Halloween finally rolled around, my favourite holiday at Hogwarts. Halloween was on a Friday, the last two periods of that day were spent with Malfoy in Divination discussing our dreams.
Professor Trelawney had not let up on the whole dreams thing. She went as far as to make us keep a dream journal to record all our dreams in. Malfoy writes a ton of made up crap in it before Trelawney makes it to our desk to check it and, sadly, I do as well. It's not my fault, I just can't remember my dreams. I used to make some stuff up when I woke up in the morning but after a while, I kept forgetting and it's a such a chore. And I am not the most creative thinker first thing in the morning.
"I dreamt of buying a new set of quills." I said reading out to Malfoy what I had just written. "They were purple and long."
"That's unbelievably boring," Malfoy said still writing down his dreams in his dream journal. "No one would dream that."
"She won't ask me anything about it." I said defensively. "She'll just move on from me and quiz you on your hippogriff versus unicorn thing."
"That was last week." Malfoy said finally dropping his quill. "This week I'm fighting a troll in a cage."
I laughed. "What else?"
"That's it," Malfoy said happily. "All my dreams this week are a saga of me fighting a troll in a cage leading up to an epic climax."
"And the climax to this saga is?"
"I beat the troll to unconsciousness with my quidditch broom." Malfoy said acting it out using his quill as his broom and the parchment in front of him as the troll. "You're in it too, Weasley."
"Really?" I couldn't help but chuckle. "Let me guess I'm the troll."
"Not this time," Malfoy said cheerfully. "You get to join the legions of hot fangirls cheering me on."
I stuck my tongue out at him.
"So you think I'm hot now, Malfoy?" I teased but I could feel my cheeks getting hot.
"No," Malfoy said quickly the tops of his ears growing red. (Probably just my imagination)
Malfoy opened his mouth to say something else but Professor Trelawney got there first. Professor Trelawney, who came out of nowhere, picked up my dream journal making me almost fall off my seat in fright. Malfoy returning to his usual character laughed at me.
"Interesting," She said as she scanned the page. "But what does it mean, my dear?"
"I need new quills?" I suggested weakly.
"Remember, my dear, go to bed with your inner eye cleared and relaxed." She said all mystical and whispery. "Then you'll see everything through the fog."
While she was glancing all mysteriously off into the distance I mouthed across the table to Malfoy 'What fog?'
Malfoy gave me a smirk and shrugged. He then made a whole show of giving his dream journal to Professor Trelawney.
Trelawney took more time to read his journal then she did mine. Her eyes widened behind her enormous glasses as she read.
"My dear, this is excellent, the work of a sneer." She gushed. "I can gather about a thousand predictions from this."
Malfoy grinned at me leaning back on his seat
"Your inner eye is well trained, Mr Malfoy." She said. "We must discuss over tea what this means."
Malfoy's smugness fell, I snorted. Before Malfoy could protest she patted him on the back and left.
I burst out laughing.
"That is why I didn't put any ridiculous sagas in my dream journal." I said gathering my breath in between laughs.
"There is no way I am having tea with her." He said shaking his head repulsed at the thought.
The rest of the lesson went as usual. Professor Trelawney's lectures about dreams continued but my attention wasn't on her. Malfoy and I were busily passing a piece of parchment back and forth to each other. We always did this during class ever since the parchment wars incident. Except it was not war-like things we were writing on it. It was more like having a conversation but on a bit of parchment.
I was walking with Malfoy out of the classroom when Professor Trelawney's voice stopped us.
"Mr Malfoy," She said hurrying over to us the loud sound of her bangles hitting against each other filled the room. "Tea?"
I could feel Malfoy groan internally.
"Actually, Professor," Malfoy said putting on a completely innocent and fake voice. His grey- silver eyes turned doe-like. "I was just about to help Rose here with her inner eye."
What?! I don't drag me into your fighting in a cage with a troll mess, Malfoy. And 'Rose' seriously, Malfoy?
Professor Trelawney considered this for a moment and I tried to keep a blank face.
"Another time?" Malfoy asked like he had an interest in tea with Trelawney. "Rose is in desperate need of help."
Desperate? Yeah, well, let's be fair my inner eye is either really broken or not there at all.
"Next week then." Professor Trelawney said. "Miss Weasley, you should be happy to have a wonderful tutor."
I nodded and followed Malfoy who had already left and was climbing down the ladder.
"There was no way I was going to spend Halloween with that crazy old bat." Malfoy said when I had shut the trapdoor to the classroom over my head.
I climbed down the ladder quickly because I wasn't sure if he could see up my robes or not (shudder). I prayed to Merlin that he couldn't because that would be about ten thousand feelings ranging from embarrassment to 'I'm going to shut my eyes and never open them again'.
"So buying quills next week?" I said filling in the sudden quiet, I jumped down the last step of the ladder.
"Yeah, I'll just copy yours and say you drained my inner eye."
I pouted, "Thanks, Malfoy, you really know how to drag me into your dung."
"All in a day's work." He said his silver eyes sparkling.
Then we began our usual Friday walk back to our common rooms. It was dark in the corridors. Autumn was going to end soon and we would probably get an early, cold, drawn out winter.
Malfoy was telling me this really weird quidditch story (I don't know why I couldn't stop listening to it) when Professor Flitwick passed by. He was walking slowly, his small statue hunched over a long sheet of parchment. With a quill in hand, he was scribbling something on the parchment.
"Hi, Professor." I greeted out of habit. Professor Flitwick is one of my favourite teachers he had recently lent me some 100-year-old charms books that were really cool. Guess who got top marks on their charm essay that day?
"Hello, Miss Weasley." Professor Flitwick responded glancing up from his list and glancing back down again but then he did a double take and glanced back up again.
His expression was primarily confusion but there were hints of disbelief and amusement.
"Mr Malfoy." he nodded cautiously like he was expecting us to suddenly burst out into a fight.
"Hello, sir." Malfoy greeted out of politeness.
Before Professor Flitwick picked up his pace and vanished around the corner.
"Merlin, he's acting weird," Malfoy said eying the spot where Flitwick had been when we walked away. "More weird than usual."
"Professor Flitwick is not weird." I protested. "He's just a good kind of different."
"When he saw us just now he reacted as if there was a hippogriff walking on his hind legs in the castle right in front of him."
"Us together is a hippogriff walking on his hind legs," I said feeling a smile cutting across my face. "Anyway, what were you saying about the bludger?"
"Oh, yeah!" Malfoy exclaimed trying to remember which part of his story he was at. "Diggs rammed the bludger as hard as he could into Flint's face." He was acting all this out while we were walking along, I winced. "So the quaffle kind of implants itself into his face for like half a second and then it falls to the ground. And, Merlin, Weasley, you would not believe what was left of his face after that."
I held up my hands. "Please, Malfoy, don't describe it I think I can picture it."
Malfoy grinned at the memory, "He looked kind of like Voldemort."
"And all this happened at quidditch practise?"
"It was practise until the Gryffindors showed up and it turned into a quidditch match over the pitch."
"I suppose you would love to be up there on your broom."
"The Slytherin keeper got flung into the hoops. His broom got broken and so did everything else."
"Good thing you weren't up there."
Malfoy shrugged, "It's his own fault for freezing up there."
"Not that I care but how's Flint after the face thing?"
"He cried for a bit after he woke up in the Hospital Wing and it took about an hour for Madam Pomfrey to fix him completely."
I snorted at the image of Flint one of the biggest Slytherin bullies in tears but then I tried to look more sympathetic,
"Anyone would probably be in tears if a bludger got implanted into their face."
Malfoy nodded, "And then Monsieur Wood shows up and he's angry. Of course not at the Gryffindorks at the Slytherins. So we all got detention-"
"We?"
"Yeah, we. Me and all the other Slytherins watching were somehow to blame as well."
"I never like Monsieur Wood," I said shaking my head (he really is a dick). "I always preferred Madam Hooch." (Which says a lot.)
"Me too," Malfoy said frowning. "He gave us all detention, that's where I was last night, and took 50 points each from Slytherin for," Malfoy cleared his throat and did his best Monsieur Wood impression, "'Harassing Gryffindor house'"
I laughed at Malfoy's spot on Monsieur Wood impression, he's really good at a Scottish accent.
Malfoy did a quick glance of the corridor and when he saw no one was around he lowered himself to my height (a big different to his) and said in a low voice.
"Don't tell anyone." he paused.
"What?"
"Say you won't tell anyone."
I sighed, "I won't tell anyone" I leant closer to him willing him to spill whatever was so important.
"Not even Sliverton and Temple."
I gave him a look, "Not even Abby and Jane."
"Or that beast-"
"Pumpkin." I finished for him. "Say it now, Malfoy, before I get the Veritaserum out."
Malfoy chuckled and announced, "Keep an eye on the Gryffindor table tonight."
"What. Have. You. Done?" I asked crossing my arms and raising my eyebrows.
"I didn't do anything." Malfoy said innocently sticking his hands in his pockets and standing back to his normal height.
"As if," I said and I whined, "Tell me."
"No." Malfoy copied my whining. "You'll ruin it by being an annoying good girl."
I huffed, "So what does that make you? A bad boy?"
"Yes,"
"Cause you're not bad boy material."
"You're too good to recognise my bad."
I snorted, "I am not as good as you think I am."
Malfoy made a noise like 'yeah, right.'
The Grand Staircase was now in sight and so were a ton of students making their way up it to their common rooms.
"Tell me, Malfoy." I demanded earnestly knowing that this was probably my last chance to find out.
Malfoy laughed, not a cruel laugh but a humorous one. "Weasley, I can't actually tell you cause of the code of Slytherin."
"Code of Slytherin?"
"Meaning: I am not going to betray my house." Malfoy said stopping at a nearby bench and sitting down. He gestured for me to sit next to him. Without thinking about it I sat next to him. "But I'm not really telling you if you guess."
I sat closer to him intrigued.
"You have three guesses," Malfoy instructed. "I'll give you 2 knuts if you guess."
"Can you raise that to galleons?" I said buying time to think of some good guesses.
"Be happy I'll give you anything at all," Malfoy said smirking. "You won't guess anyway."
"We'll see about that, Malfoy." I challenged. "Any clues?"
"No,"
"Okay," I said thinking hard. "Is it something to do with the Merlin jinx or any other hexes or jinxes?"
"Weasley, this isn't 20 questions." Malfoy said. "That's your first guess used up."
"Not fair, Malfoy!" I said angrily. "You didn't even answer it."
Malfoy considered this for a moment, "The time is ticking, Weasley."
I ignored him and said my next guess, "You did something to the table."
I knew by his reaction that I was on to something before he masked his expression, "No and be more specific. Final guess."
I thought for a moment about Slytherin house's pranks. They weren't exactly the most original house at Hogwarts so I knew they probably recycled something they had used before, something common. Thank, Merlin, James and Fred aren't in the house otherwise my guess could range to a zebra jumping onto the table to a fireworks Santa Claus.
"Okay," I said feeling confident about my next few words. "You messed with their food."
Malfoy considered this for a second and finally said in defeat. "Yes."
"Yay!" I leapt up. "You owe me 2 knuts."
"For the record," Malfoy said reaching into the pocket of his robes and producing two bronze coins. "It's not me who has done it, it's the regular Slytherins you would expect."
I took the coin surprised that Malfoy stayed true to his word. "What exactly have the Death Eaters of Slytherin done to the food?"
Malfoy smiled with some triumph, "You never guessed that part. So I can't tell, your three guesses are up. Be happy I accepted your answer."
"Is it dangerous?"
"Weasley, say anything about this and I will hunt you down." Malfoy threatened in a casual tone. "I know where your dorm is."
"I'm so scared, Malfoy." I said in mock horror as Malfoy stood up and walked away from the bench.
"Good, you should be."
"I'm not!" I said catching up to him.
"Weasley," Malfoy said turning to me. "Don't worry, it's just fun."
"Really?" I said sceptically.
"Trust me," Malfoy said fully confident. For some reason, I immediately did trust him. Like he could've told me to jump off a cliff and he'd catch me and I would've believed him.
"Ummm…"I mumbled feeling weird inside and losing all my English.
"It's an expression." (Merlin, I looked stupid.)
"Okay, Malfoy." I said feeling a stupid smile break out across my face as I reached for the bannister on the first flight of stairs. I couldn't do anything else I was put at ease by Malfoy (What? Not a phrase I ever thought I would use). I didn't have any intentions except waiting for the fireworks at the Gryffindor table. This is not normal Rose Weasley.
"See ya, Weasley." Malfoy called back to me heading in the direction of his common room.
"Bye, Malfoy." I returned climbing the stairs the start of way too many stairs.
Finally, it was time for the Halloween feast my stomach was grumbling as Abby, Jane and I sat down at Ravenclaw table. Headmistress McGonagall had yet to say a few words and let the feast begin. She was busy talking to one of the teachers at the staff table.
"C'mon, c'mon, McGonagall!" Abby exclaimed staring at the Headmistress and loudly tapping her foot.
Jane shook her head disapprovingly at the display for the umpteenth time and returned to her book. I leant my head against my hand and fixated my stare to where Malfoy was sitting. I had purposely chosen a seat that faced the Gryffindor and Slytherin tables so I wouldn't miss any of the action.
Malfoy was sitting amongst his group listening to their conversation with half interest. He suddenly caught my stare and met my eyes from across the hall. He gave me an all-knowing smile. I shook my head at him playfully (seriously). Malfoy never gave me anything but sneers, snides and the occasional look of confusion from across the Great Hall the main reason why I usually sat with my back facing him.
I knew that he wasn't smiling at me (even though he was in some sense) but he was smiling at what was about to go down at Gryffindor table.
"What's wrong, Rose?" Abby said taking a break from her sing-song whining.
"What?" I said snapping my attention back to Abby across from me.
"You look as red as a rose." Abby said chuckling.
"Like I haven't heard that one before." I said touching my cheeks and they felt hot, I scowled. One of the bats used as Halloween decorations hanging from the ceiling looked down at me like it could feel my pain.
"What is it? Is it a cute boy?" Abby demanded twisting around in her seat to see behind her. I sunk lower on the bench thankfully Malfoy had already turned back to his conversation looking overly bored.
"It's that sexy second year isn't it?" Abby said nodding towards an extremely short and freckly second year at the Gryffindor table. Abby waved flirtatiously at him.
"Abby, no!" I said cringing as the boy smirked and waved back. His friends gave him a couple of high-fives and thumbs up.
And before anymore embarrassment could be made Headmistress McGonagall approached the golden owl shape podium to address everyone in the Great hall. Everyone fell silent as they waited like hungry dogs for the Halloween feast to begin.
"Another year, another Halloween feast!" McGonagall announced giving us one of her rare tight-lipped smiles. "And without any further or due here it is. Everyone tuck in!"
I could catch out the corner of my eye a couple of way too happy smiles being shared around the Slytherin table. But I was too busy attacking the enormous amount of different coloured candies on display in front of me.
"I am going to get sooooo sugared up!" I said happily biting off an end of a Liquorice Wand.
Abby groaned in agreement while she loaded her plate with Pumpkin Pasties. Jane had shut her book and had started with the massive bowl of Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans.
Once Abby had finished filling up on pasties she moved onto the Chocolate Frogs.
"Yes!" she exclaimed when she opened the blue box grabbing the frog before it could leap out. "I got your dad, Rose." She flashed the card to every one of my dad posing proudly on the chocolate frog card. "At last, I have the Golden Trio! I have about fifteen Harry's and five Hermione's."
I gave her a thumbs up unable to speak with the amount of sweets in my mouth. His Chocolate Frog card was dad's pride, he calls it his best and biggest accomplishment in his life. Nearly every time he sees uncle Harry he rubs it in his face that his card is a harder card to collect then the famous Harry Potter's is.
"Thank you Halloween feast-" Abby said raising her goblet but was interrupted by an abrupt shriek from the Gryffindor table.
A girl with brown hair had jumped up from her spot at the Gryffindor table. She had one hand over her mouth and the other pointed at the girl across from her who looked confused.
"Oh, Merlin." I exclaimed when I saw the writing on the girl's forehead get bolder.
'I LOVE Slytherin!'
It said in bold green writing with a silver heart around it. The whole hall had turned to watch, most of which had joined the Slytherins in laughter.
And soon the whole table had the word branded to their foreheads (well at least this time I'm not the one who ate something stupid). James looked at his reflection in his goblet and upon seeing it threw his goblet to the ground letting out a roar. Fred looked horrified but slightly amused. Lily had clasped her hand over her forehead as if it was glued there. Hugo, however, had yet to establish the connection between the food and the new tattoos. He was the only one at the table who continued eating like nothing had happened.
Molly was running to the top of the table trying to use her mad prefect skills to calm down the house which had turned into a screaming circus. Abby, Jane and I couldn't help but laugh at the commotion of it all.
"Alright!" Molly said trying to calm a couple of girls who would not stop screaming down.
Dominque looking completely furious (more than usual) yelled,
"DIE! SLYTHERINS! DIE!"
And threw a couple of Pumpkin Pasties at some seventh year Slytherins. It was an unexpected but a good throw. One of the Slytherin boys fell off the bench after being pelted square in the head.
The rest of Dominique's group of angry Gryffindors joined in firing food with all their might. The Slytherin fired right back but this only lasted a couple of seconds before McGonagall shouted,
"ENOUGH!"
Headmistress McGonagall had her wand out and had cast a spell that left the food suspended in mid-air. Everyone fell quiet and froze.
"50 points each from Slytherin and Gryffindor!" McGonagall ordered angrily. "I expected better from both houses. When I catch the troublemakers that caused this there will be serious trouble!"
McGonagall looked around as if there would be an 'I did it' written across the culprit's forehead.
"All Gryffindors are to go to the dungeons," McGonagall said more calmly. "For the antidote. The rest of you to bed, the feast is over."
And at her word the tables were wiped clean and the hum of conversation picked up again including a few 'It's not fair's.'
"That was fun!" Abby said standing up with a few pasties she managed to save bundled in her arms.
"Slytherins." Jane sighed picking up her book and following Abby.
I was behind them as I approached the doors to the Great Hall when I felt a tug on the sleeve of my robe. I turned to see Malfoy next to me unaccompanied by his Slytherin group. I could see green hoods up ahead and Albus' familiar mop of hair. Abby and Jane were too interested in their conversation to pay attention to me and Malfoy behind them. So we were relatively safe from our usual crowds as far as I could tell.
"What do you think?" Malfoy spoke quietly to me so not to draw attention to ourselves. His breath was hot on my ear making me twitch.
"A lot of things." I teased bumping him with my elbow. "How was it done?"
"Want to guess?" Malfoy asked raising his eyebrows.
"You have another 2 knuts?" I asked.
"Sure, Weasley," Malfoy said.
I was about to make my first guess when someone was hurrying between the crowd trying to leave the Great Hall. When they passed me and Malfoy they bumped into me hard making me loose my footing.
"Watch it." Malfoy snapped at the boy as I fell against him.
And this was loud enough for Abby and Jane to glance behind them. They stopped walking and stared in disbelief and confusion and maybe even humour in Abby's sake.
"Rose," Abby said almost immediately her hands on her hips. "Why are you cuddling Malfoy?"
At this, I jumped a good couple of inches back from Malfoy who made a speedy get away in the opposite direction.
Merlin's beard I am stupid. I fell against Malfoy and he sort of wrapped his arms around me to stop me from slipping from him and hitting the floor (like I usually do). Maybe…most certainly this lasted longer than it needed to. Malfoy was surprisingly soft and sturdy like the best pillow in the world. Not to mention he smelled great too and he felt strong like a big teddy bear –
Come back to earth, Rose!
Jane frowned, "Rose, you seriously cannot stay out of Scorpius Malfoy's arms can you?"
"Was he being the king of slimy pricks again, Rose?" Abby asked sympathetically.
'Of course not' is what I should've said but instead, I dumbfoundedly answered,
"Yeah,"
"If you want we can hex him," Abby said finally following Jane up the first set of stairs. "Yesterday Jane found the most brilliant hex. Didn't you, Jane? God, I got goosebumps it was sooo epic!"
Jane nodded waiting for the staircase to finish changing she held out her arm to make sure Abby didn't step too far and walk over the edge. "If we use that we'll get in a dung pile of trouble. So only for extremely dire circumstances. Rose will just have to do with the basic ones for now."
I shook my head and let out an involuntary laugh as we stepped on to the next flight of stairs we then quickly ran up the rest of the stairs to the Ravenclaw tower before the staircases moving could delay us any further.
That night I laid my bed in the dorm. Violet and Angela were still down in the common room with the rest of the house having some kind of 'after Halloween feast' after party. It was only Abby, Jane and me chilling in our dorm. We had left the over packed common room after we were almost squashed by some seventh year boys who were not exactly what you would call petite.
Abby and Jane were discussing the Halloween feast Slytherin attack I half-heartedly listened from my spot in my bed. I was kind of tired and wasn't in the mood to speculate with them (for once). So I contributed to the conversation my adding in a hum of 'ummm' and 'hmmm' when the silences between them lasted for more than five seconds.
I couldn't wait till the next time I saw and could talk to Malfoy. I had a whole list of guesses that I was narrowing down to my top three. I was grinning to myself at the memory of Malfoy's breath against my ear, warmer than I had expected.
I knew I couldn't tell Abby and Jane about Malfoy. I had thought about it before but I knew what they would say and what they would try to convince me of. There was nothing to tell anyway so what did it matter.
I had yet to take the two knuts out of my pocket and change into my pyjamas. I reached down to my pocket to feel the coins. The circular heavy coins were warm because I'd been laying on them. I turned one of them over in my fingers out of sight from Abby and Jane who weren't even looking at me and smiled to myself.
