2. Mister Smart-Ass
The first few weeks of school passed unspectacularly. There wasn't much to study yet and little to celebrate, so most of the students lazily drifted through their days. Not even the Quidditch season had started yet, and so it seemed the only two people with actual work on their hands were the head students.
Rose and Malfoy kept their distance when they could, but this early on in the school year coordination and collaboration were, unfortunately, key. Rose spoke to him as little as possible, and they worked on most of their tasks separately. As she was better at communicating, it was usually her job to look after, instruct and delegate the prefects. Sure, fulfilling her head girl duties could have been more pleasant, but sharing them with Malfoy was not half as horrible as she had imagined them to be. Without his spitfires he was less despicable than usual. When she mentioned this to her friends she received nothing but put-off looks.
"Less Malfoy, more life," Dominique insisted.
"He sucks the life out of every girl he touches. Shoulda seen Margaret when they were through. I swear I didn't see her eat for days," Roxanne added.
Amy rolled her eyes. "They are snakes, not vampires."
"Dracula!" Roxanne hissed nevertheless and giggled.
"It's Margaret's own fault if she gets involved with the likes of him. Everyone knows by now that he's not gonna acknowledge you with his little toe once you're over." To emphasise her point, Rose wriggled her toes in Dominique's direction who was sitting on the floor by her bed.
"The forbidden is utmost temptation. The unattainable is to be strived for," she uttered philosophically after pushing Rose's foot to the side and earned side glances from her friends.
"Bad boys are sexy. Where would we get our crises if blokes weren't there to stir 'em up?"
In response Rose furrowed her eyebrows disapprovingly. "Common, Roxy, that's not good enough a reason to fall for any of them. They change their girls like underwear. And you should never let a guy dictate your life in any case."
"I've always wondered whether those kinds of blokes wear underwear." Dominique had taken to flicking through her astronomy book, but quickly put it down as it made her feel too guilty for not actually studying. Her question was ignored.
"Bed bunnies is the proper term here if you look at some of the younger girls they've dated."
"How young?" Amy looked up discernibly.
"Fourth grade I bet. They're growing up so fast the guys can just act as if they weren't children anymore. Boys are despicable." A dark shadow laid itself across Roxanne's face while Dominique looked at her in shock.
"Fourth grade? Lily is only just in fourth grade," protested Amy.
"Exactly!" Rose joined in again. "She already looks like a model. Or a potential one at least."
"Still you can tell that she's not a woman yet." Reclined on Roxanne's bed, Amy was pulling apart strands of her dark hair above her.
"Well, neither are we," Dominique pointed out. "Or would you call yourself 'women'?"
"Yes," came the confident answer from all her three friends.
"Well, not me," she said hesitantly.
"That's okay," assured Amy softly.
"Maybe it's because you've never..."
"Neither have I, nor Amy," Rose quickly interrupted Roxanne's suggestion. When Amy didn't say anything, they all turned to look at her.
"Amy?!" Roxanne gasped in shock at the fact that she hadn't told them yet.
"Yeah, well, yeah," she said defiantly. Immediately, Dominique sat by her side.
"Common, let's hear it!"
The youngest of them shook her head. "It's not really worth telling, so I'd rather not."
"Are ya sure?" Roxanne wriggled her eyebrows, but Amy stubbornly averted her gaze.
"Let her be," Rose suggested. "Amy can tell us when she's ready and if she wants to. Right, Amy?"
"Yeah, maybe." The Longbottom stretched out on the bed and crossed her arms behind her head. "I don't get it anyway. Have you ever read the books about your uncle?"
"Wasn't necessary," Roxanne snorted. "The stories are retold at every family gathering."
Amy nodded with satisfaction. "Okay, so you know things were different back then. I don't get the feeling that love and sex and stuff were all that important then. It was all about saving the world and such."
"Yeah, and now we have to save the world from getting STIs from Slytherins," teased Roxanne, but her words were followed by a silence that seriously considered what Amy had said.
"That was a different generation. The further you go back, the more prude people were," Rose finally offered.
"Sure, but you can barely go less prude than today."
Dom shook her head. "All teenagers thought they were total rebels. Besides, in mum and dad's time there were other things going on, like you said Amy. There was a celebrity at school, the chamber of secrets was opened, a major criminal broke out of prison, there was the Triwizard Turnament, and the whole Voldemort thing was sure to distract them, too."
Before speaking on she let her words hang in the air for a moment. "Under those circumstances there is no need to entertain yourself or make sure there are enough scandals to go around."
"We sound like our parents when we talk about stuff like this," Roxanne snorted.
"No," Amy disagreed "we sound like the kind of people who don't provide the scandals, but use their brains sometimes. The boring people." Three pairs of eyebrows shot up at this, clearly relating to Amy's recently uncovered secret. She threw her hands into the air. "As if that's a scandal! After all it was only one boy and not ten!"
"Good to know," mumbled Roxanne mischievously and got her own pillow chucked at her.
Urged by their grumbling stomachs, they eventually made their way to lunch. Since Dominique had forgotten her bag they made a stop by the Ravenclaw common room, where they also collected an excessively happy Lorcan who was noisily complaining about Fred's absence.
"Without him life simply isn't all that." He grinned widely and threw his arms around Dominique's and Roxanne's shoulders. "What would I have done if he'd actually graduated? I would have been all alone!"
"You're worse than a second grade girl," teased Dominique. "If you hadn't kept back, you and your buddy could be sharing classrooms now."
"Dom, you just don't have the mind of a master schemer." Arms still around the two necks he began gesticulating wildly. "This way we have access to way more students who we can annoy, amuse and play pranks on. You need to see the big picture picture instead of the nitty gritty details."
Lorcan wiped away an imaginary tear. "Sometimes we must make sacrifices for the greater good."
"Why does he have to be in my grade now?" Amy complained just as they reached the Entrance Hall, yet she couldn't stop Lorcan from continuing to whine their ears off. Only when Rose halted abruptly and moaned "Merlin's beard", did he allow the attention to be drawn away from him.
"I completely forgot I was supposed to meet Malfoy now to set up the Quidditch plans. Why did he have to schedule it during the lunch hours?"
"Look, all I'm saying, he's not that bad on his own," Roxanne imitated Rose's words from earlier and the girls sniggered, as they were hugging Rose goodbye. When she wanted to give Lorcan a parting hug, he pressed her against him for a full minute before she could struggle free.
"There she goes. They grow up so quickly. Until soon, Rosie!" he called after her. "Adieu! Bye bye! O reva!"
Dominique nudged her elbow into his side frustratedly. "It's au revoir."
—
Rose was hurriedly tracing her way back upstairs. Malfoy would probably make a scene about her being late, but she didn't want him to know she let him stress her. Reaching their shared office with the prefect lounge room attached to it, she smoothened her skirt before entering the room. Malfoy was seated behind the desk, his feet propped onto it, and leisurely bit into a buttered toast. It was as if he had just awaited her entrance in the knowledge that she would have forgotten their meeting and arrive with an empty stomach.
She only offered a curt 'sorry' as to not give him the satisfaction.
"No worries." He grinned smugly. "I had the audacity to start the plans."
"Of course you did." She frowned, preparing herself for the bad news.
"Creases don't suit you," he commented and her blood began boiling. What a bastard. Who did he take himself for?
"You don't suit me," she responded cooly. "So, how did you start?"
"All about the business," Malfoy observed, smoothing the parchment he had been working with.
"Merlin's mouldy beard, just get to the point, rattle snake. I'd much prefer it if I had a 'business partner' who I actually wanted to have small talk with." With a whip of her wand the desk pulled away from him and his feet crashed to the floor.
This made him finally become slightly more serious. "The Slytherins have their tryouts on Tuesday."
"Of course they do. Probably so they can start practicing early and possibly have dibs on training times?" she assumed.
"Definitely."
"I agree with the first part. Slytherin try outs can be on Tuesday." Scorpius acquitted her vehement nodding with a skeptical frown. "But we'll decide on the training times when all teams are complete so everyone gets a fair chance to have their wishes granted. That will be towards the end of the week."
"Alright," he conceded with a sigh.
"Gryffindor will have tryouts as the last house on Friday."
"Very generous," he observed.
"No, that way they can accommodate for the composition of the other teams." At that she pulled out a new piece of parchment and a quill and began drawing a table. Scorpius remained silent for a while and waited.
"Are you playing again this year then?"
Hesitant, she searched for an ulterior motive behind his question. When she couldn't think of one, she answered: "No."
"Why not if I may ask?"
"Why do you care if I may ask?" she snapped.
"Calm down, little lion," he chuckled, and she pulled a face. "You're a strong chaser. If I recall last year correctly you'd also make a good beater." He grinned and his compliment caused her to stop.
"Last year… because I nearly bashed your head in?" A short laugh escaped his mouth.
"Pretty much. Brutal game that one."
It had been the second to last game of the season and the most brutal one in quite some time. Shortly before, there had been a dispute between the houses of Gryffindor and Slytherin; within a rivalry of pranks a firecracker had hit Fred in the chest, resulting in a nasty burn mark and his disability to partake in the match. While Slytherins had sworn it to be accidental, Gryffindors had insisted it had been on purpose. Since Malfoy and his friends made up more than half of the Slytherin quidditch team they had had to pay in the sport. It had been a truly horrid match. Rose, who had 'accidentally' mistaken Malfoy's head for the Quaffel, had earned a lot of applause for almost ripping it from his neck. They had all been disqualified for the rest of the season.
"That's a sadistic looking smirk you've got there," Scorpius commented, and it promptly vanished. "And? Why don't you play anymore?" He repeated his question to which she only shrugged.
"Being head girl will be enough for this year, I suppose." Since he didn't respond, she continued. "I'm not bad and it's fun, but competitively I find it becomes too stressful. It's more suitable for someone like my cousin Lily who could get a first line spot on the team now." Surprised by her own gush of words Rose closed her mouth.
"Lily Weasley?" he inquired.
"No, there's only Lily Potter." Hesitation. Again she wanted to say more. "She's super feisty. You better watch out."
"Ah, you mean Al's little sister?"
Rose snorted annoyed by his hypocritical ignorance and thought about the conversation with her girlfriends. "Don't act like you don't know her. She's your best friend's sister, and if she wasn't sister you probably would have asked her out already."
Malfoy laughed. "Never, I don't share a bed with your Clan."
As a response he was hit by Rose's angry glance and a sharp kick against his knee.
"Ah, you fury," he moaned.
"Chicken," she hissed and to her surprise, he laughed again.
"This grim look might not be too bad on you after all."
"Ugh, shut up and let me work."
"What? You've been working on the plan during our conversation?" Stunned he leaned forward to study the parchment she had been scribbling on.
"Of course, have you got tomatoes on your eyes?"
"Sorry, I was concentrating too hard on the creases in your forehead." Skillfully he evaded her next kick.
"Bugger off, Malfoy."
There was a pause.
"For real?"
"You're obnoxious, and I am doing all the work by myself anyway," she explained indifferently.
"Fine, but you'll show me the plan when it's finished. I don't want you securing all the advantages for Gryffindor!"
"Yeah, yeah, I know," she grumbled and sighed in relief when she heard the door close behind him. You're standards had to be quite low to find working with Malfoy 'not that bad'.
—
The wind was whipping across the grounds, and the grey sky lent a grim character to the castle. Even the scarlet red of the Gryffindor Quidditch robes appeared pale and lifeless and barely gave a contrast to the usually rich green of the pitch. Garett Papor, the new sixth grade captain, stood in front of the aspirants for his team and was shouting the instructions for tryouts at them.
Since Fred had proved indispensable over the last years, his spot on the team was safe. Garett did, however, want to find a reserve keeper, so Fred could help train him or her before he was actually going to leave school for good. Hearing this had immediately made Rose a big fan of Garett's. He was considerate of tactics and opportunities and was using Fred's extra year smartly to his advantage. At the moment, she was still the only one in the stands, her arms wrapped around her body and wishing for a thicker coat.
At first Garett was looking for beaters. Both previous beaters had left the school and now he had to find talented flyers who could form an unbeatable team. Rose was aware the try-outs were going to take ages but as a good friend and cousin she saw it as her duty to stay. At the same time she was just a little curious who was going to fill her spot.
After a good half an hour, Dominique tromped towards her with red cheeks and nose. Her face was grim, apparently because a bunch of Slytherins had followed her and were settling down on the opposite side of the stadium.
"I hope they keep their safe minimum distance," the blonde grumbled as a greeting. Then she beamed at her cousin and pulled her into a tight hug. "How has it been so far?"
Rose pointed at a muscular sixth year boy. "He seems to have convinced Garett. Got a hard hit and very good balance on the broom, even freehandedly. His aim is also not to be underestimated."
"Fantastic!" cheered Dominique despite not even being a Gryffindor.
"Now he is desperately trying to find someone who matches beater number one. I think he is deciding between Marie Bennet and Alfred Grogan."
"Marie? Isn't she the little one over there?" Dom's blue eyes grew wide, almost as if she feared Garett might nominate her to be the next beater.
"Yeah, true. She's small but reacts quicker than Grogan and her arms are buff!"
Understanding barely anything about Quidditch, Dominique nodded attentively and tried to follow Rose's further explanations - with little success. To hide this she quickly changed the topic.
"How is the head girling with Malfoy? Is he much trouble?"
"Not really actually. I was wondering why McGonagall would make a dude like him head boy, but it seems to have had positive results. Despite some obnoxious comments he doesn't bite, and he's actually kinda got his shit together." She paused to watch Garett, after a long back and forth, choose Alfred for the team after all. The two girls clapped politely. "He's even got his friends under control. I imagined it to be more stressful."
Amused and confused at the same time Dominique stared at her friend.
"Under control? That's a good one."
"Why? They haven't done anything in a while."
The blonde placed her hands on her hips. "Seriously, Wednesday alone I had to deal with cauldrons boiling over uncontrollably with the third graders because Rockwood sold them a 'secret herb for success'. He is a total null at Herbology. Who in their right mind would buy anything off him?"
The complaint managed to tear Rose's eyes from the pitch. "What?" Equally confused the girls stared at each other for a while.
"He didn't tell you." Dominique concluded quietly, and they both looked over at the Slytherins, searching for Malfoy. It was little trouble for Rose to make out his blonde head.
"That blast ended screwt!" She gritted her teeth. "How could he keep that from me? I'm gonna have a bone to pick with him right after the tryouts."
Her cousin nodded supportingly. "Make that two, to provide for the future."
Two more students were hurrying in their direction. It was Amy and Albus.
"I'm sorry," Amy panted whom Albus had apparently dragged there. "I had completely forgotten about the tryouts."
Albus, who was already fully concentrating on the players, waved at his friends on the other side and explained his delay to his cousins: "Couldn't leave her behind. Now what is this guy doing?"
As per usual he sank right into the sport. Crouching on the edge of his seat, his whole body tense, he was staring at the pitch which amused Dominique to no end. The two were like day and night when it came to Quidditch.
Meanwhile Garett had already chosen a new keeper who Albus didn't know, which meant it was time for the chasers. Just like in previous years, Roxanne had no difficulties to qualify for the team by scoring all but one goal. Shouting through the wind, her girlfriends cheered for her as she flew a backward loop to celebrate.
Albus had no eyes for the acrobatics. He was on the hot seat, since it was now on Lily to prove her skills. She always reminded Rose of a deer, but she knew how much sharpness and strength were disguised by the fragile facade. While sat on the broom stick, Lily left no room for doubt about her fierceness.
She shot into the air like a cannon ball. Quick, precise and merciless she approached the goal posts and catapulted the quaffle at the left one. One shot after the other found its goal. Her brother was screaming and cheering and exulting and almost seemed as if he was in pain at his sister's brilliant performance. He had trained her and tortured her until she had become a true competition for him and James. Her family was almost its own Quidditch team with two chasers, one beater and two seekers. It would have been a shame had she not made it into the team.
When Papor hesitated as much as a second to pick her, Albus began a rant with the meanest of insults he could think of, and he kept continuing it for quite a while, even when the rest of the stadium was already applauding Lily's joining of the team.
"Narrow minded, mysoginistic, self-centered blockhead! Blast-ended screwt! Horntail shit! Dung beetle! Slime bag!"
"Albus, she's on the team!" Amy pleaded with him to calm down.
"She better be!" He shouted at Garett, who of course couldn't hear him. "She deserves a spot of honour, got it? You watch yourself if you don't grant her the proper treatment!"
It took another few minutes for him to settle down which was especially helped by the continued tryouts, after all Gryffindor were still missing a seeker. This was of particular interest to Albus, as well, since he played the same respective position on the Slytherin team.
Fred who had discovered his family on the tribune raced towards them and only halted at such a short distance from them that it made Dominique jump. In amusement, he inverted the broom, only holding on with his legs now and his face dangling right in front of hers.
Panicking she waved about in between them. "Fred! Stop it! You're going to fall!"
"So what if I do," he joked. "You'd catch me with a levitation charm anyway. Care for a joyride?"
With dismay she crossed her arms and tried not to look at him. "Of course not. You know I'm scared of heights."
"Common, Dom, just one lap," he begged but she remained unshaken, and he pulled himself back up onto his broom. Just as he made to return to the rest of the team, Rose called him back.
"I could use a ride." She had noticed that the Slytherins had made to go. "Take me over to them. I have two bones to pick with Malfoy."
—
As the only one of his friends not occupying one of the desired spots on the Slytherin Quidditch team, Lysander was terribly bored on the cold tribune. The only thing exciting him was watching the pert Lily doing gracile aerial stunts, but even this lost its appeal after a few minutes. Scorpius and Lindsey were earnestly discussing their opponents skills while Earl simply labeled them ignorant and untalented and didn't engage with the topic anymore. Even Lysander knew that wasn't a proper strategy.
Their fledgling was sat on the other side with his family. Secretly Lysander often wondered what would have happened to him had he not crossed paths with them. Albus would never have ended like that nerd Longbottom and although Fred was no model student, he didn't have as strong an influence on his peers as did Earl and Scorpius. Or as did he himself. Sometimes he wondered how he would have ended had he not crossed paths with his friends, but at the same time he knew they had all influenced each other for better or worse. Though probably for worse.
Lysander was glad of it. Every decent guy had to love his mother, and he truly did, but it was a small blessing that he had managed to turn out so… normal.
"Scamander!" Earl interrupted his thoughts. "Ready to get a move on?"
"Papor just found his seeker. Some twerp in third grade," Lindsey explained and Lysander nodded. He was more than ready to escape from this tribune. However, trouble was nearing at a rapid speed from the left. Weasley's hair was whipping wild like fire behind her and light-footedly she hopped off the other Weasley's broom right in front of Scorpius.
"I've got something to discuss with you, Malfoy," she declared sharply and mechanically Lysander rolled his eyes.
"Sorry, weasel. I really gotta go. I have a date with McGonagall," his friend shrugged. The lie stopped Weasley cold. She would never interfere with a teacher's appointment. Since she didn't move though, Scorpius added: "We're meeting tomorrow anyway, can't you pick me apart then?" An apologetic smile graced his lips. Lysander suppressed a snort.
"Fine," she hissed. "But you better brace yourself."
Once they had reached the exit of the stadium Earl began giggling. "What was that all about?"
"Yes, whatever could it be about?" Scorpius pondered before pointing accusingly at Earl. "It's probably about the mess you fabricated the other day!"
Proud Earl puffed up his chest. "Why put in an effort if not to annoy her?"
Rolling his eyes, Scorpius lead them back to their common room.
—
Together with his mates, Scorpius was sat in the library on Saturday morning. They were letting paper planes soar through the air as well as ink pots and quills. Lysander had dragged them there.
"Once teachers spot you in the library, they think you're studying and have a better opinion of you. And besides, I actually want to read something." Those had been his words to lure them there. Now the book was open on his lap, and he wasn't reading after all.
Scorpius was going to have to meet Weasley after lunch. If she had retained any of her anger from the previous day, this meeting wasn't going to be a breezy one. On the one hand, he wasn't keen on straightening out Earl or the others, but on the other hand, it really was a bother having to answer to her as a consequence. Why couldn't she just let him handle it the way he liked? It'd be easier on the both of them.
"Merlin, Lysander. I'm gonna die of boredom," Earl muttered after a while. The library was like his natural enemy.
"Why don't you read 'The adventures of Harry Potter?'" Scorpius scoffed. There was a special Potter corner in the school library, since the national hero had had his adventures here. This was much to Albus' dismay who only really got a break from his father's fame when he was at home with him. Despite himself Scorpius had to give the family credit for not being aloof in the slightest. Of course, his own family didn't talk much about the Potters or the past in general, but still he knew the stories. Harry Potter had been famous when he could barely walk and as a teenager, he had again saved the world from the Dark Lord. The wizard whom Scorpius' family had worshipped and feared. Potter's stories were annoyingly legendary, it was only natural they'd be told to any child growing up in Great Britain. Except for Scorpius naturally.
Even though he vehemently fought it, he liked the Potters. Albus was his best friend, and Mr Potter met this friendship with far more ease than Scorpius' own father. Mrs Potter was a funny, pretty and energetic mother who Scorpius loved to listen to when she was angry. James and him had never interacted much, and Lily had always been to young for Scorpius to pay her any attention. Obviously he knew who she was, but he didn't have to admit that in front of the weasel. Speaking of the Weasleys, now that was a whole other category of animosity. Enduring Fred every once in a while was enough to be asked of him. Adding his meetings with head girl weasel? That was definitely enough.
A wide grin suddenly spread across Earl's face, and he pointed at another corner of the library. Carl Longbottom, the school's resident nerd, was sat buried amidst books at one of the tables as per usual. Most students respected Professor Longbottom, Carl's father, for the role he had played in Harry Potter's adventures. He, too, was a hero. Not however his son, who fell short in this regard and rather harboured an obsession with the strangest of topics and subjects. He was different, with his huge, old fashioned glasses, the side burns and an enormous interest in everything boring. All of this made him Earl's favourite victim.
Before anyone of the clique could have prevented it, an ink pot directed by Earl crashed into Carl's books. He jumped and quickly made to save the paper. Immediately, Earl hurried over and the others followed leisurely.
"Oh, silly me. Longbottom, I'm so sorry. I didn't look out," Earl lied an apology while struggling to hide his grin.
"Um, that's okay. I don't think the librarian will like to see this though."
"How about scourgify?" Lindsey suggested and drew her wand. Hours of detention because of Earl's mischief weren't part of her weekend plans. Though she had to admit, ink sprinkled Carl was an amusing sight.
"No, no," he protested. "Scourgify could ruin the old books, especially as long as the ink is wet still. I will soak up the wet ink with paper towels and then remove the rest very carefully. It could take a little longer, but -" Lysander raised a hand to interrupt him and massaged his forehead.
"No one asked, man."
"Of course, sorry, I just thought I'd explain-"
"Yeah, look," Lysander started "We're both smart men, you and I, but there is a good reason we are so different: You don't just know everything, you know everything better."
Carl had begun carefully blotting the ink away as he had described and looked up at Lysander with a side glance. "I'm not trying to show off, you know. I just want to be helpful."
Lindsey made a sad face and patted his shoulder. Carl shrank away at the unwarranted touch. "What Lysander is trying to say is that you're a know-it-all."
"C'mon now, Lindsey, don't be mean. I, for one, feel so humble in your presence. How can one man hold so much knowledge?" Scorpius leant against the table, and Carl took a small step away from him, now trying to tidy the books from a distance.
"I'm sure with a bit of study…" Carl suggested, but he was interrupted by Earl.
"How about a quiz? I'm sure you can teach all of us plenty."
"Well, I do offer tutoring -" Once again Earl interjected.
"Common, Longbottom, humour me! Why does one of those muggle fly things fly without magic?"
"Okay, well, that's due to the shape of the aerofoil, the direction of the wind and their speed," Carl began, and once again Earl spoke before he had finished.
"What came first, the chicken or the egg?"
"Drawing from evolutionary theory it must have been the egg, since -"
"Oh, Merlin," laughed Lindsey coolly. "You don't get it do you?"
Carl was getting more and more uncomfortable, clearly not aware of where this was going. "Actually, I do get it. It's quite simple, really, the first chicken as we know it -"
"Indeed, how impressive." Lysander sneered. "You know every answer to every question, but I don't think you can bear the truth." Carl frowned. Judging by his expression he was of the opinion to be able to bear all truths.
"You're a bloody smart ass, Longbottom."
Carl was backing away from Earl and stumbled into Scorpius who was standing behind him.
"When I ask you a question, I get overwhelmed. You don't have one answer -"
"No, you have ten!" giggled Lindsey.
Carl began shoving his study materials into his bag and excusing himself profusely.
"If you ever make a mistake, I'll eat my broomstick," vowed Earl. Carl jumped up, mumbled a good bye and hurried towards the exit, but Earl drew his wand, waved it, and as Carl fell he called: "You have the perfect brain, but your body is lacking behind a bit."
Every which way Carl turned, his path was blocked by one of the four Slytherins. He was craning his neck to try and see the librarian but for once she was nowhere to be found.
Just as Scorpius was teasing him saying, "Mister Smart Ass" Amy Longbottom entered the library. She had, in fact, been looking for her brother and now found him surrounded by Slytherins humiliating and ridiculing him. The look of relief on his face upon seeing her was all-telling.
"Hey you slow-worms, leave him alone!" With her wand pointing at them she marched on the small group. Her expression was more furious than it ever had been. Still laughing exuberantly the Slytherins broke their circle around the boy and as he was stumbling from the library they called "Don't desert us, Mister Wise Guy! You are our hero!"
"Shut up!" Amy hissed and followed her brother, just in time to avoid the librarian who has finally heard the ruckus.
"Quiet in the library!" She hissed, eyes manic.
Lysander swiftly stepped into her path, an apologetic expression ready on his face.
"Please forgive us, Madam Pince," he said softly to the elderly woman. "We were just tidying up these sullied papers, and I supposed we didn't realise how loud we were being. It won't happen again."
He had motioned toward the pages which Earl's ink pot had dirtied and her eyes widened in horror.
"I appreciate the effort, but next time alert me right away. This is an emergency of utmost priority. I will see to it right away."
Lysander winked at the others, and they went to collect their things.
"Nice save, Scamander," grinned Earl and wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes. "I've never seen the Longbottom girl this angry. The library wasn't such a bad idea after all, Lysander."
Then Earl nudged Scorpius in the side. "Up for lunch?"
"For sure." The blonde boy nodded. "I've still got a torturous meeting with the Weasley coming up."