In the Previous Chapter…
"Yeah, but that would be favouritism if they had both Potter and Weasley as Heads, wouldn't it Scorp?"
"Oh yeah…. BLOODY HELL! I HAVE TO DORM WITH WEASLEY!"
"Ooooh harsh luck, mate. I'll make sure you have a nice funeral."
"Thanks for the obvious support, guys. I'm gonna need all the support I can get…"
Every year when Rose walked into the Great Hall for the Feast, she felt as if she had returned home. Walking in to see the four house tables, the thousands of candles drifting about in the air and sensing the excitement of all the students, it all just made Rose feel alive. It was a feeling that she never wanted to forget.
As Rose walked along the Gryffindor table, looking for her best friends Beth Wood and Jack Thomas, she suddenly realised that this would be the last time that she walked into this hall for the start of a school year. A tear slipped from her eyes as she sat down next to Beth.
"Getting emotional about leaving already, Rosie?" Beth asked with a grin.
"How could you guess?" Rose laughed in reply as she wiped the tear from her cheek.
"Because I've known you since you were eleven and you are about the most emotional person I know" Beth replied.
"Will you girls stop getting so teary like old ladies reminiscing about their school days already? Its only September! You have another year of education to go through yet", Jack commented from across the table. "Plus the Sorting Hat has just arrived, which means the first years will turn up in a minute. You wouldn't want to miss the last Sorting Ceremony, would you?"
Just as Jack said this, the doors opened and a stream of tiny, little first years nervously followed Professor Neville Longbottom through the Great Hall. All heads turned as they reached the Sorting Hat.
"I'm really going to miss this, you know" said Jack. "Watching all the tiny first years tremble under the Sorting Hat and then bound off to their new house."
"Look who's getting emotional now, buddy!" laughed Beth. At this Rose and Jack joined Beth in laughing, before settling down to watch the rest of the sorting.
Scorpius clapped along with the rest of the school as the last first year, a new Hufflepuff, ran over to join her house. He then turned to watch as Lorcan's twin brother Lysander predictably jumped as the food appeared in front of him. Despite having been at the school for six years, Lysander still jumped when things suddenly appeared out of thin air.
Lorcan teased "Ly, I think you cleared the bench there when you jumped. You practically…"
"Hit the ceiling" Lysander finished. "You've been saying the same thing for years, Lorcan" he said, laughing.
"Scorp, you're a bit quiet tonight. What's up, mate?" Lysander asked.
"Just thinking" Scorpius replied. "Its just weird knowing that we won't be coming back next year"
Lorcan gasped. "Ly, I think this is a world first, I think Scorp is showing a bit of emotion! Quick, write it down somewhere! I can see this making the front page in the Prophet! 'Malfoy shows emotion at thought of leaving school!' We'd be rich!" he said before all three of them burst out laughing.
Before they knew it, the feast was over and everyone was beginning to leave for their common rooms. Scorpius stood to leave with Lorcan and Lysander and head towards the dungeons, but was stopped by a tug to his sleeve. He turned around to look down at Rose, who was slightly shorter than him.
"Um, hi Scorpius. We have to go and meet McGonagall to find out where our common room is" she mumbled.
"Oh yeah, I completely forgot!" Scorpius said. "Wait here a second" he told Rose, before turning to Lorcan and Lysander. "Sorry guys, I have to go to McGonagall to find out where I'm sleeping. Catch up later, yeah?" he said, before turning back to Rose.
The pair walked in silence for a few minutes towards the Headmistress's office. Suddenly Rose blurted out "I don't want to fight this year." Scorpius' surprise must have shown on his face, for Rose then continued, as if to justify her outburst, "I mean, we have to live together for a year and we share the same classes. I thought maybe we could put the past behind us and, well, try being friends I guess?"
Scorpius walked in shocked silence for a minute. After six years of bickering and competition, Rose Weasley was suggesting that they be friends.
"You don't have to agree you know. It was a silly idea really I shouldn't have even suggested it…" Rose mumbled, embarrassed.
"No, Weasley, it's a good idea. It just shocked me a bit that's all. I'm so used to fighting with you it just took me a second to adjust to the idea of us being friends, that's all" Scorpius hurriedly said.
"So you would like to be friends then?"
"Yeah, why not? As you said, we have to live together for a year. It'd be a bit lonely if we didn't really talk"
"Exactly. Call me Rose, by the way"
"Huh?" Scorpius turned to Rose, confused.
"You always call me Weasley. Not trying to be snarky or anything, but there are quite a few Weasleys in Hogwarts. If we're going to get along, you may as well call me Rose" she said.
"That's a fair point actually. So, shall we go and find out where we're staying, Rose?" Scorpius said. At this, the pair continued down the corridor, neither of them noticed two figures at the other end staring in their direction.
"Did you just see that?" said the fourth year Slytherin to his friend. "Weasley and Malfoy are getting friendly. You don't think it's anything more than that, do you?"
"Well, I don't know. But why don't we go stir up some trouble about it anyway, eh? I've never really liked Malfoy anyway" the other boy laughed, before both boys slunk off through the shadows in the direction of the dungeons.