since the announcement! Poor girl.

-Malfoy is too damn perceptive for his own good. And is confusing me with the Twelfth Night references.

-While rather shocking at first, I think Al and Bea will be bloody amazing together.

Rose: 34, Malfoy: 33, Al and Bea: 1.

(They deserve a point for finally getting it right).

A/N: Updated, 2013: As my younger sister said when she first read this part: Al and Bea EFFTEEDUBS! It's really not GIR World without our Al and Bea.

I hope you all enjoyed the intrepid journey that was those two; now, there is much more to come! Please, let me know what you thought. :)

Until next time -

- Moon. : D