Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, or anything else that may be referenced in this chapter.
A/N: Enormous thank you to you all for reading, reviewing, following and favouring, and I hope you all enjoy this chapter! :)
Chapter 15
As she and Draco- and their friends, who came to their aid after they saw them leaning on each other for support and almost falling over- made their way back up to the castle with Madam Pomfrey and the other champions, Rose couldn't help but smile. She was now coming second to Harry in the Tournament by only three points and the third task wasn't for ages. She could now, she hoped, be permitted a small holiday from the Tournament to focus on other things. The incident with the beetle had been far from pleasant, yes, but as she and Draco tried to convince Madam Pomfrey that they wouldn't be ill again so that she would let them return to the common room instead of staying the night in the Hospital Wing, Rose reckoned there was a slim chance of her coming across the beetle again.
'Despite the fact you never quite know with them,' she thought, 'that beetle didn't look as though it had any special powers.'
Rose and Draco's attempts to get Madam Pomfrey to allow them to return to the common room instead of staying the night in the hospital wing were fast becoming in vain. She had dismissed the other champions and hostages, sent their friends back to the common room, and was on the verge of making up beds for them.
"But Madam Pomfrey we really are perfectly fine now," Rose protested earnestly. "We've drunk all the recovery and refreshment potions and we don't feel dizzy or ill: it would be a waste of space to keep us here."
"Yeah," Draco agreed, nodding vehemently. "It was just the fact that the beetle was so close to us that made us ill. Though I might have to boil my right ear in disinfectant, we're fine now it's gone; honestly."
"Hmmm." Madam Pomfrey looked at the two fourth years suspiciously. "…Well, alright," she relented. "But if either of you feel even the slightest bit queasy within the next twelve hours you're to come straight to me. Understand?"
"Yes ma'am." Draco said, while Rose nodded.
"Thank you." She said.
"You can repay me by staying healthy for the rest of your lives, both of you." Madam Pomfrey replied with a ghost of a smile before she shooed them from the hospital wing.
When Rose and Draco entered the common room, they found the entirety of their house waiting for them, eager to hear of exactly what transpired down in the Black Lake and how Rose had invented her potion. Rose told her piece, and then Draco took over, detailing a thrilling tale of kidnap involving him using an unconscious Ron as a spear deflector as he struggled singlehandedly against sixty-five heavily armed merpeople who were eventually forced to bring in the Giant Squid to beat him into submission and aid in tying him up.
"Butterbeer?" Blaise offered Rose a bottle as he sat down beside her at a table near the noticeboard in the common room.
"Thanks." She took it with a smile. As she did so, Rose felt as though someone was watching them; but when she looked around the common room she saw that everyone appeared captivated by Draco's tale. Even Ryan Skeeter looked to be listening most attentively, and wasn't trying to poke holes in it as he usually did with people's stories.
"How are you feeling?" Blaise asked.
"Thanks to Madam Pomfrey; much better." Rose replied.
"I'm glad. Draco's adventure is pretty exciting, huh?" Blaise remarked reflectively, watching as Draco mimed valiantly deflecting a spear to gasps from the Slytherins.
"Yep." Rose sipped her Butterbeer as Draco mimed some very intricate looking gymnastics.
"Funny, isn't it, how the Giant Squid and merpeople are suddenly able to breathe above water?"
Rose turned and stared at him; realising he was right. Blaise winked and slipped his Butterbeer, a smile curling around his mouth.
"I won't mention it if you don't: no one's pointed it out yet."
"Deal." Rose agreed, as the feeling of being watched crawled over her again. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Blaise glance around the common room.
"D'you feel as though we're being watched at all?" he murmured.
"Yeah." Rose murmured back. "Dunno why anyone would watch us, though."
"Neither… They could be looking at the noticeboard, I suppose," Blaise gestured towards it. "Seeing as there's a Hogsmede trip next weekend."
"Yeah- you're probably right," Rose agreed, drinking more Butterbeer as she dismissed the matter; Draco's narrative had become yet more inventive, and the whole common room was captivated after all. Rose turned her attention to Draco as Blaise narrowed his eyes slightly at his miming.
"…Is he miming wielding a chainsaw?" she asked.
"Is that what it is?" Blaise asked, sounding surprised and somewhat relieved. "That does make more sense: I thought it was a duck."
Rose laughed. "How do you wield a duck?"
"I've never done so; I wouldn't know," Blaise grinned. "But I have a question for you."
"What?"
"Are you going to go to Hogsmede next weekend?"
"Probably," Rose nodded. "I'm giving myself a holiday of sorts, see. Why?"
Blaise paused, suddenly, almost inexplicably, nervous. "Would- would you like to go to Hogsmede with me?" he asked.
Rose turned slightly pink. "As in- like a date?"
Yeah: like a date."
Rose blushed deeper, but smiled. Blaise felt his spirits soar as she replied; "Yes, I'd like that."
"Oi, Rose!" Draco shouted over, making heads turn in her direction. "I need you to come here and re-enact the bit where you haggled with the Giant Squid's soul to get into the mer-village and rescue me from a fate worse than death."
"Ah yes, I remember." Rose murmured to Blaise as she got up. He snickered, sipping more Butterbeer.
"Yeah, I bet you do."
The week appeared pass rather slowly, as time resumed its normal pace following its apparent quickening before the second task. Draco's thrilling tale of kidnap was soon rebutted by the accounts of both Madeline and Fleur Delacour's sister- Ron was retelling his own kidnap at the time. Apparently, the hostages had simply been put into an enchanted sleep by Professor Dumbledore, after being assured that they would be perfectly safe, and wake up once they were back above the surface of the lake. Though rather annoyed that they had been, at least to some extent, taken in by Draco's dramatic tale, Slytherin house saw the funny side of the dramatics and spent many days adding impossible antics to the account.
The weather became drier as February became March, though Rose suspected the harsh wind that accompanied this change was not the reason she awoke on Friday morning, the day before the Hogsmede trip, to the sight of the other girls in her dormitory huddled together with their backs to her in the space between Pansy and Millicent's beds.
"What's going on?" She asked, sitting up and putting on her glasses. The girls jumped and wheeled around.
"Oh- nothing," Pansy said, smiling brightly. Rose looked at her.
"What are you hiding behind your back?" she asked curiously.
"Nothing." Pansy replied unconvincingly.
"I can see that you're holding something."
"Oh, just show her, Pansy." Daphne sighed. "Irma's subscribed, too; she's bound to show it to Blaise and he'll end up telling Rose about it, you know he will."
"Tell me about what?" Rose asked, very curious now.
"Don't shoot the messenger," Pansy reminded Rose as she threw what was behind her back to the girl. Catching it, Rose saw it was the most recent edition of Witch Weekly, opened at the centre pages. A colour photograph of herself and Harry headed an article. Rose's heart sank as she read:
THE POTTER TWINS' SECRET HEARTACHE
Twins like no other pair, perhaps- yet twins suffering all the usual, and more unusual, pangs of adolescence, writes Rita Skeeter. Having only recently re-discovered love since the tragic death of his parents, fourteen-year-old Harry Potter thought he had found stability in his steady girlfriend at Hogwarts; Muggle-born Hermione Granger. Little did he know that he would soon be suffering yet another emotional blow in his life; a life already coated in personal loss.
Miss Granger, a plain but evidently ambitious girl, seems to have a taste for wealth that Harry Potter and the Potter fortune alone cannot satisfy. Miss Granger is reported to have set her sights on the Malfoy family fortune, openly toying with the affections of both Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, sole heir to The Noble and most Ancient House of Malfoy of the Scared Twenty Eight. Malfoy, openly smitten with the devious Miss Granger, has informed her that he wishes for her to meet his mother, saying he 'never thought he'd feel the way he felt about her, or anyone in the world.'
However, Miss Granger's doubtful natural charms might not be what has captured the interests of these unfortunate boys.
"She's hardly attractive," says a pretty fellow Gryffindor girl who did not wish to be named, "but she's quite clever, well up to brewing a love potion: I think that's what she's doing."
Unfortunately, things do not get better for the Potter family in terms of their relationships. Harry's twin sister Rose is reportedly happy with her steady boyfriend, Italian modelling sensation Blaise Zabini, but the question of his parentage, and therefore the amount of trust that can be placed in him, is being called into question.
While he has been heard to affectionately call his girlfriend 'Rosie,' Zabini is the son of infamous beauty Giselle Zabini (nee Allegri), who married no less than six times in just over two years before settling down with the late millionaire Amato Zabini. Such a record can only be put down to magical influence, causing those near Rose to question whether Blaise Zabini resembles his mother in nature as well as appearance- wealth being something of blatant enjoyment to Giselle Zabini. Questions are being asked as to whether he, like Hermione Granger, is using love potions to secure a part of the Potter fortune.
"He gave her a drink at a recent party," says Ryan Skeeter, a handsome sixth year, "And within minutes of her drinking it, she was talking, laughing and murmuring with him; blushed too. Given his family background I can't help but think it rather suspicious."
Love Potions are, of course, banned at Hogwarts, and no doubt Headmaster Albus Dumbledore will want to investigate these claims. In the meantime, well-wishers of the Potter twins must hope that Harry sees Miss Granger's true intentions, Rose is somehow freed from the influence of the love potions, and next time they bestow their hearts upon worthier candidates.
Rose didn't know what to say. She stared unseeingly down at the article as she finished reading, blinking in time with her picture-self. The other girls in her dormitory exchanges nervous glances.
"…Rose?" Millicent asked, hesitantly approaching the girl, who jumped violently and looked up at her friend questioningly, her eyes rather overly-bright. "Are- are you alright?"
"Me? Y-yeah, I'm fine, thanks. Perfectly fine." Rose replied in an overly cheerful tone, getting out of bed, grabbing her school robes and entering the bathroom.
"She's not fine." Daphne declared.
When Rose emerged from the bathroom, her fake-cheeriness had worn out. Truthfully, she felt rather at a loss. Rita's article was complete rubbish, she knew, but she also knew that along with Draco, Harry and Hermione, her and Blaise's every move would be scrutinised by the Hogwarts community for the foreseeable future; and she hated that there was nothing she could do to change it.
The fourth year Slytherin girls all went down to the common room together, something Rose was grateful for. They reached the common room at the same time as the boys.
Draco looked at Rose suspiciously, sensing something was off. "What's the matter?"
"Um-" Rose bit her lip, looking anywhere but anyone, unsure of how to broach the subject.
"Here," Millicent handed the article over to Draco, having taken possession of it as Rose entered the bathroom in the dormitory. Pansy squeezed Rose's arm comfortingly as the boys crowded around Draco, reading the article over his shoulder.
Theo finished reading first, his nose wrinkled in distaste. He smiled sympathetically at Rose as Crabbe and Goyle finished reading. They too gave her sympathetic looks, just as Draco reached the end of the article.
"THAT COW!" He exploded. "HOW DARE SHE ACCUSE M?! MY M! WAIT UNTIL MY FATHE-" he broke off abruptly, looking suddenly rather confused.
Blaise took the longest to look up from the article; his reading having been punctuated by his pausing to stare at it incredulously. "That drink was just normal Butterbeer," he said, looking straight at Rose, despite his obvious discomfort at the subject. "I didn't- I'm not-"
"I know." She said quickly, wanting to put his mind at rest. "It's rubbish."
Breakfast that morning was not a pleasant affair. Rose, Blaise and Draco said and ate very little, their appetites rather diminished by the constant stares and whispers from various girls and their neighbours, as presumably the Witch Weekly article was spread around the Hall. By the end of breakfast, Rose was seriously considering eating all her meals in the kitchens from now on: the stares and whispers had increased tenfold when Blaise had passed her the butter. This only increased as the day went on and by the end of lunch Blaise was on the verge of standing up and pointing out the flaws in Skeeter's article- starting with the fact his potions mark wasn't high enough that he would have the skill brew a love potion- when the bell for the start of classes rang. Rose caught his eye as the Slytherins made their way to Potions.
"Can we talk?" she asked quietly.
"Sure," he replied, a slight sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as an idea struck him as to what she wanted to say.
"We'll catch up with you," Rose said, her expression meaningful as she looked at Pansy and Millicent. The two girls and even Theo seemed to understand as they were quick to bustle Draco away before he could say anything. Crabbe and Goyle smirked at Blaise before following.
Rose slipped her hand into Blaise's and led him down a narrow corridor as the sound of footsteps came towards them.
"Look," Blaise said before she could speak. If this was what he thought it was, he'd rather get it over with. "If you don't want to go to Hogsmede with me anymore I understand."
"What?" Rose stared at him. "Why would I not want to go to Hogsmede with you?"
Blaise stared back at her. "Well, you saw what happened today. It'll be the same, if not worse, in Hogsmede. If you don't want to go through that you shouldn't have too, or feel obliged too."
Rose shook her head. "I still want to go to Hogsmede with you," she said. "I want to talk to you because I saw how you felt at lunch; how annoyed you got. And I know it's hard, but please, Blaise: don't let them get to you; that's what Skeeter wants, a reaction. It's not your fault people believe tripe. They don't know you and if they did they'd be apologising like there's no tomorrow. You haven't done anything wrong; so please don't let them get to you."
Blaise paused, thinking over Rose's words. She had a point: Skeeter probably did want a reaction; and the article was a load of tripe. But he had never been that good a dealing with injustices: the feeling of getting even and proving oneself right, whether underhandedly or otherwise, was one that was enjoyed by every Slytherin, and he did have something of a temper. Nevertheless…
"…I'll try," he said, offering her a small smile as the warning bell rang. Rose smiled back.
"Thank you," she said, squeezing his hand. "Skeeter will get her comeuppance one day, but for now we have to get to class."
When the two Slytherins arrived outside the potions dungeon, they found the rest of the class waiting for Severus to open the door. Draco was whispering to Hermione, but judging by both of their expressions, the subject was not sweet nothings.
"She must've been near us at the task." Rose head Draco whisper. "That's when I said what she wrote."
"We'd have seen her surely!" Hermione replied her brow furrowed.
"Hey, Rose," Harry came up to her, his voice confidentially low. "Snuffles wrote this morning; he wants to meet us in Hogsmede to talk about Moody, Snape and Crouch, and he asked specifically to see you." He pulled a piece of parchment from his pocket and handed it to her.
Be at stile at end of road leading out of Hogsmede (past Dervish & Banges) at two o'clock tomorrow afternoon. Make sure Rose is with you.
S.
"Oh," Rose looked up from the note. "Well, sorry Harry but I'm busy."
"With what?" Harry asked. Before Rose could reply, Severus opened the dungeon door and pointed them inside. As the class entered, Rose saw Draco slip what looked like Pansy's copy of Witch Weekly to Hermione.
"Why were you and Blaise late?" Draco muttered to Rose as they gathered ingredients for their Wit-Sharpening Potions.
"We were talking."
"What about?"
"Just Hogsmede and Skeeter's article."
"Why Hogsmede?" Draco asked, looking at her suspiciously.
"We're- we're going together." Rose replied, going slightly pink. Draco almost dropped his jar of scarab beetles.
"What?!" he hissed, staring at her. "Since when?"
"Fascinating though your social life undoubtedly is, Miss Granger, I must ask that you refrain from discussing it in my classroom: ten points from Gryffindor."
The class turned to see Severus standing behind Harry, Ron and Hermione's table at the back of the dungeon, his face a mask of disapproval.
"Ah- reading magazine's under the table as well?" Severus picked up Pansy's copy of Witch Weekly from the chair beside Hermione's. "Another ten points from Gryffindor …But, of course Potter has to keep up with his press cuttings… But what's this?"
The class was silent as Severus read the article. Theo glanced at Blaise and wondered if his friend was still breathing. Finally, however, Severus spoke.
"How very touching," he drawled, as he rolled the article up. "Frankly, Zabini, I expect much better results from you now you are apparently a potions prodigy: Amortentia at fourteen is rather a feat." A smirk curled around his lips. "I also applaud you for managing to brew one that has no evident affect whatsoever; such a thing has never been seen before. A true accomplishment."
"Thank you, sir," Blaise replied with a grin as the Slytherins snickered.
"As for you, Potter and Granger," Severus turned back to the Gryffindors. "I feel I better separate you so you can concentrate on your potions, rather than the opinions of others. Potter: that table before my desk. Now."
Clearly furious, Harry threw his belongings into his cauldron and carried it to the front of the classroom, Severus behind him. As the class settled back into preparing their respective potions, Rose saw out of the corner of her eye, Severus talking to Harry as Harry worked. The class worked in as much peace as can be in potions- where things were liable to go dreadfully wrong in the stewing of a horned toad- for a few moments until there was a knock on the dungeon door.
"Enter." Severus called sharply. The door opened and the class looked around as an anxious looking Karkaroff entered. Severus's eyes glittered dangerously but Karkaroff did not appear to notice as he walked through the classroom to Severus's side.
"He's playing with fire, that one," Draco murmured.
"I think he might actually get burned." Millicent murmured back.
"There's a chance," Rose agreed, watching as Severus slipped his hand into the pocket of his robes, looking mutinous.
"Five galleons he goes for the goatee." Theo muttered.
"That or the fur coat." Pansy eyed the garment with distaste. "That colour just isn't justifiable, and it's not even the right season!"
"After the lesson!" Severs snapped, perhaps a touch louder than he intended. A slight bustle ensured as the class tried to make it look as they had been one hundred percent focused on their work and Karkaroff took to lurking in the shadows by Severus's desk. Rose caught Harry's eye, seeing he looked curious.
'You staying to eavesdrop?' she mouthed discreetly. He inched his head in a nod.
'You?'
Rose shook her head lightly. 'Frankly: not brave enough,' she replied. Harry smirked. 'Good luck, though.'
'Thanks. I'll tell you what happens.'
"So, since when, Rose?" Draco murmured in the midst of the class's bustle as Rose returned to her work.
"Since when what?" Rose asked, having forgotten their earlier conversation.
"Since when are you and Blaise going to Hogsmede together?"
"Oh- since the party after the second task," she replied.
"What's this?" Theo asked as the other's looked around and Draco's face took on a very meaningful expression.
"Mmmm-hmmm."
Needless to say, Draco, accompanied by Crabbe, Goyle and a smirking Theo, dragged Blaise away at the end of the class for a 'chat.' When they returned, Draco was rather pleased with himself, and Blaise oddly jumpy.
"MOOOOONNNNNNNYYYYYYY! GET YOUR FURRY PERSON OVER HERE RIGHT NOW!"
Remus closed his eyes and sighed deeply as Sirius's patronus vanished. The last time Sirius had patronus-called him in such an abrupt manner, it had been to dramatically enquire as to why the universe was apparently against him so. This bemoaning had stemmed from the fact that Kreacher was still alive.
Wondering what had caused Sirius's current predicament, Remus locked the door of his sweet shop, turned the 'open' sign to 'closed' and headed through the door behind the counter into the back room. Once there, he apperated up to the cave in the cliff above Hogsmede that was serving as Sirius and Buckbeak's campground for the duration of the Tournament. Remus would have stayed with them but he had to run his sweetshop, though regular packages of food to Sirius and was prepared to drop everything at the slightest incident.
"You took your time!" Sirius exclaimed upon Remus's arrival. "Read this!" he exclaimed rather dramatically, holding out a magazine.
Remus took it and raised his eyebrows at the cover. "Witch Weekly?" he asked.
"I heard some women in the village talking about an article, and nicked a copy from the post office." Sirius shrugged. "But read the centre article!"
Remus flipped to the centre article; his eyebrows rising almost to his hairline as he read the title. But the moment he read who it was written by, the article became highly amusing.
"… Sirius, Rita Skeeter wrote this," he said with a chuckle. "I've actually met and taught both Hermione and Blaise and I can assure you they're the last people on earth who would even think to brew love potions."
"Hermione I excuse because I've met the girl and it's obvious she's a nice person, but not him! You must not have got full measure of him, Remus! His mother is Giselle Allegri for Merlin's sake!" Sirius exploded. "He is the son of Gigi Allegri! Do you remember her, Remus? Do you remember what she did to Gideon Prewett?!"
"Well, yes," Remus admitted. "But to be fair you thought she was fit, too. Very much so, in fact."
Sirius chose to ignore this. "Rose considers a Malfoy her brother, and is dating the offspring of Gigi Allegri; James would throw a fit if he knew." He said. "Which is why I've sent a note asking Harry to make sure Rose comes to our meeting tomorrow and-"
"Don't," Remus interrupted, seeing where his friend was going. "Remember how Lily reacted when you confronted her about Snape, and Amos Diggory when she dated him in sixth year?"
"I was right, though, wasn't I?" Sirius asked rhetorically. "Snape and Diggory were, and no doubt continue to be, big, belated, greasy stinking piles of dragon dung. So tomorrow, in my capacity as her Godfather, I'm going to have a very serious chat with Rose about her friendship choices!"
The morning of the Hogsmede trip the weather was warmer than it had been in months, despite the weakly shining sun. Rose and Blaise both dressed particularly carefully and left the castle together shortly before midday. Things were slightly awkward between them at first, given the context of their being together and the stares and mutters that followed them from students and others in the village alike, but gradually, the two forgot those around them and their awkwardness and began to enjoy their time together.
They went first to Honeydukes, and spent more money than was perhaps sane on various new creations, including Everlasting Gobstoppers that cried in a fashion not dissimilar to Mandrakes if they were left uneaten for more than three months, and chocolates that allegedly made one walk as though they were on the moon. Their money bags and steps a lot lighter, Rose and Blaise quite literally bounced down the high street until the chocolates wore off and they looked for something else of interest.
"Yes," Blaise snorted as Rose emerged from behind the hat rack. They had stumbled across an old and rather peculiar-but-harmless looking antique shop and had taken to viewing all the hats on display in the window to see if they could find the strangest one. "That is the one."
Rose snickered and lifted the floppy brim of the enormous dark purple hat she wore so she could see. She dissolved into giggles at the sight of Blaise, who was wearing the current winner- a brown muggle baseball cap with a fully decorated minute Christmas tree on top, compete with working lights and a tiny fairy that actually flew, circling ten centimetres around the top of the tree.
"H-how can this possibly beat that?" she asked, gasping for breath.
"I read the description," Blaise grinned, holding up the small card that had been set before the purple hat. "Look in the mirror and pull the feather." He pointed to the majestically beautiful blue peacock feather that stuck out of the side of the hat.
Curious, Rose turned to face the mirror and pulled the feather.
"…No way," she gasped as both she and Blaise dissolved into laughter one more. Pulling the feather had caused yet more feathers, a neck, head and beak and two spindly bird legs to sprout from the hat, until a purple peacock was sitting on Rose's head, blinking at its reflection. "You're right: this is the one."
"Can I help you?"
The two Slytherins jumped as a mystical voice floated over to them, preceding a frail looking woman with wide blue eyes, and wispy neon green hair tied back in a plait that would have fallen almost to her knees, were it not wound into a cone on the top of her head. Mystical though her voice might be, the woman's eyes were sharp and almost Professor McGonagall-worthy stern as she looked at the two before her.
"No thank you, Ma'am," Blaise replied, suddenly the perfect model of Pureblood etiquette; even managing to make the Christmas tree hat look respectable. "We're just looking."
"Really?" The woman's tone was dry. "Are you intending to purchase anything?"
Her tone made Blaise think it would be best to exaggerate the truth somewhat. "We're not entirely sure. The peacock hat is rather, er, unique; but-"
"Then I suggest you leave until you are sure." The woman cut across him as she snapped her fingers and the hats the Slytherins wore flew back to their original places. "I don't hold with dawdlers."
"Yes, Ma'am. Sorry." Rose and Blaise chorused and left the shop, rolling their eyes only when they were sure the woman couldn't see them.
"You hungry?" Blaise asked as they passed the Three Broomsticks. The door was just swinging shut behind a group of fifth years and the smell of delicious late lunches drifted out into the street.
"A bit, yeah," Rose said. "Three Broomsticks looks a bit crowded, though."
"It does." Blaise agreed. "Fortunately I know somewhere else we could go."
"Where?" Rose asked. "Actually, no; surprise me."
Blaise raised his eyebrows. "Didn't know you were one for surprises."
"I'm not, usually," Rose shrugged. "But I trust you."
Blaise smiled and took her hand. "This way, then."
He led her down the high street and up a side road. At the end of this road was Madam Puddifoot's teashop. Rose glanced at Blaise but he simply shook his head, smirking slightly. They drew level with Madam Puddifoot's and Rose realised the side road continued and Madam Puddifoot's was merely on a corner, and there was another teashop of sorts a little way along.
It was slightly bigger than Madam Puddifoot's and painted the off-white, slightly yellow colour of parchment, with dark blue windows and curtains. The door, however, was black, and the black paint spread around the door, making it look like an inkblot on the store coloured like parchment. A small sign hung above the door, reading 'Inkblot' in text not dissimilar to messy handwriting.
Blaise glanced at Rose, suddenly nervous. "It's nothing really flash- but it was my favourite place to eat when I was a kid."
"It looks sweet." Rose smiled at him. "I'm looking forward to trying it."
"GgggrrrrRRRRRrrrrr!"
Startled, Rose and Blaise whirled around. Standing before them, hackles raised, growling ferociously, and glaring fiercely at Blaise through large grey and menace-filled eyes was a rather familiar- to Rose, at least- dog.
"Er- hi Si- Snuffles," Rose said quietly. "Could you please stop growling and looking at Blaise like that? It's unnerving for both of us."
Sirius ignored her and growled even more ferociously.
"Do you- do you know this dog?" Blaise asked.
"He's not a dog- it's my godfather, you know; Sirius Black, in his Animagus form." Rose explained.
"Right," Blaise nodded. "Er-why does he seem to hate me?"
"I don't know." Rose shrugged. "Snuffles, why do you hate Blaise?"
In answer, Sirius suddenly broke into a run, running straight between them and wrenching their hands apart with his nose. Turning and looking pleased with this accomplishment, he jerked his head down a narrow alleyway nearby. 'After you,' his eyes seemed to say.
Rose and Blaise exchanged glances and complied. Sirius followed, transforming from his Animagus form the second he was certain no one but the two fourth years could see him. He may have returned to his human formed, but his large grey and menace-filled eyes remained the same as he glared at Blaise.
Blaise gulped slightly, but felt somewhat comforted by the fact that he was almost as tall as Sirius, and a tad broader. Sirius noticed this too, and it did nothing to improve his mood.
"You!" he barked at Blaise. "What are you doing alone with my goddaughter?!"
"Er; I'm on a date with her." Blaise replied, watching Sirius warily.
"Is there a reason you've come up all aggressive, Sirius?" Rose asked, not taking kindly to her Godfather's sudden and aggressive intrusion into her date. Sirius turned to her, taking in the coolness of her expression and tone.
"Oh, Merlin help my soul." He muttered to himself, running a hand through his hair. "The corruption is strong with this one."
"…Pardon?" Rose asked, puzzled.
"I have come," Sirius said, drawing himself up to his full height. "To have a serious conversation with you about your friendship choices."
"Er, right." Rose raised her eyebrows and as he had done during their last meeting, Sirius was reminded so forcefully of Snape he tasted bile. "How are my friendships your business?"
"I'm your godfather; I was your father's best friend and I know for a fact that he would throw a fit if he knew you consider a Malfoy your brother, and are dating an Allegri."
"I'm a Zabini."
"Regardless you are a git, so shut up." Sirius snapped, glaring at Blaise.
"Don't talk to him like that!" Rose retorted, glaring at Sirius. "We're not dating- we're just on a date. But even if we were dating you don't know Blaise, or Draco, and you've no right to criticise me!"
"In your mother's case I didn't know Amos Diggory or Snape, but I knew they were big, belated, greasy stinking piles of dragon dung, and I was proven right." Sirius pointed out. "And I have a right to criticise you if you're being stupid, which you are. By going out alone with this git-" he jerked his thumb at Blaise, "-you are putting yourself in a position to be further put under love potions!"
Rose snapped.
"I AM NOT BEING FED LOVE POTIONS!" she screamed. "SEVERUS IS A POTIONS MASTER FOR MERLIN'S SAKE! WHY DON'T PEOPLE REALISE THAT AND CONSIDER THAT HE MIGHT JUST HAVE SOME INKLING IF I WAS BEING FED LOVE POTIONS?!"
"YOU CAN NEVER, EVER, EVER TRUST SNIVELLUS!" Sirius bellowed, losing his temper to. "I'VE TOLD YOU BEFORE: HE IS A TWO-FACED, SCHEMING, SNIVELLING, PATHETIC, HOOK NOSED, GREASY HAIRED, FOUL LITTLE ABDOMEN OF A DUNG BEETLE, AND HE'S A LIAR TO BOOT!"
"WELL HE'S BETTER THAN YOU!" Rose screamed. "AT LEAST HE'S SMART ENOUGH NOT TO BELIEVE PATHETIC DRIVEL WRITTEN BY A REPORTER WITH A MERLINFORSAKEN REPUTATION FOR STIRRING TROUBLE!" Not trusting herself speak further and not say something truly hurtful, Rose pushed past Sirius and ran from the alleyway, up the side-street and through Hogsmede. Hot, furious tears burned in her eyes and her blood pounded viciously against her eardrums as she ran, heading back towards the castle; not sure of her exact destination- she just wanted to be as far away from Sirius as possible-
"Rose! Hey- ROSE! Wait for me, will you?!"
Blaise's shout jerked him back into her thoughts, and Rose felt terrible about their date being cut short so horribly and for leaving him alone with a very angry Sirius. She stopped running and he caught up with her fairly quickly, only slightly out of breath.
"I'm sorry," she said as he recovered. "I'm sorry things turned out like they did and that I left you with Sirius in that mood. And I know my losing it about the love potion stuff makes me a massive hypocrite because I said all that stuff about you not letting people get to you and a reaction being what Skeeter wants- so I'm sorry about that too."
"It's okay," Blaise shrugged. "Merlin knows I've lost my temper a fair few times in life too; we can't always think straight when we're angry… Everything between us seems to come back to this whole love potion thing at the moment, huh?"
"Yep." Rose agreed, somewhat bitterly. "Anything we can do, d'you reckon?"
"…How about we wait?" Blaise suggested, after a few minutes silence as they thought. "Until after the tournament? People will probably forget all about this love potion drivel before that, but after the tournament Skeeter won't have any reason to report about you, and you can fix stuff with your Godfather if you want to, and things will go back to normal, and then we can try… this. Us." He finished somewhat awkwardly as he reached out at took her hand, unsure as to how best to phrase it.
A smile curled at Rose's lips at the thought of there being something between the two of them; something that was entirely theirs with no commentary by Rita Skeeter or penetrating stares and opinions of others. "Yeah," she agreed. "That sounds good."
Blaise smiled back. "Great. In the meantime you win the tournament, and I'll-" he paused, thinking.
"You can practise your 'I told you so' accompanying dance for when I win." Rose grinned, lacing her fingers through his and squeezing his hand.
Blaise chuckled, remembering the night Rose's name had come out of the Goblet of Fire and their deal. He leant down and kissed Rose's cheek softly. "It will be magnificent, Rosie," he murmured, smiling at the blush that spread across her cheeks as he pulled away. "And everything is going to be okay."
Rose wanted to believe him whole-heartedly about this last. She really, honestly, genuinely did. But there was a part of her mind- a small part, yes, but nevertheless a part- that, for whatever reason, felt that things weren't going to be okay for a long time.
A/N: Please review! :)
