AN: So another chapter finally emerges! Thank you everyone for your review and comments- especially iceiceice's enthusiastic responses! Please continue to R&R and let me know how you're enjoying Rose and Scorpius' story (well my version of it at least) :)
Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling- obvs.
As Rose walked through the castle corridors to her first class at Hogwarts, she felt calmer and more relaxed than she had her entire time at school so far. Yes, things were starting to turn out alright, Rose thought with a smile.
Arriving at the Transfiguration classroom , Rose felt the surge of excitement she felt whenever she opened a brand new book; the start of lessons meant the start of learning, and Rose could hardly wait for all that Hogwarts was going to teach her. With a bright smile on her face, she started heading towards a seat at the front of the class when she saw Scorpius Malfoy out of the corner of her eye. He was seated in the middle of the room, but his head was whipping around towards the front, almost as if he had just been looking at her.
Remembering her promise to Hagrid, Rose took a breath, straighten her shoulders, and walk over to the empty seat directly next to Scorpius.
"So, Transfiguration," Rose blurted out as she plopped into the vacant seat. "Should be quite an interesting class, right?"
Not exactly the smoothest entrance ever, Rose thought with a mental wince, yet all the while keeping her brightest smile on her face.
She was trying to make up for being a judgmental prat, she reminded herself; some humiliation was inevitably in order.
"You know, Professor McGonagall is quoted in our book as having said that it is 'some of the most complex and dangerous magic.' Isn't that fascinating?"
...
How Scorpius stopped himself from jumping out of his seat was beyond him, as Rose blundered into the seat next to him and blabbering on about Transfigurations.
Unable to even wrap his head around what she was saying, let alone why she was sitting next to him, Scorpius found himself simply sitting there. Starring at her. And her blue eyes. Her bloody, stupid, blue eyes. Scorpius was quickly discovering that he hated those blue eyes. Whenever he looked into those eyes, he had to forced back the smile that always wanted to appear on his face; one look into her eyes and a comforting warmth grew in his chest. He didn't know what it meant, but he liked it. Yet that warm feeling was and always would be robbed from him by the stupid, unchangeable past.
Well, that and a promise.
Rose hesitantly started rambling again, most likely put off by his peculiar non-responsiveness.
"Right, well, not much of a talker before classes, are you?" she asked with an awkwardly forced laugh before donning a more serious expression and clearing her throat. "Scorpius, I want to apologize for my recent behavior. I've been a right prat to you and for no other reason than because of what happened on the train. I think we both have made poor first impressions with one another. So in light of this being the beginning of the first of seven years in the same house together, let's put of differences aside and start fresh. You know Scorpius, if we can get past this little misunderstanding, I think that we can actually get on quite well together. " With her monologue coming to an end, a wide grin now spread across her freckled face and the glimmer in those blue eyes conveyed that the red-haired girl was quite pleased with the eloquence of her apology.
And now she sat there waiting for what she obviously thought to be his unquestionable agreeable and equally apologetic reply.
Raising one white-blonde eyebrow and using all his self-control to fight back the laughter, Scorpius slowly responded. Making sure to plan his words carefully with just a touch of sarcasm, he said "Well, I appreciate your apology and the time that obviously went in to rehearsing that speech, but it's all really unnecessary. I meant every word of what I said on the train and us being sorted into the same house has not change any of it." He them collected his books in one swoop and stood.
And with that, he walked to the opposite side of the room and sat down next to another fellow Ravenclaw Scorpius recognized from the dormitory.
Well, that takes care of the problem know as Rose Weasley, he thought as he settled into his new seat. Scorpius had no idea what caused her change in opinion of him, let alone apologize, but after the remarks he had just made Scorpius didn't think she would be offering friendship again anytime soon.
He sat there silently until the start of class, trying to ignore the cold and empty feeling that was quickly replacing the fleeting warmth in his chest.
...
Well, obviously Hagrid was wrong- he is an absolute prat,Rose thought to herself feeling a strange sense of déjà vu. Of all the rude, arrogant, and insensitive jerks at Hogwarts, Scorpius Malfoy was obviously the biggest. Rose gave herself a mental shake and put all thoughts of him behind her. It was her first class here at Hogwarts and she had to make a perfect impression on Professor Aeaean.
Rose had prepared for this day all summer. The day she bought her books she had began reading them. By the next week she was having her mum quiz her on all the spells, definitions, and facts (she had asked her dad to quiz her as well, but he always said he refused to encourage the 'know-it-all' curse…whatever that meant). In any case, her diligent reading and studying was finally going to pay off. The classroom was the one place she could really shine; she already proved she didn't have her parents' courage, but she still had her mother's brains.
As the tall and dark Professor Aeaean entered the classroom and introduced herself, the students fell silent and listened to the description of the year the come and what the class would consist of.
"Now," Professor Aeaean addressed the class, "who can define for me the art of Transfiguration?"
Rose Weasley's hand shot up into the air-
"Transfiguration is the magic that changes one object into another, different object. The Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration, Chapter 1, page 3."
Except it was not Rose Weasley who so thoroughly answered Professor Aeaean's question.
"Thank you, Mr. Malfoy. Five points to Ravenclaw." She awarded with an acknowledging nod.
Rose stared across the room at Scorpius, who simply sat there facing forward with his usual expression of indifference on his face. She had known that answer- well maybe not the page number, but she knew that definition word for word. Yet, it was Mr. Malfoy, who had answered.
"Uh Ms. Weasley, do you have a question?"
Rose, mouth still hanging open, turned her gaze to Professor Aeaean's questioning look, then up to her own hand which was still raised high in the air.
Feeling her face burning to a bright shade of red, Rose quickly lowered her hand and stuttered, "Erm, no. No question, Professor."
"Very well then," Professor Aeaean said as she continued on her with lesson. "Now, while we know from Mr. Malfoy what the art of transfiguration is, what is it called when a witch or wizard restores a transfigured object back to its original state?"
Again Rose shot her hand into the air, nearly falling out of her seat as she slid to the narrow edge of it.
"'The reversal of Transfiguration is Untransfiguration.' Chapter 7, pg.115 ."
Yet once again it was the clear, concise, and emotionless voice of Scorpius Malfoy. However, this time the entire class turned in their seats to stare at the pale, blonde boy, mouths hanging wide open at his shockingly detailed answers.
"Uh, yes. That is correct Mr. Malfoy." Said Professor Aeaean who seemed a little taken aback as well. "Yes, another five points to Ravenclaw."
What is happening?Rose thought in perplexed despair. There was no possible way Scorpius could be that smart as to remember exact chapter and pages, let alone direct quotes. There was just no possible way… or was there? No, he had to have found some way to cheat. Yes, he must be cheating by using a Memory Potion to enhance his memory!
But Rose had read about those types of potions; apparently they were quite difficult to brew, not to mention requiring several rare ingredients like Jobberknoll feathers. It didn't seem logical that he would be able to make such a potion, in regards to both skill and components.
Realizing that Professor Aeaean was demonstrating transfiguring a match into a needle, Rose forced her thoughts away from her annoyingly precise fellow student, and back to the lesson. However, before doing so, she promised herself to confront Scorpius about his strangely accurate and knowledgeable answers.
As soon as Professor Aeaean dismissed the students, Rose quickly collected her belongings and started planning her stealthy and subtle interrogation of Scorpius Malfoy.
Striding directly to the pale boy, Rose stepped directly in front of him, blocking his path to the door of the classroom.
"How the bloody hell did you know all that- the chapters, the quotes, the bloody page numbers!"
Alright, so not exactly stealthy or subtle- she'd have to work on that.
Scorpius' grey eyes grew wide, his eye brows raised. "It's called reading. I suggest you try it before the next lesson if you want to do more than simply flap your arm in the air with your mouth drooping open like a dim-witted troll."
"You are a complete-" But before Rose could finish that equally insulting rebuttal, a student across the classroom yelled to Rose.
"I'd stay clear from him if I were you, Weasley- you know how those pure bloods just love an excuse to eliminate a half-blood." It was Nicholas Corner, a fellow first year Ravenclaw. The dark-haired boy was surrounded by a group of students who all seemed to have taken a great interest Rose and Scorpius' exchange, and also apparently found Nicholas' interrupting comment to be quite clever based on their grinning expressions.
"I would think that you especially would want to avoid Malfoy at all costs. I mean everyone knows all that went on between your parents and Malfoy's good for nothing father. And the rest of his Death Eater family, come to think of it." Nicholas added with a derisive laugh and then turned towards Scorpius. "How did you get accepted to Hogwarts at all, Malfoy? Aren't you a threat to the entire school?"
The comment was followed by several sounds of agreement coming from the surrounding students who all turned towards Scorpius, clearly communicating there hostile feelings for the boy.
Rose, however, just continued to stare at the pretentious Nicholas Corner and his posse with her lips pursed as if suffering from a sour taste in her mouth.
"Excuse me, Nicholas, but I don't remember asking for your opinion of Scorpius or of the past. Personally, I couldn't care less if Scorpius' father was Voldemort himself! Because even if that was the case, Scorpius Malfoy never did anything to me-well except maybe making me look like as daft as a troll in class just now." Rose added and then quickly focused back on her original point. "But if you really think I am foolish or ignorant enough to let the past influence my opinion of individuals who did not even have a hand in those past events, then you obviously have missed judged the scruples of the Weasleys. And I don't exactly care for you insulting my family that way. So how about from now on you keep your stupid comments to yourself because no one particular cares what you think."
With that, Rose pivoted away from Nicholas, grabbed Scorpius' arm, and towed him through the door. They rushed through the corridor in silence until they successful had exited the transfiguration hallway.
"Ugh, aren't people like that absolutely nauseating. I mean, who does he think he is- insulting me, you, and both our families that way. Obviously I missed judged Nicholas Corner when I met him early. He is in no way someone we want to associate with." Rose turned to Scorpius with a companionable smile.
Scorpius however, stood there with an expression of absolute confusion twisting his pale face.
"Why would you do that?" he questioned in an almost hushed tone of true mystification.
"What are you talking about? Do you think I was just going to stand there and let him insult both of us?" Rose responded, now becoming confused as well. "Look, if you were planning on being best mates with him, sorry that I botched that up, but honestly you weren't planning that, were you?"
"No! Well maybe I was before he made those comments, but after that- no." He explained with a definitive shake of his head. "I just- I'm confused. Did you really mean what you said?"
"Sure," Rose answered with a nonchalant shrug.
"No, Rose, listen to me! Did you really mean that you don't care about everything my family has done and been involved with in the past? You really don't see me as just another Death Eater- in- training- Malfoy?"
"No, why would I? Besides being a bit of a standoffish prat when Albus and I met you on the train, you've never done or said anything about dark arts or blood lines or anything else like that." Rose explained with a small snort.
"But what about everything your parents have told you about us! Haven't all their stories and warnings made you hate me?" Scorpius yelled, suddenly becoming angry in his frustration.
Rose stared in shock, not only because of what he was saying but because this was the most emotion she had ever seen out Scorpius Malfoy. Gathering her wits and her thoughts, Rose quietly replied, "Scorpius I don't know why you think my parents regularly tell me and my brother stories of the evil Malfoy family every night before bed, but you're wrong. The only things I know about your family and their involvement with Voldemort is from books I've read."
To this, Scorpius just stood there speechless.
Recognizing that she wasn't going to be receiving a response, Rose turned and walked away with a shake of her head. She had no idea why Scorpius believed she would hate him, but Rose promised herself she was going to find out why- that and how he knew all the answers in Transfiguration class today!