Chapter 8: Sleeping For The Wrong Team or, It's Funny How Reflections Change

Rating: M mainly for language, and I can't discount any funny business later on

Disclaimer: I work with only what the infallible J.K. Rowling has given me.

"Malfoy, I swear to God, if you do anything to compromise this project I will personally feed you to the Giant Squid."

Scorpius scowled. "You realise I'm the one being paired with second best and it's my reputation that's in jeopardy here."

Rose set her bag down and took out her textbook, even as she noticed that Scorpius' was already out on the table beside him. "You know if we could only stop arguing, we stand a fair chance at making the best potion in class."

Scorpius scoffed. "You know if you just fucked off and left me to do it, we'd definitely make the best one."

She shook her head, letting out a sharp laugh. "Well, this is the situation we're working with, so, sorry. Which page is it?"

"It's on the board."

"Yes, I know," she said, shortly, and then looked up. "Fifty-two," she murmured, thumbing through the book.

"Veritaserum," Scorpius said before she had found it, and she looked up to meet his gaze.

"Holy crap, really?"

"No, I'm joking."

She eyed him with a unfazed expression and crooked her hand on her waist. "So what's the plan?"

"Perhaps brewing the potion is a good place to start."

Rose gritted her teeth, and set her book down on the table with a loud thump. "Look, I'm really not in the mood. You can continue being an arrogant, self-invested, inconsiderate asshat, or you can set aside your stupid superiority complex for one goddamn hour and we can get this thing over and done with."

Scorpius simply studied her, and Rose feared in the silence he would hear her pounding heartbeat, but just as she was about to provoke an answer out of him, his mouth curled into a sneer. "My, my, Weasley, who knew you had such a mouth on you."

"That can't be the most terrible thing I've said to you in all these years."

"Asshat..." Scorpius mused. He laughed a little, and shook his head. "Shall we?"

It had taken Rose about twenty minutes to realise that this was the first time the two of them had been alone since she'd been forced into that horrible game and forced to do that…horrible thing. Not that they were often alone together, but still.

She was almost surprised that he hadn't brought it up, and she wondered if his reluctance to do so meant that he had found the experience as awful as she had. The thought didn't actually make her feel better.

"Weasley, I'm not saying so's to offend, but do you always work this slowly?"

She was startled out of her rumination and blinked. She lowered her gaze back to the cauldron and continued adding the Essence of Nightshade one drop at a time. "Slow and steady wins the race."

Scorpius kept her gaze and felt for the bottle of Lethe River Water, uncapped it, and let the liquid seep out so quickly Rose thought it impossible that he could actually be counting the drops, though the liquid unfailingly turned the exact shade of dark blue as said in the textbook. In another second he had recapped it and had lit the cauldron to a simmer. "Does it."

Rose rolled her eyes and glanced at the clock on the wall, beginning her five minutes of stirring.

In truth, Rose's thoughts had been preoccupied for the entire session. She had subtly been studying everything that Scorpius had been doing as they brewed together; she couldn't help it. Although they had shared the same Potions class for over six years, Rose had never really gotten a chance to be up close and personal with the Potions prodigy that was Scorpius Malfoy.

He brewed potions like no one she had ever seen. Instead of checking the heat every few seconds like she did, he seemed to instinctively know when the time was drawing to a close, and looked up at the clock only once, just seconds before it ended.

Rose had seen him speaking quietly to himself as he followed the textbook's directions, and when she asked him what he was saying, he muttered, "Just thinking about some theories," before underlining and annotating several instructions. She thought back to her own Charms textbook that was similarly scribbled upon.

While she had been watching him, a thought had struck her. "How did you know about Snape's book?"

Scorpius blinked, but didn't meet her gaze. "I don't understand the question."

"My uncle hid that book," Rose said, evenly.

"You think your uncle is the only one who can hide things?"

"In any case, most of the contents in that room were destroyed. You should know that; your father was there when it happened." She tried to keep the bitterness out of her voice.

"Not everything."

Rose could tell that Scorpius would not be sharing anything else, so she pocketed the thought for another time and checked the potion again. "I'm going to add the Lionfish Spines, okay?"

"Fine." He looked quickly at the simmering potion, and grabbed Rose's wrist before she could drop them in. "Wait."

Rose yanked her arm away and looked at him accusingly. "What?"

Scorpius consulted his textbook, and tapped at the scribbles lining the page. "You only need to add four spines, not five."

"The instructions say five."

Scorpius sighed. "I've done this with both reproductions. Four works better, trust me."

Rose's mouth had pursed the moment she'd heard the phrase Trust Me from Scorpius Malfoy, but she was momentarily distracted. "What do you mean you've done this before?"

Scorpius fleetingly caught her gaze but kept stirring. "I brewed this potion in fifth year."

"Why?"

"I was bored."

Rose paused. "You brewed a Professor's level potion in fifth year only because you had nothing else to do?"

Scorpius shrugged.

Rose stayed silent, but opened the lid of the jar beside her.

Scorpius' mouth raised up at the side at the four resounding plops, but whether it was a smirk or a smile, Rose didn't know.

Toby raised a hand in greeting as he turned into the corridor leading to the Slytherin Common Room entrance and spotted Scorpius at the stone wall.

"How was it?" he asked as soon as he had reached him.

Scorpius shrugged. "The usual. Episkey."

They walked through the revealed passage in silence, and it occurred to Toby that Scorpius wasn't in as bad a mood as he was expecting, though he said nothing.

Scorpius quickly spotted Liv reclining on the couch as she often did at this time of night and led the two over. Upon noticing that her legs were curled up beside her, he crossed over and sat. "Hi."

Toby excused himself upstairs ("I just need to prep something for tutoring, be right back") and Liv seemed jarred only when the door closed behind him.

Scorpius stared into the crackling fireplace since that was what she was doing, but stole a glance at her and knit his brow. Despite his callous nature, Scorpius was usually in tune with the emotions of those around him, even if he didn't always respond to them. Mainly because he couldn't bring himself to care, but this was Liv, and something told him that he needed to.

"Liv?" he asked, his voice coming out harder than he expected - no, wanted - it to, and he cleared his throat before consciously softening it. "You alright?"

She finally turned to face him, and smiled, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Hey. Yeah, I'm fine."

She turned back to the fireplace. "How was your Potions session?"

"Fine," Scorpius answered ineloquently, though it was because he was still trying to figure out why his girlfriend was acting so…odd. The last time they had been together, Liv had seemed fine; holding his hand, laughing when he made fun of Toby. The usual. Though - and the thought had been nagging at his brain for a while - Liv had been acting slightly strangely recently, sometimes distant for unfathomable moments, and then seemingly fine the next.

Frankly, Scorpius was slightly baffled. Then again, he'd never been in a proper relationship with Liv before now, and perhaps this was what she was bringing to the table. He considered counselling her that if she was attempting to spice up their relationship, this was not exactly the way to do it.

He looked up to see Liv staring expectantly at him, and he realised that she must've asked him a question. "Sorry, what?"

She gave him a sort of dry smile, and rested her hand on his as she stood. "I just said I think I'm going to head up. The day really took it out of me."

Scorpius nodded and watched her leave before his gaze switched back to the fireplace.

Perhaps she was playing hard to get. But from Scorpius' arguably adequate relationship know-how, that was always something that happened prior to the relationship in order to spark said relationship. Anyway, Liv never seemed interested in playing games like that. Neither was he.

His gaze lifted as he heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Hey, where'd Liv go?"

"She was tired."

"Oh."

"But," Scorpius started, and Toby's eyebrows raised in interest, "I think there's something else going on."

Toby prodded at Scorpius to shift over and sat. "Like what?"

Scorpius sighed. "Fuck if I know."

Toby nodded understandingly, and turned his gaze to where his friend was looking. "Loving letter from home?" he asked suddenly.

Scorpius cast his eyes downward to where he had unwittingly left the letter he had received that morning on the coffee table in front of them. His eyes slid over the Malfoy insignia embellishing the fold of the envelope. "You know, mum's usual."

"That could be your answer right there," Toby said, standing up and clapping Scorpius on the back. "Night, mate."

"Night," Scorpius replied absentmindedly, and he stared so long at the crest that had adorned his life for as long as he could remember that when he finally turned his gaze back into the fire, it still burned fiercely in his vision.

Rose Vanished the line she had just written, pursing her lips as she again struggled mid sentence to write down anything that sounded even remotely coherent.

It's too loud in here, she thought with annoyance, looking up with a furrowed brow at the crowded library. Even though she had bagged her favourite table - favourite because of its attempted distance away from the many others - her luck had quickly diminished as soon as three couples had claimed the three tables closest to her, and were, as far as she could tell, doing nothing even remotely in the realm of studying.

She twiddled with her quill, thoroughly tempted to roll up what was probably a terrible piece of writing anyway and just call it a day.

She was so immersed in her thoughts that she almost didn't notice her textbook jolting suddenly in front of her, very nearly pushing her spare quill onto the floor. She straightened, her hand shooting out towards it just as a smaller hand reached for it as well.

"Sorry!" cried an apologetic voice.

"It's no problem," Rose said, looking up to meet the girl who had spoken. The young girl threw her another apologetic look before weaving through more tables; for lack of anything better to do, Rose's gaze trailed her with distrait, one eyebrow raising as the girl reached her destination and sat down next to a bitterly familiar mop of platinum blonde hair.

The girl's face, previously wearing a look of sincere apology, had traded it in favour of an unscrupulous smirk, appallingly similar to the expression she was facing. Rose wondered if this was the student that Scorpius was teaching Potions to - as she had heard - or if he had instead realised that his body was too small a container to fit all of that pompous spitefulness and was attempting to spread it.

"You always make me feel late, you know that?"

Rose smiled at her cousin's arrival, and then furrowed her brows as she took a closer look at him. "You look wet, Al, and not in a showered sort of way."

Al grinned at her wryly before inhaling deeply. "Yeah, you smell that?"

"Sweat?"

"Magic."

She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Why can't you just shower like a normal, hygienic person?"

Al brushed a hand through his hair, and Rose glared at him as little droplets of water darkened the table. "Watch it!" She narrowed her eyes. "Hang on, we haven't had practice."

"I've been doing extra workouts recently, you know, since I'm Captain now and all that."

"Why don't you Charm yourself to not sweat instead?"

"Did you fail Biology, Rose?"

"Did you take Biology, Al?"

"Anyway, it helps to clear my mind, being out there."

Rose frowned at him. "What does your mind need clearing for?"

Al opened his textbook, seemingly engrossed in the Table of Contents page. "Nuthin'."

Rose stared at him, suspicion etched in her face, but lost her train of thought when she heard a loud snort. Her head snapped up - honestly, was it so hard to respect the sacred nature of library work? - and her eyes widened as she watched the girl who had jostled her things bat Scorpius' hand away as he extracted what looked like a trashy romance novel from her stack of books. Rose's eyebrows raised as he smirked at her, and teasingly read aloud the blurb while she worked; she glared at him, snarking back.

"Hello, Earth to Rose?"

Jolted, she shook out her hair and turned to face her cousin. "Sorry, what?"

Al scrutinised her, raising an eyebrow. He followed her gaze and his face relaxed. "This might sound mental, but our patrols session was surprisingly painless."

"You're joking."

"I'm not."

Rose cast another disbelieving look her cousin's way. "You must be."

"I'm not," Al repeated, laughing.

His cousin continued to appraise both him and his patrols partner. "Well, it looks like your new bestie's headed this way."

Al snigggered. "Looks like."

"Say hi, then, if you two are so chummy. Go on."

But as it turned out, Al didn't have to, since, as Scorpius passed by their table, he raised a subtle hand in greeting and said casually, "Alright, Potter?" before departing. Rose was so stunned that she didn't even realise that his silent treatment to her was, at least for them, unusual.

Al inclined his head cordially back and, as soon as Scorpius had passed their table, shook his head and chuckled.

"H-how?" Rose sputtered, angling her head just enough to watch Scorpius exit the library with his tutee in tow.

Al shrugged. "Turns out we have something in common."

"That's not a good thing, Al."

"Speaking of rounds," Al interrupted, the smile dropping off his face, "What are you going to do about yours with Goldstein?"

"She's going to thank her bloody stars that she has a friend like me."

Both of them turned to see Gen sliding into the seat on Rose's right, pointing the small piece of parchment she had in her hand in Rose's direction. "Charlie knows Christian a little and he was willing to help me out. Anyway," she continued, a faint blush dusting her cheeks, "He was getting a little too interested, and I don't think I can reciprocate."

Al's eyebrows raised at this, but he said nothing.

"So I get to do rounds with this one," Rose said, leaning against her friend and beaming at her. "And you get to do rounds with your best friend too, Al."

"Almost forgot." Gen offered the note in her hand to Rose. "McGonagall wanted me to give this to you. And what's this about Al's best friend?"

Rose studied the folded note for a second, then stuffed it into her pocket. "He'll explain it to you at dinner," Rose elaborated smoothly. "Or do you have a new best friend to eat with as well?"

"Piss off, Rosie."

"Okay, what the fuck is going on?"

Ms Weasley, Mr Malfoy,

I am pleased to share with you that the Heads dormitory is now available for your relocation. As soon as you are ready, you may vacate your current dormitories and settle into your new shared quarters. If you recall, the Heads dormitory is located on the sixth floor, in the most left wing of the castle, with the entrance opposite the portrait of The Hanging Tree. Kindly use "Hog's Head" as the default password until you have decided on a shared one. Please note that your former dormitories are still yours to use if desired.

Enjoy the new liberties granted to you by your achievements.

Regards,

Minerva McGonagall

Headmistress

"Still here?"

Scorpius finished folding his last shirt before he looked up. "And I was so hoping I could sneak out before you got back." He levitated his shirt into his suitcase and locked it. "Your eyes get frighteningly puffy when you cry, did you know? Looks awful."

"As long as you know that your nose runs like Niagara Falls."

The two shared an roguish smile as Toby surveyed the room. "You just finishing up then?"

Scorpius nodded, looking around his glaringly empty section of the room, though he was never one to be heavy on decor; apart from his trunk and table clock, the only other obvious indicator of his residency was the usually full cabinet next to his bed. Scorpius followed Toby's gaze to the glass doors that put its emptiness on display.

"Got everything from the bathroom?"

"Yes."

"And your section of the wardrobe?"

"All of it."

"I would've helped you," Toby said, still peering around the room. "If I hadn't been caught up with tutoring."

It was one of those rather alarming moments where Scorpius could feel a genuine smile forming on his face; it came to his attention that it required far more muscles than his usual smirk. He busied himself straightening out his already straightened sheets. "I'm a big boy, Tobias, and big boys do their own packing."

Toby spread his hands. "I'll be lying here laughing if you've forgotten something and have to climb all the way back down here to fetch it, and then all the way back up again."

"It would be useful if there was an Accio-all-of-my-things spell," Scorpius said, waving his hand around vaguely.

"If there's anyone who could see to it, it would be you," Toby said, sitting down and shaking his head. He paused. "It is a Charms spell, come to think of it, which is more Rose Weasley's department. Good thing you're roomies then, isn't it?"

Scorpius grunted.

"First time in seven years," Toby said, somewhat wistfully.

"First time what in seven years?"

Toby reached out his hand and trailed his fingers along the wooden frame of his bed. "First time in seven years we won't be sharing a room."

"You'll have to find someone else to braid your hair and brush your teeth for you," Scorpius said, adopting his friend's tone. But they each looked up and met the other's rueful smile, and Scorpius thought it was time he should be going.

"Alright, I'm putting this Schmaltz family act to bed," he said, wordlessly commanding his trunk to rise. "But you know my couch has your name on it."

Toby straightened as if to get up. "You want me to walk you?"

Scorpius shook his head, though he still smirked. "You think I want Weasley seeing me getting dropped off like a child at daycare?" He, however, had decided to leave as early as classes and packing had permitted him so he could be there before her, ready to issue her some scathing comment as soon as she walked in-

"Sod what Rose Weasley thinks."

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "You sit tight, Schmaltzy, and I'll see you at Quidditch."

"Alarte Ascendare?"

"No."

"Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them?"

"No."

"Ferula?"

"Honestly, Weasley, if someone does manage to get inside, I'd rather them be at least entertaining in some way."

"Well, don't offer all your ideas at once," Rose said, waspishly, thoroughly tempted to give her wand a swift flick and flatten the boy next to her with a fifty pound trunk.

Scorpius glared at her, and then opened his mouth.

"If it's a Quidditch manoeuvre, you can forget it."

Scorpius sourly closed his mouth.

"Aparecium? It means 'to reveal' so it seems quite fitting."

"Fitting, better known as guessable," Scorpius interjected. "What about a potion?"

"What about a compromise?"

Scorpius paused. "I'm listening."

Rose tapped her finger against her arm, training her eyes on him. "Something that represents both of us. What about 'Leo Anguis'?"

"You speak Latin."

"No. Do you?"

"No."

"It'll do," Scorpius said finally, and Rose took that to be as good a compliment as any as they turned the last corridor and arrived at the portrait opposite The Hanging Tree.

The two of them stared uncomprehendingly at the painting guarding their entrance, their eyes flickering briefly in each other's direction. Rose's mouth opened in bewilderment as she took in what appeared to be a snapshot from the Old West, and she zeroed in on the sudden movement in the forefront of the picture.

The figure stopped plucking his guitar and leisurely turned to face them. "Well, howdy, I was just here told you'd be arrivin', don't mind ma guitar now - I only take it out when I get lonesome."

There were a few pregnant beats of silence, before-

"Good grief," Scorpius said in a horrified voice. "What in Merlin's name are you supposed to be?"

The cowboy jumped up from where he had cushioned himself within a hay bale - his guitar squealing in protest as it clanged onto the dusty ground - and stuck out his hand. "John H. Wyatt reporting for duty." He paused. "But y'all can just call me John."

"It's very nice to meet you, John," Rose said as soon as the side-eye she gave Scorpius indicated that he would not be talking first. "I'm Rose Weasley. And this is Scorpius Malfoy."

"You got somethin' in your throat?" John asked, pointing at his own. "Or maybe you're just the quiet type? My ma always said when I were a young-un I weren't the talkin' type, but as soon as I got myself hitched, I knew I had'to give as hard as I got, and well, I'm hardly recognisable today."

"Are you well versed in English?" Scorpius asked, with no hint of sarcasm.

John H. Wyatt yawned, picking up his guitar and inspecting it. "I ain't a half-wit, dude," he said, pleasantly. "My ma taught me to speak in seven languages."

"Is one of them English?" Scorpius asked seriously. Rose looked down to see his fingers stiffening along the folds of the robe he had bunched up in his hand.

"You must excuse my dorm mate," Rose said smoothly, though John's relaxed face clearly said that Scorpius was having no effect on him. "He's been terribly afflicted recently."

"Afflicted how?" John asked, raising an eyebrow as he sat down on the worn bench next to the hay bale.

"An incurable skin disease, I'm afraid," Rose said, looking at her companion with sympathy. "Drains the skin of all colour, leaving it sickeningly pale. Horrible, really." As Scorpius opened his mouth furiously, Rose hastily carried on. "Hog's Head, if you please, John. And we would like the new password to be 'Leo Anguis'."

John nodded a few times, though his mouth twitched slightly. "I hope you get yourself fixed, tenderfoot."

Rose waved a hand, sweeping them through the newly revealed hole. "Completely incurable, John!"

Scorpius arched his back away from her hand and twisted to look at her. "You are absolutely-"

"Welcome?" Rose supplied pointedly. "Unless you want to spend the rest of seventh year locked outside your own dormitory?" The thought seemed to occur to her, and dejectedness briefly flitted across her face. "Drat."

"We are going straight back to McGonagall right now," Scorpius hissed, looking back at the closed door.

"Why?" Rose asked, a light snicker escaping her lips as she took in his livid expression.

Scorpius leaned in conspiratorially. "Because, Weasley, I refuse to have our room guarded by a - a hillbilly!"

"I can hear y'all in cahoots, you know?" came the amused voice from outside. "But I'll pay no mind, we're gonna be partners soon, believe you me."

Scorpius huffed heavily. "My father shall be very interested to hear about this John H. Wyatt."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Stop being so ridiculous, he seems very…interesting."

Scorpius dropped his trunk onto the floor with a dull thud. "I forgot the two of you share so much in common. You must not get many opportunities to converse with other such unsophisticated country persons. Please, don't let me stop you."

"He can hear you," Rose hissed, instinctively swivelling around to check the entrance again.

"I don't care," Scorpius hissed back, then repeated it louder.

Rose pulled a hand through her hair, focusing hard on the sensation. She sighed. "Which room do you want?"

"You can choose."

"I like this one," she said, pointing to the one closest to the door.

"And I want the other one," Scorpius replied, already moving towards the back end of the room.

"Is that it?" Rose called, surveying the space around them. "You don't want to figure out how we're going to style this place?"

"What's to style?" Scorpius asked, his gaze moving towards the desk and couch.

"Wall colour, carpet colour, decorations," Rose said, shrugging. "I don't know."

"I have Quidditch," Scorpius said. "And we're finishing late."

"I'm busy tomorrow."

"Sunday night?"

Rose nodded. "Okay. That works. It's a da—plan. Appointment. It's an appointment."

Scorpius smirked. "Then I'll see you Sunday for our…appointment."

Rose charmed her trunk to rise again and had deposited it on her bed when Scorpius said loudly, "Do I need to cast a noise cancellation charm, or will you two behave yourselves?"

"You don't need to worry about that," Rose said shortly, before she walked into her room and shut the door behind her without looking back.

"Good," Scorpius called out, because he didn't know what else to say.

"And once you fly here, I need you two to disperse at ten o'clock and five o'clock, and then, Sydney, you take out the remaining Chaser in the middle. All clear?"

Scorpius, who usually commanded his team through a mixture of fear and respect, lowered his eyes towards his two Chasers and narrowed them as he realised the minuscule movement of their lips meant that they were talking. "Are you two listening?"

Toby, who was hovering next to them, silently shook his head and tsked.

"We're running through plays here!" Scorpius snapped, urging his broom forward and pulling up in front of them. "So shut up."

Noah Bixby raised his hands in surrender. "Ten o'clock, got it."

Jack Harrington, grimacing, flew uncertainly in the vaguely opposite direction. "I'll just…be over here then."

Scorpius glowered at him and thrusted out a finger directing him where to fly.

He watched approvingly as, despite their inattentiveness, his Chasers and Beater carried out the play satisfactorily and flew back towards him. "Good, alright, now, when Sydney's dealt with the Chaser in the middle, that still leaves us with—are you fucking kidding me?"

Much closer now, he had heard snatches of conversation. His gaze darkened as 'Rose Weasley', 'break-up' and then 'on the market' was discernible, and he unwittingly compressed the Quaffle in his hands. "Bixby! Harrington! Take a lap!"

The two in question exchanged incredulous looks. "For what?"

"For not shutting the fuck up when I tell you to! And take another one for back talking the Captain."

As the Beaters dismounted, Toby sidled over, tossing the other Quaffle between his fingertips. "You okay, man?"

Scorpius shrugged nonchalantly. "I'm fine. Nothing's up. Why?"

"Did you know about that? You know, Rose and Christian calling it quits?"

"Of course I did," Scorpius said loftily. "And I'm sure Weasley's decision was affected by my penchant for astute judgement."

The Chaser frowned, his gaze honing in on Scorpius' telltale jaw. "Okay, I only ask since you're acting kind of-"

"Back to your post!" Scorpius barked. "Or I'll make you take a lap too!"

Rose was prone to taking baths in time of stress. And this, she thought, definitely counted as a time of stress.

She had finally managed to finish her Transfiguration essay - though she had to scrap most of what she had written in that ineffectual library session - and decided to reward her efforts with a nice Saturday afternoon bath.

She had just entered her room, her mind preoccupied with thoughts of the prefects' bathroom - since it was so much nicer than her own - and was just dropping off her bag when she noticed a tawny owl sitting on her windowsill.

At the sight of her, it plucked out the letter from its leg-strap and dropped it onto the table before flying off.

Rose scanned the note, felt her heart flop somewhat, and realised with despondency that she would not be taking a bath today.

"You're awfully sprightly for someone who's headed to the Hospital Wing."

"I happen to have been summoned here," Scorpius replied pompously as soon as their paths had converged. "Madam Pomfrey obviously requires my expertise."

Rose groaned. "She Owled you as well?"

Scorpius skidded to a halt as they reached the doors. "Bloody brilliant, as if we don't spend enough time together as it is. Can't you find something else to do, like make out with your boyfriend? Oh, wait, sorry," he said, not sounding sorry in the least.

Rose's fist twitched; she balled it up, her fingernails digging deep into her palms. "Don't you have a girlfriend to snog, Malfoy?"

"Your comments are trite, as usual."

Rose sighed. "We'll be of no use to Pomfrey if we keep arguing."

"You're already of no use to her."

"See, that's what bitter looks like!"

He attempted to barrel past her but underestimated the force of her pushing back. The two tumbled into the room together, but judging by Pomfrey's reaction, she mistook their headlong arrival to be a sign of their uncurbed enthusiasm.

"Ah, there you are!" The nurse beckoned them over to the three inhabited hospital beds. "We had a very nasty Quidditch mishap. Why they allow this sport to go on, I really don't know."

While she had been speaking, Rose had noticed with surprise that she seemed to be in travelling clothes. "Madam Pomfrey, are you going somewhere?" she asked.

"Urgent matter at home, I'm afraid." She pointed to the boy gingerly drinking out of an opaque cup. "He needs only rest now, but the others require more extensive and time consuming dedication." She turned to properly face both of her students. "I trust the both of you to aptly attend to their injuries."

They nodded, and watched as Pomfrey left the room.

"I'll uh…take this one over here, then," Rose said, edging over to the boy closest to her. "Hi," she said, quietly, as the boy's eyes opened at the sound of her voice. "I'm Rose."

"I know who you are," he laughed lightly, then winced.

Rose grimaced, and grabbed the clipboard at the end of the bed. "Bad fallout with a Beater's bat, huh, Mich-" She choked as her gaze drifted over his full name. "Goldstein." She swallowed. "Christian's brother?"

He nodded. "I'm Michael."

Rose bit her lip. "I suppose you don't like me very much, do you?" she asked, her light tone betrayed by her voice breaking.

Michael laughed again. "I'd probably like you more if you could sort out my broken ribs and shattered knee cap."

Rose exhaled and nodded purposefully, hoping he didn't see as she fumbled with her wand as she drew it from her robes.

This would be his entertainment for the day, Scorpius decided. Watching Rose Weasley squirm was delicious on every level, and since it happened so rarely, it was something that he exceptionally treasured.

"Do you um…sing too?"

Scorpius barely withheld his laughter as Michael answered succinctly, "Not really."

"Oh. Interesting."

"What's so funny?"

Scorpius looked down to see his charge - Austin - frowning up at him. He bent down to reply. "Weasley's patient is her ex-boyfriend's brother."

"That doesn't sound too bad."

"It might not be, if she hadn't broken up with him less than a week ago."

"Ah."

Scorpius grinned, and looked up. "Oi, Weasley, I need to check something with you."

She looked up suspiciously, but walked over. "Like you need help," she scoffed softly.

"You would be right," he whispered back. "So, how's the patient? Michael, is it? He looks awfully familiar, might I know him?"

Rose elbowed him. "Shove off, Malfoy."

Scorpius looked up to see Michael engrossed by their conversation, and leaned over Austin's bed. "Don't let your brother take it personally, mate," he said with sincerity. "If Weasley hadn't secretly been begging me for a date, she might've stayed with him."

Austin groaned loudly. "Fuck. I owe Georgia fifteen Galleons."

"Which she owes me," Michael whooped. "Hand it over."

"I'll give it to you at dinner," Austin replied, burrowing himself back down into the bed in disappointment.

Scorpius watched in dismay as his attempt at humiliation backfired miserably, though he took certain joy in Rose's face turning the colour of a ripe tomato.

"No, no, Michael, Malfoy and I are absolutely not in any sort of-"

Austin patted her hand consolingly. "I understand that you don't want it to get out. Force of habit, and all of that."

"It's not like that, I don't have any romantic interest in Malfoy. Or any interest whatsoever, come to think of it."

"Don't worry," Austin reassured her again. Rose was beginning to get seriously annoyed by his incessant hand patting. "We believe you." He winked.

"Oh, for-" Rose stopped at the sight of Michael sitting contentedly back in his bed. She glowered at Scorpius, who only looked more amused. "Just forget it."

Liv smelled like cinnamon today.

That's what Scorpius was thinking as they lay on his bed in a comfortable silence on Sunday afternoon, with Liv occasionally humming up towards the ceiling.

"I like this."

Scorpius shifted to face her. "This…silence?"

"No," she laughed lightly. "I like that you have your own room now, and we don't have to worry about Toby or Noah or Shane, or that other guy with those weird posters."

"Theo."

"Or Theo."

They lapsed back into quiet again, and that was nice too. But, as nice as it was, there was something incessantly tugging at Scorpius' brain, and he flicked his eyes back to where his girlfriend lay. "So I guess you're not pissed at me anymore, huh?"

Liv looked at him properly, then rolled onto her side, propping herself up on her elbow. "No, I'm not. We made up at the party, remember?"

"I didn't mean the party; I meant Thursday night when we were in the Common Room, and you sort of just…left."

"I wasn't mad at you."

"I got this letter from home, it was on the table where you were working, I just wondered-"

"It wasn't that," Liv said, quickly, and though she was facing him, she suddenly felt very far away.

"So what was it then?"

"No, I didn't mean—it was nothing."

Scorpius turned to more fully face her, and then they were close enough to kiss if he wanted. "You sure?"

Liv found his hand and clasped it in both of hers. "Can we just forget it? I was just, you know, having an off day." She leant in, pressing her lips softly against his, before drawing back and rolling to face the ceiling again.

If not her words, her body language was enough to indicate that the subject was closed, and some part of Scorpius was relieved, though another facet of his brain still thrummed in dissatisfaction. "How's the wedding prep going?"

"Anniversary."

"Oh, right. Sorry."

"That's okay." She sighed, and Scorpius looked over with a touch of concern but was met only by her peaceful expression. "I sent some boards over to them and they really love all of my ideas — I chose the cream and plum one that you liked, remember that one?"

"Oh, yeah."

"Hey." Liv sat up, resting her hand lightly on his chest, tracing the logo of the shirt he was wearing. "My aunt told me I would be allowed a plus one, and uh…I thought maybe that could be you."

Scorpius blinked, training his eyes on her fingers before settling back on her face. "That would be nice," he said. "I haven't seen your aunt and uncle in a while, actually. You're not inviting Toby as well, are you?"

Liv scrunched up one side of her nose. "I know he usually comes with but, well…I thought it could be a little different this time."

"Different how?" Scorpius asked, and then he became aware of the weight on his chest, the featherlight brushes, and he thought he knew.

Liv's expression clearly said she thought he should have known too. "You know, you'd be coming over as my boyfriend this time - the last time they saw you we were in fourth year, and we were still only friends."

"Would it make such a difference?"

Liv raised an eyebrow, and seemed to forcedly relax it. "It makes a difference to me."

Scorpius searched her eyes, and if he were a lesser man, he would've gulped. Instead he summoned some form of a smile onto his face, and propped himself up as well. "Let's re-meet your family then."

Liv smiled back, and then her gaze drifted past him and towards his bedside table. "You had something on at eight, right?"

Scorpius made a face, and nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"It's eight."

Scorpius groaned, and then stretched his arms, running a hand through his hair as he swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood. He held out a hand for Liv to stand too, and followed her out of his room.

His mouth pursed as soon as he saw the two figures curled up on the couch, laughing quietly in harmony.

Liv followed his gaze and smirked. She lifted up onto her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "Have fun."

"Bye," he said, and as soon as she had disappeared he turned his gaze over to the middle of the room. "Okay, Weasley, tour's over. Bye, Chang."

"Bye, Malfoy," Genevieve said, barely sparing him a glance.

"We have an appointment," he said, his smirk leaking into his voice as he folded his arms.

"Yeah, I'm sure."

Rose sighed. "He's not lying. We're decorating."

Gen furrowed her brows, laughing in disbelief. "Decorating? That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen."

"Yeah, well, I'm waiting for something else to happen," Scorpius said pointedly, looking between Gen and the door.

Gen looked at Rose, and then hopped to her feet. "See you tomorrow." She got to the door and turned around. "I'll pray for you."

"She'll need it," Scorpius interjected, and Gen shook her head in pity for her friend before she left.

Rose retreated back into her room to fetch her Charms book and returned to see Scorpius doing the same.

"Can we try and get this done without incident?" Rose rubbed at her temple. "I think you've already given me a headache."

Scorpius flipped his book open, and Rose immediately recognised the chapter for Decorative Charms. He looked up and met her gaze. "Shall we make this official, then?"

A/N:

Hihi :) As always, hope everyone enjoyed the chapter - hopefully I'll be churning these out a little faster since the summer's here. Just as an aside, this fic has 22 planned chapters, though it might drop down to 20, we'll see. Chapter titles come from Fall Out Boy's Sugar, We're Going Down and James Bay's Let It Go.

~ Rach