If Rose had thought that she and Scorpius were meant to be getting along following the 'classroom incident', she was terribly mistaken.

Not that she was thinking about it. The minute they left that classroom, so did her thoughts of what would've happened had Professor Carter not come in. Totally forgotten about it. Which was fine, because he seemed to have absolutely, definitely forgotten about it. Which was also fine.

What was not fine, however, was how much of a fucking prick Scorpius Malfoy was.

"Are you absolutely fucking delusional?" She marched up to the blonde prat, not caring if she was causing a scene. It's not like anyone paid any attention anyway, the sound of Rose Weasley yelling sort of became background noise for anyone beyond the second year. Maybe that wasn't a thing to be proud of, but it had too often come in handy.

"It's been speculated before."The monotony of Scorpius's voice made Rose want to punch him.. Or hex him. Maybe both.

"You benched Albus?!"

"I know." He said simply. Definitely both.

"Why would you do that?!" She questioned, her voice maniacal as she internally debated between a bat bogey hex and a new one she had been meaning to try out. If she could get it right, Scorpius's eyebrows would fall below his nose. Just imagining it made her feel a little better.

Scorpius ignored her, prompting her to stomp her foot and grab the book out of his hand. If he was going to ignore her like a child, she figured she could reciprocate it.

"Yes, Weasley?" He looked up at her, smiling sarcastically.

"Why would you bench Albus?" She repeated, raising her eyebrows at him. He considered her for a second, before reaching over and trying to grab his book back. Expecting this, she leaned back, shaking her head and raising her wand. "Uh-uh. Answer me first."

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, mature. Hm, let's see. Fighting with a teammate, playing poorly, and oh, yeah, sabotaging a game for his own interests? Even you, notoriously blinded by your own personal relationship should see-"

"Oh, you're one to talk about personal relationships. I'm sure your fight on Friday night had nothing to do with your choice to keep him on the bench." She snapped back, glaring.

He gave her a hard stare, and she raised her eyebrows, not backing down. After a momentary facial stand-off, he replied. "I'm not even captain." He said easily.
"Oh, I don't even follow Quidditch and we both know Brooks is a figurehead! You're the best on the team, and they all listen to you." She huffed, her words not yet catching up to her.

"Careful, Weasley, that almost sounded like a compliment."

"Yeah, well, they're all going to see they're following the fucking blind once you lose next week without Albus."

"And since when have you known anything about Quidditch? I thought that was in the file of things Rose Weasley is bad at." He raised an insufferable eyebrow at her, and she considered hexing him there. Instead, she closed her eyes for a second and softened her tone.
"This isn't about Quidditch. It's about Albus." She said, looking up at him. She searched his face for the softness she had seen in that dark classroom, and for a second, something in him flickered, but it extinguished quickly, and he looked at her with no emotion behind his eyes.

"Actually Weasley, it's not. Some of us can separate our own personal issues from the rest of the world." With that, he took his book and walked away from Rose. She was left to wonder when, exactly, Scorpius Malfoy had suddenly been able to create the horrid feeling in her chest she was now left with.

"You look like crap." Rose had just made it inside the common room when she was met with Jo's blunt words from the couch.

"Thanks." She deadpanned, throwing her bag onto the floor."I just got into a fight with Malfoy."

"If you were this upset every time you and Scorpius got into a fight, you'd be hanging out with Moaning Myrtle by now."

Rose ignored her, putting her head on her shoulder."Would you visit me? If I lived in the bathroom." She asked, looking up at her.

Jo looked back at her fondly. "Hm. No. But only because you'd be so mopey all the time, and it would make me so sad I'd have to join you in there, and then I'll have died without ever seeing your Uncle Harry shirtless, and that would be such a waste of a life."

"Merlin, I hate you."

"You love me. Why don't you tattle on Scorp's mom?"

"I really don't understand how someone so perfect could make someone so rotten." She mumbled, huffing slightly.

"Well, your Aunt Ginny and Harry made James."

"Good point."

"He's hot, too, though."

"You're disgusting."
"You're deflecting."

Rose looked up to glare, but when she was met with Jo's unwavering stare, she sighed and looked back at her lap, defeated."I just...I can't believe they're still not talking to each other, it's been a week. They've never done that before. And Al got benched! Because of Malfoy!" Rose looked to Jo expecting a face of matching outrage but was met with an impassive face.

"I know, you told me right after Albus told you. And three times since then," Jo said without emotion. Rose looked at her, stunned.

"So you get mad at me for not telling you what's going on, and then make fun of me when I do?"

"Um, no. I asked what was going on in your life," she poked Rose in the stomach, "And for some reason, you're talking to me about Scorpius and Al. Who, however, pretty, I do not care about."

"Because that's what's making me upset!" Rose defended, feeling insecure. She couldn't understand why Jo couldn't understand her- her entire emotional state was based on the people around her. You know, like a normal person.

She raised an eyebrow at her."Really? That's it?" Rose nodded decidedly, and Jo sighed. "Alright, fine. Well. Have they talked to each other?"
Rose shook her head." No. Well, Scorpius benched him, but Albus was so embarrassed to even be at practice he said nothing. I think he figured he'd get over it-the Quidditch part, at least by the end of practice, but apparently, they're keeping it up until the next match."

"Right…." Jo stared at her, opening her mouth then closing it, only to open it again."Can I say something you might not like?"
"You do that all of the time."

"Ha. No, not about your hot uncle. It's just Al's been a bit...erratic? Lately. I don't entirely blame Scorpius for not wanting him playing for a bit. I mean, he did throw away their game the other day." She said tentatively. Rose's immediate instinct was to argue-yell even, but knowing Josephine Prosser had never told a lie in her life (she was as blunt as a knife and it did hurt Rose sometimes), she hesitated, letting her words sink in.

"You don't think it was personal?"

Jo shrugged."I don't know. Al said some pretty fucked up things. I guess what I'm saying is, you should at least give Malfoy the benefit of the doubt."

"I should?" Her mind was reeling with years worth of evidence that proved she should not, under any circumstance, give Scorpius Malfoy the benefit of any doubt. However, she also realized, that with every one reason she had to not trust Malfoy, Albus had ten on why he did.
"He's Al's best mate, Rose. The only other person he thinks of as highly as Scorpius is you."

Rose snuggled in closer to her, biting her lip. "I hate it when you're right."

"Mm, lucky for you, it doesn't seem to happen too often."

"Hey, hey! Al!" Rose shouted to Al. He quickly turned, though his face fell slightly when his eyes landed on Rose's face.

"Oh. Hey, Posie." He gave her a forced smile as he allowed her to catch up with him.

"Geez, don't look too excited to see me." She said, bumping her shoulder on his.

He blushed slightly."Sorry, I just thought you were...you might have been…"

"Malfoy?" She asked. Al looked down and nodded."Sorry, too much hair and not enough arrogance to be him."

He laughed, again forcibly. Rose stopped in the hallway and grabbed his wrist. "Hey, I'm going to the library. Wanna come?" He looked at her and nodded slowly. Not letting go of his wrist, she dragged him into the library. They looked like children, the dynamic they had created while they were still in diapers clearly evident as they sat down him putting his head in his hands and her leaning into him, frowning.

"I'm such an idiot." He had said this at least twelve other times today, earlier, when he had told her he'd been benched, but she just rubbed his arm soothingly.

"Hey, not always. Just...more so when James is involved."

"Maybe his stupidity is contagious." He mumbled, then looked up at her."Doesn't explain why I yelled at you the other day, though."

"No, it doesn't...So, then, what does?"She asked softly. He jerked slightly, looking at her.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. You yelled at me, you threw that game, what you said to Malfoy...I didn't notice, I guess I was busy making excuses for you but, um, you're not acting yourself, Al."

He looked at her for a few seconds, then sighed. Slowly, he reached inside his bag and brought out a letter with a small article clipped onto it. Silently, he pushed it towards her.

She picked it up, confused."What is this?"
"It's...James sent me the letter a day or two before Nana got sick, and the article came a few days later." He mumbled, nodding towards it. She began to read, a pit in her stomach forming.

Albie,

Hey little man. Sorry, I haven't reached out to you before, I've been super busy with Uncle George's shop. I've been taking a couple of extra shifts while I try to figure out what I'm doing next. I've got so many options, you know, it seems like I don't have enough lifetime for all the opportunities I've got. Anyway, enough about me. How are you doing in school? It doesn't matter much really, but Mum will be mad if you're failing anything. More importantly, are you practicing Quidditch? Not just with the team, but by yourself? You're a good player, it sucks you've got to play for Slytherin. Gives the entire family a headache when you play against Gryffindor.

You know, at heart, you're one of them,

James

Attached to the letter was a newspaper clipping. Rose didn't even read the little words: she was immediately entranced by a photo of her uncle Harry exiting his work office, clearly unaware he was being photographed, with the lettering reading:

Harry Potter: Ashamed over his disappointing son's continuous betrayal?

Incapable of reading more, Rose slowly lowered the papers, to see Al was sitting with his head in his hands. It was silent for a few moments.

"He refers to you as 'little man'?"

"Mhm."

"He is such a prick."

"Mhm."

"Does he really think you have some loyalty to Gryffindor?"

Al grimaced slightly. "Apparently, I do." Before Rose could respond, he let out a dry laugh. "Not that it matters. Seeing as that article came out a day later."

Rose paused, tilting her head."Wait. You didn't throw the game because of the letter?" He shook his head.

"No, James's letter was enough. I woke up to that article pinned on my bed frame. I think it was one of the Slytherin teammates."

"What a prick-I'll hex him if you need."

Al shook his head."No, no. I deserved it-they're probably right anyway." He said, looking down. Rose reached over and hit him with a book.

"Hey! What was that for?!"

"I'm trying to knock the self-pity out of you. Seems like I need to hit you again-"
"Rose Weasley I am not afraid to hex you!" She seriously doubted that, but lowered her arm, giving him a stern look.

"You need to stop. Uncle Harry is not ashamed of you. Bloody Hell, if anything, he should be ashamed of James, sending you that letter. At least you wash your bloody socks"
He gave her a pained look."Well, actually-"

"Al that's ridiculous.."
"I'm working on it."

"You're disturbed. Anyway. Uncle Harry is not ashamed of you. You are smart and charming, and caring, and aside from having smelly socks, you're put together. You're my favorite person and anyone with two eyes could see why."

He looked at her, his face softening slightly as he leaned his head on her shoulder."Rose, that was really lame."

"I know. We're such softies. Can you imagine if we were our parents?"

"Hey, I'd take a basilisk over this shit."
Rose giggled."And a troll?"
"Mm. Giant spiders too."

Believe it or not, when you're a 5'3 tall girl with bright red hair, you sort of stand out in the Slytherin boys locker room.

Ignoring the wolf whistles and 'what the fucks' Rose was getting, she marched into the locker room, diverting her eyes from anything but Scorpius Malfoy's extremely hexable face preparing her speech in her head. Though as she approached a very sweaty, very shirtless Scorpius Malfoy, words seemed a bit hard to find at the moment.

So, as he looked up at her, his face going from confusion to anger, his mouthing the words 'what the fuck as he trying to cover up his torso with a shirt, she decided to give up on words.

So she started to hit him. He looked bewildered as she smacked his arms and pushed him back.

"Weasley! What the fuck are you doing?!" He yelled. If everyone wasn't staring before, now they were.

"You-do-not-" She was hitting him with every word" Get-to-treat-me-like that!"

She continued to smack him until he groaned and grabbed her wrists, walking her so she was pushed against the locker. If she wasn't so angry, she probably would've felt weird about Malfoy being shirtless and having her against her locker.

But she was angry, so that's why her heart was going a mile a minute.

"Weasley, are you batshit insane?"
She looked up at him, glaring."It's been speculated before." She basically spat.

He laughed without humor, easing his grip on her. "What are you doing here? This is the boys' locker room if you hadn't noticed."
"I've been trying my best not to notice. I came to talk to you, you wanker."
"And it couldn't have waited until the net time I saw you?"
"Um, no. I'm mad now."
He looked at her for a few seconds, then sighed. "Come with me." He said, leading her to a smaller, enclosed room inside of the locker room. He slipped his shirt on, then raised his eyebrows at her.

"What?" She asked, suddenly aware of the size of the room. She was feeling a little breathless, but the heavy weight of the anger in her chest was too pressing to focus on any feeling in her tummy.

"You wanted to talk?"
"Yeah. You're a prick."
"You barged into a locker room and assaulted me to tell me something you've been telling me on a daily basis since we were eleven? Wait-is this about me benching Albus again? Because, Weasley, if it is, I swear to Merlin-"

"No! It's not that. I mean, it is, but it's not." He stared at her blankly, and she groaned."Bloody hell, Malfoy. You can't-you can't talk to me like you did this morning. We're...friends, sort of. Friends-in-law, really. You're a good friend to Albus, and I know you benched him because you knew he'd be too absent-minded to play after seeing that article, and it'd only make your teammates distrust him more-and-and you can't talk to me like that. Because you're a good friend to Al, and we're going to have to work as a team to keep him from making him all dark and twisty, and when you talk to me like that, it makes me do crazy things like want to tattle on you to your mom and ambush you in the locker room." She started out yelling, but by the end she had quieted down, dropping her gaze from his face to the floor.

It was silent for a moment. Then another moment. Rose was considering obliviating Malfoy to forget everything that had come out of her mouth as if she could stuff it back in when he finally spoke.

"Merlin Weasley, you're batshit insane."
She scratched the back of her head, blushing slightly."You've said that before." She looked up at him, to see him smirking slightly. She groaned."Stop laughing at me!"
He snickered, grinning at her."Listen, Weasley, if you wanted to see me shirtless, you could've just asked. You didn't have to go all soft on me and call me your friend-"

"Friend in law."
"Yeah, that's not a thing."
"Pretty sure I just made it a thing."
"Well, I'm pretty sure you're a lunatic." He was smiling when he said it, and it made her smile slightly too."But, you're a lunatic who I, and not by my own choice, will be in my life for the long run it seems. So. I'm sorry, I suppose I was being a bit...broody."
She mock gasped."You? Never."

He laughed slightly, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. She walked with him, looking up at him.

"For the long run, hm? So you're planning on forgiving Al?"

He shrugged nonchalantly, trying to hide a smirk."Yeah. Eventually. He's only apologized about a hundred times. Think I'm going to let him grovel a bit more. I've already gotten two broom cleanings and a robe steaming out of him."

"I can't tell what makes you more of a douche-making him grovel, or the fact that you got your robes magically steamed."

Scorpius just grinned at her, before stopping suddenly."Wait. Were you really going to tell on my mother to me?"

She raised her hands defensively, smiling."Jo's idea, not mine. Honestly, though, not a bad idea. She is pretty brilliant, after all."
Scorpius groaned, mumbling something about how he needed to have a talk with his mother about something called 'boundaries' (Rose wasn't really familiar), there was a creeping feeling of relief cooling down the anger in her chest.

It was weird, she thought. Her and Malfoy fight constantly, and she never stressed about it before. But walking with him, them teasing each other, she felt an abundant comfort in knowing that, at least for the next couple minutes, she probably wasn't going to hex Scorpius's eyebrows off.

A/N: Wow look at that, took way less time than the last chapter AND it's longer.

Let me know your thoughts :)