Rose stood up rigidly and brought herself up to her full height. Gripping her beater bat and broom, her palms were sweating. Scorpius was taller than her but she would not give in. Everyone was watching the two of them, shocked, as they eyed each other, in silence. What would happen now? Neither of them said anything. Rose breathed deeply. She had had enough. Glaring at him for a final time, she spun on her heel and without as much as a whisper, stalked past her fellow Quidditch players, out of the locker room. Sarah attempted to grab her hand but she shoved past her. She paused for barely a moment as she glanced over at one of their chasers, a girl with dark brown hair and kind eyes who had been watching her intently all this while.
"I'm sorry again Angelina." she murmured and then she was gone. Angelina watched her go a little sadly. She had forgiven Rose the moment she had seen her face when they had lost the match. Rose had never wanted what had happened. It had been an accident.
"Weasley! Come back here now! You are yet to be dismissed!" Rose heard Scorpius' voice call out. It was filled with anger, contempt and frustration. Of course it was. After all, it was Scorpius addressing her. He acted so proud nowadays, just because he was Quidditch captain and the fact that they weren't friends anymore, did that mean he could boss her around? She was fed up with his leadership. So arrogant and cocky, just like he was in first year, like a child... She'd show him! She'd show all of them, Rose Weasley was not a caged animal that anyone could control. Not even Scorpius.
She drove his voice out of her head violently. She would not turn around. No matter what he said. Her pace quickened as her light footsteps echoed on the ground.
"Weasley!" she heard him call again and again. It was getting annoying. "I am your captain. Your Quidditch captain and I am ordering you to return to the locker room immediately! Failure to do so will result in disciplinary action!"
Rose wanted to shout that she didn't care at, Scorpius but she didn't have to. Barely a moment after Scorpius had shouted, she could hear Sarah's fading voice.
"Don't waste your breath. Rose won't come back Scorpius. You know her. Once she's angry, she loses all sense of reason..."
Of course Rose didn't appreciate the way Sarah had phrased her point but the bottom line was that no matter what, she was not going back to that locker room. After awhile, Scorpius' calls were no longer audible to her. As she got further and further away from the locker room, away from all the staring faces, away from the hurt and the pain, she felt an urgency build within her. She picked up her pace again, her brisk walk shifting to a small run. Still grabbing hold to her broom and bat, Rose could feel it. The emotion welling up. The tears that she had fought to hide back in the locker room were now flowing down her face. Her small run wasn't really small anymore. In fact now she was racing down the corridor, further and further down. She had to get away. Reaching the edge of the building, that led to the Slytherin tent on the edge of the Quidditch pitch, Rose ground to a halt. This tent was where all the Slytherin players waited for matches to start. Each house had their own tent on one of the four corners of the Quidditch pitch and behind those tents lay the house holding and locker rooms. Slowly she pushed aside the green and silver banners that decorated the flaps and made her way through the tent. Glancing around, she sighed. This was the place where Rose had spent so much of her time. From her first ever match briefing by Katie to where she had waited for the match to start this afternoon. But she would rather forget what had happened that afternoon.
Slowly, but without hesitation, Rose puled pack the flaps of the Slytherin tent and stepped out onto the school Quidditch pitch. It was drizzling. It had been about half an hour since the match had ended and there was hardly anyone left in the stands. The last few remaining people who had stayed behind to clear up the rubbish and stuff were now hurrying off, so as not to get caught in the rain. Rose didn't care though. She liked the rain. She began to walk, further and further onto the pitch. Glancing to her left, she saw the scoreboard, still hanging at the post. Rose winced as she read the score.
Hufflepuff-230
Slytherin-200
They blamed her. Her whole team. They blamed her for their loss. They had every reason to. Because it was true. It had been her fault that they had lost. But they didn't know the whole story. Rose did. And now thinking about it, Rose realised what a fool she had been to fall into the trap. The Hufflepuff beater had been banking on the trademark Weasley temper and she, Rose had certainly delivered. The game had started out fine. Scorpius had been off somewhere, Merlin knew where, following his bludger and Rose was chasing after another one. She had almost reached it when the Hufflepuff beater had come out of nowhere, almost knocking her off balance. As she had regained it, Rose had shot him a dirty look and had flown off. She hadn't realised that things were going to get a lot worse. About 15 minutes later, she had been flying around searching for the bludger when the same beater had called her name. Rose had turned to face him.
"What do you want?" she had called.
"Oh look at you, poor Rose Weasley!" he had sneered at her.
"I don't have time for mind games you git!"
"Of course you don't. All little Rosie wants, is to play Quidditch. But if I recall correctly, you don't play it very well. You always need someone to come help you out."
Rose had frowned at this. Who did he think he was, insulting her at her Quidditch skills? What did he know? As the Hufflepuff's blue eyes twinkled, Rose's had widened. It wasn't possible! But she recognised that twinkle anywhere. The shine in the eyes... It was the same Hufflepuff beater she had fought with on the pitch in her third year. The one who had tried to kill her with that bludger. Except this time, his female beater wasn't here with him! The female beater whose broom which had been smashed by a well aimed bludger, courtesy of Scorpius. So, what did this guy want? Revenge? Rose shuddered at the thought.
"Remember me now?" he asked, noting her recognition.
"What happened in the past shouldn't taint this game!" Rose warned.
"What fun would that be then?" he chuckled.
Un intentionally, the pair had begun, in mid air, to circle one another while on their brooms. Like cats.
"I'd love to see what Scorpius would do when I knock you off your broom. Maybe being the wimp of a captain that he is, he'll let you fall and break your spine! Or maybe when you hit the ground, because the sound will be so loud, your teammates will panic, thinking it's thunder and forfeit the game." he spat.
For Rose that was the last straw. Insult her? Fine. Insult her Quidditch skills? Fine. But to insult her captain and team? To insult their intelligence and courage? Definitely not fine!
Rose had seen red.
"You foul horrid disrespectful twerp!" she had shouted.
Sarah who had been zooming past on her broom with the quaffle had thrown her a concerned look but Rose had ignored her. Glancing around for a possible weapon to use on this git of a beater, Rose had spotted her bludger. Smiling to herself, Rose had flown towards it. She could recall how she had swung the bat, the strength she had used, the angle of her smack. The next thing she had known, the bludger had flown towards the Hufflepuff beater. He had been ready for her, of course. In no time at all, Rose had seen the bludger flying towards her. Taking another great swing at him, Rose had snarled in anger and frustration as it had missed him again. After several more whacks between them, Scorpius had noticed the drama from where he was, thanks to the match commentator's keen observation skills and had flown over to break up the fight. Rose remembered the furious expression on his face.
"Weasley stop it, this is childish!" he had shouted.
The Hufflepuff beater had snarled at this. "Ouch. Calls you Weasley not Rose? What happened to you guys?"
"Who is this clown?" Scorpius had asked.
"You smashed his friend's broom in third year. They were trying to knock me off mine and you smacked the bludger at her." Rose had shouted, having taken aim again.
Scorpius had taken a moment to process this.
"Hey!" he had called to the beater. "Knock it off jerk!"
"I don't think so! I'll stop when she does." he had called back.
"Stop!" Scorpius had barked at Rose. Rose, preoccupied with avoiding the bludger flying towards her had ignored him.
"STOP!"
Rose had glared at Scorpius in defiance and had taken one final swing with the bat. Just to prove her point. But that swing had caused more harm than she had imagined. The Hufflepuff beater had ducked just in time and the bludger had flown past him. Angelina, their own chaser had been in the direct line of fire. Rose had watched in horror and shock as Angelina's crumpled form had fallen from her broom. Scorpius had immediately sped of to catch her. But Rose still couldn't move. She had just hovered there in mid air as Scorpius had flown away. Luckily for Angelina, he had caught her just in time before she hit the ground, sparing her any injuries. Rose had sighed in relief but not before she had caught the eye of the Hufflepuff beater who had given her a satisfied smirk. In that moment, Rose had realised what a fool she had been. It had never been the beater's intention to hurt her. But rather, his goal had been for her to strike down one of her own and in consequence, to provide Hufflepuff an advantage to claim the match as their own. And claim it they did. Even though their seeker had caught the snitch, Angelina's absence had poked a major hole in the team's defense and as a result despite the points Slytherin had attained from the catching of the snitch, Hufflepuff had still emerged victorious.
Burying her head in her hands. Rose collapsed on the pitch in tears. This was her fault. She had ruined everything. She could still feel them, their accusing stares. As the whistle had blown, they had trudged back to the locker room in silence, with people pushing past her, annoyed. They had the right to be. All the way there, Rose had apologized over and over to Angelina, begging her forgiveness. She truly hadn't meant for anyone to get hurt. Angelina had taken her fall and their loss of the match a little better than Scorpius had and she had told Rose that she had forgiven her. At least that, Rose felt, had been a small comfort to her. Because it was Angelina's opinion that had mattered to her the most. As they had reached the locker room, Scorpius had wasted no time and had proceeded to publicly humiliate her.
"Selfish, immature, unthoughtful, un-sportsman like!" his words came flooding back to her.
Nobody had agreed with him. Nobody had spoken as he had told her off. But to Rose, she knew that they all secretly agreed with him. Perhaps even Sarah. So Rose had sat in silence as Scorpius had lectured her, as he had threatened her with disciplinary action as he had promised her that he would take the issue up with Madame Hooch. What else could she have done anyway? And finally once Scorpius had exhausted his anger, he had turned to the rest of the team. He had commended them that despite having the odds against them, they had played well. He reminded them to take Rose as an example, to never behave the way she had. That she was a bad example and that she should know better for someone of her age and experience. Rose had felt like a child in the locker room, being told off. Then he had turned his attention back to her again, his anger having been renewed and had proceeded to start ranting again. Rose had let him, intending to listen to him till he was done. But something he had shouted at her had changed her mind instantly.
"You think only about yourself Weasley! You have no loyalty to this team!" he had shouted.
That had been her breaking point. Rose had no loyalty? After she had defended them against that Hufflepuff beater. The only reason why she had fought with him was because he had insulted her team! And now to be told that she had no loyalty towards them? It crushed Rose. So she had stood up and she had left. And now she was here, in the rain, crying. It was a little pathetic, the way she was behaving, feeling sorry for herself. After all she wasn't exactly in the right. But then she had been hurt as well. A year ago, she couldn't have dared to imagine that Scorpius could shout at her the way he had minutes ago. She missed him. Scorpius. She missed their walks and talks. She missed his laugh. Now the only time he spoke to her was when he had comments on her Quidditch skills or when he was telling her off, like how he had been shelling the life of her just now. Her lost friendship with him was now just another complication in her life. One that Rose figured, would never go away. Scorpius and her had passed the point of no return months ago. It had been the day when Scorpius had called her "Weasley" not "Rose". Now he never called her by her first name anymore. Rose hated that. To her, he would always be Scorp. Why couldn't she be Rose to him?
Rose let out a wail as they rain began to get heavier. Her clothes and hair were completely soaked now. Her locks formed a dark auburn curtain over her face, covering her red and puffy eyes. She had lost everything. Right now, Rose just wanted to bury herself. What was the point when she had nothing left? She had lost her friends, the admiration and respect of her teammates was gone, probably her spot on the Quidditch team and her self respect. All gone. Just as Rose was about to plunge once more into her depressed thoughts, she heard Scorpius' voice.
"Hey Weasley!" he called running towards her.
Rose stared as he hurried towards her. Oh no, she thought to herself. The last thing she needed was another lecture from her captain.
"Go away!" she shouted. Standing up, she turned and ran away from him, taking her things with her, farther and farther towards the centre of the Quidditch pitch. A fog was building up there, as it usually did when it rained and Rose figured that she could hide in there.
"Wait!" she heard his voice again.
"Leave me alone!" she wailed, still running.
Reaching the centre of the pitch, she looked around. She couldn't see anyone partially because the rain and fog was obstructing her view. Wheeling around wildly, Rose searched for any signs of someone following her. Nothing, no movement. Rose relaxed and exhaled. Perhaps he had given up? But as soon as the thought passed through her mind, she saw a figure leap out of the fog and directly towards her. Screaming, Rose turned to run but Scorpius was too quick. He lunged for her knees and grabbed them, knocking her back to the ground. Rose struggled to get away but Scorpius held on to her, tightly. He didn't say anything. Rose tried to kick him but it was no use. He was still in his Quidditch gear and Rose could see that he was just as soaked as she was. Her broom lay several feet from her but her bat was a couple of inches from her hand. Clawing at the grass, Rose snatched her bat. Desperately she swung her bat at him. Scorpius snarled as he realised what she was doing and stopped the bat with his hand, the other one, on her knee, pinning her down.
"If you dare to swing your bat at your captain again, I will personally see to it that you never play Quidditch for the team again. Don't you think you've injured enough players Weasley!" he spat.
Rose made a high pitched cry. She didn't want to talk to him. She was crying and wailing now. She felt like a little lost girl in Diagon Alley. She wanted her mother. She wanted to be back at the Burrow, with her warm blankets, fluffy pillows and surrounded by her parents and away from all of this! Away from the cold, the rain and Scorpius. Scorpius seemed to ignore her pleas to let her go.
"As your captain I demand an explanation for you leaving the locker room without my permission!" he pressed.
Rose screamed in pain. Scorpius was perhaps accidentally, applying more pressure to her knee, bearing down on it. She thought it was going to snap in half with all the force. Like a tree twig. Was this his own form of torture? Could anyone hear her shrill cries for help?
"Tell me Weasley!" he shouted.
Rose gasped, her eyes blinking as the pain intensified.
"Stop calling me that!" she shouted.
For a second, Scorpius seemed taken off guard and he released the pressure on her leg. It was as if he hadn't realised he had been hurting her all this while, like he had been in a trance and his eyes seemed to flicker with recognition and fear. Seizing the opportunity, Rose shoved him with all the force she could muster and crawled to where her broom lay. Scorpius had fallen back on the ground. Rose could hear him muttering, almost to himself, "Sorry... lost control, sorry. I'm upset. Sorry. I'm so sorry..."
But Rose couldn't forgive him at the moment. Because right now she was preoccupied with the sharp pain in her leg. It felt like it was on fire. Slowly, she forced herself to stand up. Now Scorpius was the one on the ground and she had the height advantage. It felt good to be on top, physically for once.
"Stop calling you what?" Scorpius' tone was surprisingly different as he looked up at her.
"Weasley!" she managed to gasp out.
"Your name is Weasley..." he murmured.
"No!" she shouted. "My name is Rose! I'm ROSIE! Do you remember?"
Scorpius was just staring at her, gaping.
"I'm not just another teammate to you!" she wailed, beating her chest. "I'm Rose. Your friend." her voice was barely a whisper.
Scorpius blinked.
"Not anymore" he pointed out.
"Whose fault was that?" Rose spat.
This was it. This was the moment she had been waiting for. The pain in her leg had transferred itself to her heart. It was burning with anger and hatred. Adrenaline pumped through Rose. She had been longing to scream at him like this ever since she had caught him and Mel together. But she had never gotten the chance. She had wanted to tell him so many things and this was it! She wanted to tell him how betrayed she had felt, how hurt. To make him see what he had done. How he had ruined everything! Now was her chance. Seize it! She thought in her head. But somehow she couldn't... she couldn't question him. Because he was Scorpius. Her Scorpius who in her mind, was still the perfect idol she worshipped. She could not bear to delve into his flaws further that she already had, to uncover more unpleasantries. Scorpius, though had still not answered her question. Because he knew, in his heart that it was his fault. It was because of him that they were no longer friends... Slowly, with Rose's bat still in his hand, he stood up. Rose took several steps towards him. He took several towards her. Until their faces were inches apart. Rose stopped breathing for a moment.
"I made a mistake." he murmured. "I wanted to make you jealous."
"Well you got a lot more than you bargained for." she retorted.
"I'm sorry"
Rose blinked. The words seemed to have slipped out of his mouth. Scorpius' voice was choked with emotion. This had been unexpected. What had happened to shouting raving Scorpius? The madman who had ticked her off in the locker rooms? The merciless and ruthless captain who had nearly crushed her leg a mere minute ago. This was the Scorpius she knew. The one she had been searching for all this while. The gentle, loving and understanding Scorpius who cared for others and loved to make other people smile. This was her Scorpius.
"How could you do that to me?" she asked a little redundantly.
"I told you why. I broke up with Mel ages ago. It was just for over a month. I was silly. I didn't even like her... You were right when you said I used her. I just couldn't admit it."
"Why did you want to make me jealous?" Rose pressed even though she knew exactly why. She wanted to know, if he would tell her the truth. If he could admit everything now to her.
Scorpius looked away.
"I... don't know."
Rose sighed and broke eye contact with him. He wasn't going to admit it. She realised. No, he was Scorpius. He was too proud. Too self-absorbed to care about her. His feelings for her had been a passing phase for him, she despaired. She had just been a phase... Nothing special. Just plain old Rose. In fact right now, she couldn't believe she was having a conversation with him. After months of avoiding one another! They were chatting as if they were in fourth year again. Like nothing had changed between them. Burying their heads in the sand, as usual. Despite it all though, it felt good talking to him again.
"What happened to us Scorp?" Rose asked him.
He shrugged his shoulders.
"We did and said stupid things. We got angry..." he trailed off glancing at her knee.
Rose shook her head, noticing his gaze. The pain below had died down. "It's fine. Really."
Scorpius folded his arms and shook his head frustration. "It's not fine. Just because I have authority over you, doesn't mean that I have the right to hurt you. I'm sorry about that. I really am, I didn't want you to get hurt. But I do think you walking off like that was pretty disrespectful. You have to admit, you acted like a kid playing Quidditch for the first time out there... Rose."
Thinking about what he had done, how he had nearly crushed her leg, Scorpius had felt like a jerk. Because in that moment as he had bored down on her, Scorpius had been releasing not only his tension regarding the match but his anger at losing her, as a friend. It had been wrong for him to lose control of his emotions. And to take it out on her, it had been criminal. Having promised himself that he wouldn't hurt her, Scorpius was a bad keeper of promises. But still, he had not been able to fathom why Rose had acted the way she had on the pitch. She was usually so focused on the match. But since Rose had made no attempt to offer an explanation for her behaviour, he had decided not to push it, considering the circumstances.
Rose's heart leapt as she heard him say her name again after so long but she would not let it show.
"Apology accepted. But I will not apologise for walking out like that."
"Why not? I think it's only fair. We'll call it even then?"
"No I don't think so. Because unlike you, I can justify my actions. And what I did just now can't even be compared to what you did to hurt me, got it?"
The rain was lightening up and looking at Rose as the fog cleared, Scorpius could get a good view of her face now. The sun was shining on her face and her hair glistened with the fresh raindrops. Her tears were so painfully visible now and he had no greater urge than to wipe them from her beautiful face. But her controlled himself. Besides looking at her now, he knew he was not going to get an apology from her. She was right. How could he even think that her rudeness was equivalent to him dating Mel? The reason why he had done it, still escaped him. Mel had always, annoyed him. He had always believed her to be a selfish and materialistic individual. The fact that he had tried to use her against Rose was very horrible. And of course their relationship hadn't lasted long. Barely over a month in fact. Because they had had nothing in common, whatsoever. It had been the end of torture for Scorpius when they had split. Because by then, he knew, he had lost Rose. Now reflecting upon it, Scorpius felt like a fool for behaving the way he had, so irrationally. Despite his horrible behavior to her, Rose had put up with it for so long until of course Mel had come into the picture. If anything, he should have been the one, falling at her feet begging for forgiveness. But Rose, he knew, would never take him back as her friend after this. They would never regain what they had lost. It was such a shame. But he might as well end their interaction cordially.
"Your bat" he murmured, offering it to Rose.
Rose stared at him for a long time. Scorpius froze as he felt her breath on his chin, her dark brown eyes boring into his metallic grey ones. She seemed to be thinking about something.
"Keep it." she whispered after a pause.
Scorpius frowned. "Why?"
"I think since all these complaints are going to be filed against me for unruly behaviour on the pitch, I might as well spare all of you the trouble and quit the team. Time to get some fresh talent." she finished.
"What!" Scorpius' eyes widened. Rose quitting the team! She loved Quidditch. She was only doing this because she thought she was going to get kicked off the team and she wanted to exit with her pride intact! And even though she hadn't played well today, when she was in her top form, opposing teams' beaters never stood a chance against her. They couldn't lose her! Everyone in the team looked up to her, they turned to her when they could not turn to him for guidance. But what frightened him most of all was the fact that he would lose her. If she quit the team, she would no longer be a part of Scorpius' life. Since they weren't friends anymore, Quidditch was the only time, he got to see Rose. And now he was about to lose that too?
"Rose." he tried to stop her and grabbed her arm "If you're quitting because of what I said, you being disloyal and all that crap, I didn't mean it. I was just bummed that we lost. You're a great team player and the others look up to you. Don't just quit like this. Think about it. " he encouraged her.
Rose stared at him and then at his hand on her arm and shook her head smiling.
"Why look to me when they can look to you Scorp? You're a great leader, you'll find someone else." she reassured him.
Scorpius felt himself drowning in the chocolate brown of her eyes. Her mind had been made up. He could not change it, no matter what he said, just like how he hadn't been able to call her back to the locker rooms.
"I need you" he begged. "I know I don't say it aloud often enough but I do appreciate you. There's nobody I'd rather play beater position with. We trust each other remember?" he quoted Rose.
"Not any more..." she reminded him smugly. "I said that when we were still friends."
Scorpius' heart felt ready to burst with pain and frustration. Every time she said something to that effect, every time she mentioned their lost friendship, Scorpius was reminded with a pang, just how much he had screwed up with Rose...
"I'm sorry. I have to do this." Rose gently pushed his hand away. He let her. She stroked his cheek with her right hand, fresh tears coming down the side of her face.
"No you don't" he whispered.
"I..." Rose's voice cracked as she looked away, the tears dripping off her nose.
Scorpius reached out and overcoming his fears, he began to wipe the tears from her face. He wanted them to stay like this, just him and her together. Rose let him for a moment but the next instant she seemed to come to her senses and pulled away hurriedly.
"Bye Scorp" she muttered and she turned to leave.
Watching her go, her beautiful form outlined by the bright rays of the sun that had emerged suddenly out of nowhere from behind the rainclouds, Scorpius felt a hole in his heart.
What had he done?