Chapter Four
"So what did you make Rose do yesterday?" asked Albus in the passing as they were doing transfiguration homework in the Gryffindor Common Room.
"Pardon?" said Scorpius, caught off guard.
Albus scrunched his eyebrows up. "Well she refused to tell me and now you're acting all weird about it too."
"I'm not acting weird about it," said Scorpius defensively.
"No, you're acting perfectly normal," said Al sarcastically.
"You know, sarcasm is not a good look for you, my friend," quipped Scorpius, dipping his quill into the pot of black ink in between them.
"Don't change the subject," sighed Al. "If you like totally humiliated her and sort of crushed her spirit or something equally dramatic, she's still my cousin and I'd have to kill you."
"Somehow you don't strike me as the killing type," joked Scorpius. "Honestly nothing happened. I fell asleep and the little wench woke me up at midnight; when the bet ended. If anyone's spirit was crushed it was mine."
"That's actually quite funny," laughed Al. "I'm quite proud of her for that to be honest."
"Yeah you would be," grumbled Scorpius. "And I have rounds with the darling little Weasley in about ten minutes."
"Ooh won't that just be fun."
"Haven't I just said about that sarcasm?"
They'd been patrolling together for about half an hour now. Half an hour patrolling with Rose meant half an hour of walking in silence. Scorpius was bored. It felt awkward walking with somebody and not communicating with them; especially, someone who he was in close contact with every single day.
She was walking slightly ahead of him. It was chilly in the stone corridors and so over her uniform she was still wearing her billowing black robes as well. He could hear her heels clatter against the stone flooring and it was driving him mad. He couldn't take the tap-tap tapping, over and over again. A continuous cycle of annoyance.
"I think we should be more civilised," announced Scorpius, all of a sudden, somewhat surprising himself as well as Rose who had stopped walking in shock. Scorpius, who didn't notice in time, accidentally bumped into her and had to place his hands on her hips to stop her from tumbling over.
"What?" she asked in confusion. Her eyebrows practically disappeared into her hairline. "Malfoy are you feeling okay?"
"See? This is the problem!" exclaimed Scorpius, letting go of her body and waving his hands for emphasis. "I say something that would ease our situation and you think I'm ill."
"But we don't like each other," replied Rose as though she was explaining something to a five year old. "Are you actually suggesting we be friends?"
"I'm suggesting that we try to get along for once," explained Scorpius, running a hand through his blonde hair. He was confusing himself in all honesty. Why was he trying to be friends with her? Surely their arrangement of snide remarks and petty laughter that they had shared for six years was perfectly fine for the both of them?
"Why now?" asked Rose, sharply, leaning against the wall. "After six years, why now?"
"Because maybe I've grown up and realised how childish we are," said Scorpius, with a sigh. "And maybe because I see how it affects Al."
Her face fell slightly and he knew she understood what he meant. Albus was a very patient and calm person and Scorpius had no idea how he did it every day. Having to put up with two best friends who bickered and fought for attention must be hell.
"Listen, Weasley, I know you love Al as much as I do," reasoned Scorpius. "Let's try do this for him. After all, we decided we didn't like each other, we never actually tried to get to know each other."
Rose looked at him and bit her lip in thought. He could tell that agreeing to this would be painful and it would mean not listening to her pride. "If we're going to be 'friends' then perhaps you should call me Rose and not Weasley."
"Okay... Rose," said Scorpius with a small smile. The name felt foreign on his tongue. "That would mean you have to use my first name as well."
"Scorpius," said Rose, clearly as though she trying a new spell for the first time. "Wow – that is weird."
"Tell me about it," chuckled Scorpius, stuffing his hands into his trouser pockets.
Rose sent him a small smile and then a look of confusion sank over her face again. "Okay how are we going to do this?"
"How about we just talk?"
"Talk?"
"For the rest of our patrol, let's just ask each other questions," suggested Scorpius, with a cheeky smile on his face.
"Well you go first then," said Rose, tucking some of her wild hair behind her ear in a behaviour that seemed shy for her. It was definitely going to be strange from now on.
"Alright then," he agreed as the pair of them starting walking again. "Who is your favourite cousin? Outside of Albus of course."
"James," replied Rose easily.
"Really?"
"I know he's an extremely annoying git at times (well most of the time) but he's always been there for me. He's the big brother I don't have," explained Rose. "You know that Albus is older than me, right? Well apparently when James was waiting for his little brother to be born, he wanted a sister, so when Al turned out to be, well, a boy, he was disappointed. Then a couple of months later, I was born, and he loved me."
"He's never been that loving to Lily though," said Scorpius, bemused.
"Yes, well by the time he did actually get a little sister, the novelty of having one had worn off," laughed Rose.
Scorpius grinned, sharing a smile with her. They both looked at each other with small smiles in what he could only describe as the awkward first date stage. Despite the fact that this wasn't a date and they had known each other for years. They had just never known each other properly.
"Which cousin of mine is your favourite?" asked Rose. "I have plenty to choose from."
"It is so tempting to say Lily just to annoy you but I shall refrain from doing so," smirked Scorpius. "Surprisingly enough it's James again."
"My, my, isn't he popular," said Rose, rolling her eyes. "You're going to have to explain that one."
"When I was sorted into Gryffindor, everybody was against it," said Scorpius, his eyes storming over. "Nobody would talk to me or sit near me that first night because I was a Malfoy and I didn't belong in Gryffindor. James told everybody that I did belong. He said that his father's godfather belonged to a dark family and he was one of the greatest Gryffindors there ever was. On that same night, he also introduced me to Albus."
"Even though he is an annoying idiot, he really does have a heart," said Rose softly. "I'm sorry that I was one of those people."
"It's okay, it's hard being me but I'm used to it."
"You think it's hard to be you? Really?" laughed Rose in disbelief.
"Yes," said Scorpius, raising his voice ever so slightly. "I've had to grow up with people thinking my family is scum. Even when I was a little child I knew that. It's hard for a five year old to understand why people hate his dad when to him; his dad is the greatest guy in the whole world. When I knew the whole story, it meant I had to work harder than everyone else in every department so that I could prove that I wasn't like him. That I wasn't scum."
"It's a lot harder to prove your better than someone who was bad than it is to live up to a remarkable person's standards," complained Rose, bitterly. "Two remarkable people in fact. I love my parents but they set the bar pretty high. Growing up, I've had it harder than my cousins, despite the fact that their father is Harry Potter. My mother is the cleverest witch of her age (and other ages to think of it) and my father is a top Auror, not to mention funny and loved. They make up two thirds of the Golden Trio; a super couple. Everybody was waiting for them to have kids and when I finally arrived the whole Wizarding World had ridiculous expectations."
"We've both had points to prove, it's probably why we never got along. We're too alike."
"Shall we get onto a lighter topic?" suggested Rose wisely. "Talking about having to live up to my parent's standards will only get me moody."
"When did you lose your virginity?"
"Wasn't expecting that question, but you do have a filthy mind," chuckled Rose. "It was the Summer before Fifth Year with Jake Wood."
"Oliver Wood's son?" exclaimed Scorpius, raising his eyebrows. "Wasn't he in James' year?"
"Yep," replied Rose. "Not nearly as impressive as you would have thought."
Scorpius laughed; like an actual loud burst out laughing laugh. "Nice to know. I lost mine at the tender age of fifteen also. To your cousin."
"What?" screeched Rose.
"Joking."
"So not funny!" cried out Rose, slapping his shoulder. "Who was it? I've told you mine."
"It was a muggle girl."
"A Malfoy losing his virginity to a muggle," proclaimed Rose laughing. "The Daily Prophet would have a field day with that one."
"I know, but it's true," said Scorpius, chuckling with her. "I still see her from time to time in the holidays."
"So she's your fallback shag?"
"Well not really, as I only see her a few weeks out of the year."
"What do you want to do once you've left school then?" asked Rose as they both jumped over the vanishing step. Scorpius had got stuck in it once in his First Year and he had made a silent vow with himself that he would never be as stupid as to do it again.
"I want to be a Healer," grinned Scorpius proudly. For the first time in what he could remember, she looked at him in amazement. Her big blue eyes were filled with awe and a big sweet smile dawned her face. "Why are you so surprised?"
"I'm not surprised to be honest," smiled Rose. "I've just never really thought about your life after Hogwarts as such, apart from the fact that I'd never have to see you again."
"Ouch," replied Scorpius. "What do you want to do then?"
The smile from her face dropped in an instant. "I don't know."
"You seriously don't know?" asked Scorpius incredulously.
"I don't have a clue," groaned Rose. "It sucks again because everybody expects me to have things sorted."
"Deadlines for applications are nearing."
"I know; I think I might just apply for a bunch and then see which ones I get picked for."
"You don't want to be stuck in a job you hate," said Scorpius sincerely.
"Don't worry about me," said Rose with a devilish smile. "I'll sort it out soon. Besides if in doubt, I have a lot of family members with varying careers. I'll definitely find a job somewhere."
Scorpius glanced at his silver watch; ten to twelve. "Our patrol is practically is over and our Common Room is a corridor or two away so we might as well go now."
"I'm exhausted anyways," said Rose with a yawn. "You have tired me out Mister Malfoy."
Scorpius laughed. "I'm sure that many other misters have but I am not one of them."
"You're never going to let the 'Rose likes to have sex' thing go are you?"
"Probably not," smirked Scorpius, muttering the password to the portrait and letting Rose enter first as it swung open.
"Well I'm off to bed now," announced Rose, with her hand on her bedroom door. "And before you say anything, I'm off alone."
"This has been nice you know," admitted Scorpius with a sincere smile. "Surreal but nice."
"Playing nice with a Malfoy; who would have thought."
"Can I ask you a question?"
"You just did," replied Rose with a smirk.
"Why did you follow my command last night?" asked Scorpius. "Without complaining about it or resisting?"
"I saw you naked," said Rose, with a shrug of her shoulders. "I figured it would even things up a little."
