Disclaimer: Here's a hint: I'm a teenaged girl living in the USA. Does that sound like JK Rowling to you? I'm sorry, Kiley 1 09, but in this fic, things have to get worse before they get better.
I ended that horrific day avoiding nearly everyone and the awkward question, "Why are you crying?"
I even stayed away from the one person that I trusted beyond belief; Albus, my own cousin and best friend. So, if you doubted that I was in a bad situation, there's the proof for you. I never avoid Albus.
My dreams were filled with hectic visions of Scorpius. There was us kissing at the ball, a few hours before that when I saw the sun setting behind him, and a few other times that I thought he looked absolutely perfect.
The last part of the dream, though, was not so perfect. It was his face, twisted in anger as he spat those words at me. I awoke with my pillow drenched and my eyes stinging from crying so much.
Why did things like this happen to me? It wasn't right. Maybe I was just a magnet for things that didn't work well, like dating Jacob and deciding to take Divination my fifth year instead of taking Arithmancy like I had planned in the first place.
This would pass. It had to, right? I didn't really like Scorpius, after all. It was probably just me feeling sorry for myself that it was seventh year and I still didn't have a boyfriend.
Yes, that was probably it.
But what if that wasn't really the case? What if I actually liked him?
What if I loved him?
Merlin's pants! My thoughts exploded in my head. I love him! That's why I've been feeling like this! I love Scorpius! Oh no, what happens now? I mean, it's not like I can say, "Hey Scorpius, guess what? I'm in love with you." That can't happen, especially not after what happened in Hogsmeade!
My thoughts were such a mess that I had barely realized that I had gotten dressed and was heading out the door of the common room. That's what usually happened when I was obsessing.
Before I even got into the Great Hall, I knew that I would be facing possibly the hardest day of my natural life. That is, if I got to live that long.
When I sat down at the Ravenclaw table, I could already feel someone staring at me.
I turned around. It was Albus. He threw me a questioning glance.
"I'll explain everything later," I mouthed to him. "Give me time."
"You'd better," he mouthed back.
Since we grew up together, we were very good and reading each other's lips. It was almost as natural as having a conversation aloud.
I didn't dare look at who was sitting directly next to him.
I'll give you three guesses as to who it was.
If you said Scorpius Malfoy, then you'd be correct. Sorry, no prizes.
I immediately looked down at my plate. I couldn't wait until breakfast was over, even if it meant I had to sit through Slughorn's lectures in double potions as soon as the first classes of the day started. People always say that he should retire, but then he says that he already did that once and was repaying a debt of some sort now.
I sat in the back, next to some Hufflepuff girl who I barely knew. It was easier to sit next to people who didn't know me, because then I wouldn't get the third degree about my current attitude, and trust me, that was best, considering the way I was at the moment.
I managed to get through the classes I had before lunch without having to talk to anyonw who would notice something, but I still wanted to talk to someone.
That's when I thought of Professor McGonagall. Well, it was actually Headmistress McGonagall, but that was beside the point.
She actually did help me with a lot before, but not to the extent of Uncle Harry and the Headmaster that he had.
I went to the falcon statue that guarded the staircase.
"Lioness," I said, and the statue jumped aside. I walked up the spiral staircase and knocked on the door.
"Come in, Miss Weasley," said the woman's voice from inside.
I opened the door. To someone who didn't know her, she was an ageing, severe, strict woman. To those who did, she was all of those things, but she was also willing to listen to her student's problems.
"Professor McGonagall," I said. "What would you do if a friend got really mad at you over something that you did, even though you may have done it to protect their feelings?"
"I'm guessing that this friend to whom you are referring to is Mister Malfoy?" she asked.
"How did you know?" I asked.
"I find that it gets easier to guess what my students are talking about the longer I have been in charge of this school," she said. "But what I would do in this situation would simply talk to him about it."
"But he won't listen to me," I protested.
"Then you must make him listen, mustn't you?" she said.
"I- I guess," I said. "Thank you."
"Good day, Miss Weasley," she said as I left her office.
Ok, I thought. I'll make him listen.
After asking around, I found out that he was in the library. That was just fine for me.
As I was looking for Scorpius, I picked up a few books that looked interesting. Ok, so I was even a bookworm in situations like these.
I finally found him in a row at the back.
There was a Slytherin girl about our age wrapped around him and they were snogging each others brains out!
I dropped all the books I was carrying and stood there open mouthed for a second as they both noticed my presence.
I ran. Tears blurred my vision, and eventually, I couldn't find my way out. I curled up by a row of books and cried.
"Rose!" I heard him calling my name, but I didn't bother to answer.