Disclaimer: It all belongs to JK Rowling.

Chapter Two

"Rose! Over here!"

The redhead, having been on the search for her seat ever since leaving Scorpius ten minutes prior, sighed in relief when she finally found Dom. Their box had conveniently been located on the opposite side of the stadium. Tiptoeing past the other spectators in the box, she dropped into the plush seat next to her blonde best friend and beamed. "Fancy seeing you here, Dommie!"

"You do own a phone, don't you?" remarked Dom, flipping through the pages of her tabloid. "I was almost positive you'd be locked out of the stadium, and trust me, Rose, I'd have Avad—"

"Avada'd me if that happened," finished Rose. She rolled her eyes. "I know, I know. I got held up…"

"Let me guess. You ran into Prince Charming, he swept you off your feet, and then the two of you strolled merrily off into the magical sunset?" said Dom, rolling her eyes.

Rose opened her mouth to respond. She frowned, and then, abruptly, she closed it.

Scorpius wasn't exactly a prince ("Mr. Charming…"); she'd tripped into him because he'd broken her heel; and they'd actually walked towards the magically-lit "Puddlemere Stadium" sign, but…

"Yeah, right," Dom was laughing. "Knowing you, you were probably finishing up an assignment for Goldsmith, weren't you? Merlin, Rose, I know you love IMC, but you're kind of a workaholic. It's not healthy—"

Really, Rose knew better than to speak before thinking, but she had been so fed up with her cousin criticizing her work habits (yes, she was incredibly passionate about international magical cooperation, but she certainly didn't let it rule her life), that she couldn't help but blurt out: "I wouldn't exactly call Scorpius Malfoy Prince Charming."

Even as she said it, she was cringing. There was no possibility in which she was not going to regret that.

"—you know I love my job, obviously, but my life doesn't revolve around writing for the—wait, what?"

"Hmm?" (Act like nothing happened; act like nothing happened…) The redhead blinked innocently, prepared to effect total nonchalance. "I know, I know. You're right. Health is really important and I don't focus on it enough. I'm thinking about trying out that vegan thing—you know, the one that Muggles are so crazy about?"

But Dom continued to gape at her.

"Too extreme? You're right. Perhaps just a few extra salads, then? One of my co-workers, incidentally, has a great recipe for kale—"

"You're shagging Scorpius Malfoy?!"

Rose's face turned scarlet. "I'm not shagging Scorpius Malfoy," she whispered furiously. Then she frowned. Why were they whispering? "Muffliato," she said, waving her wand around the two of them.

"Then what was that whole thing about Scorpius Malfoy being Prince Charming?" demanded Dom.

"The whole thing was about him not being Prince Charming!"

"Why is there even a thing about him in the first place?"

"Because! Scorpius ran into me—or rather, he apparated onto me—while I was on my way over here, and that's why I was late, and then when you brought up the thing about meeting a bloke, getting swept off your feet, and then walking towards the… I don't know! It just—it paralleled!"

"So you did shag him!"

"What…? No—what are you talking about? Why would you—?"

"Well, I said the two of you strolled merrily off into the sunset!"

"So?"

"That's a euphemism for going off to shag!"

"What? No, it's not! Oh for Merlin's sake, Dom. That cliché you spouted is straight out of a Muggle fairy-tale! For children. Absolutely no shagging!"

"…huh…" Dom was thoughtful for a moment. "So nothing at all? You must've gotten at least a little action. He looks like a bloke who could really satisfy—"

"Oh bloody hell." Rose buried her face in her hands. "No shagging! None! Zilch. Nothing happened between us. Nothing at all."

Dom smirked at her knowingly. "Well, someone sounds disappointed."

The redhead glared. "I hate you."

"No, you don't," grinned Dom. She sighed wistfully. "Why couldn't I have been in your year?"

"Well, one: because then your name would be Louis. And two: jealous? Class of 2024 trumps 2022 any day. You know, because 24 is 'greater' than 22…?"

Dom shook her head sadly. "You're lucky you're cute, hon."

"Glad you think so," said Rose, smirking. She nodded towards the posts and quickly broke the Muffliato spell around them, focusing on the commentator's Sonorus-enhanced voice. The match had started.

"…and that's Harris, hot on Malfoy's tail, with Williams closing in! The new chaser's teammates are indisposed, busy fending off Gelson and McKiddie's Bludgers. Just where are Hill and Derby? Puddlemere is displaying some pretty weak defence right now, wouldn't you agree, Tom?"

A new, much deeper, voice, presumably Tom's, replied, "Yes, you're certainly right, Tim, though you do have to give Malfoy credit. He's doing a remarkable job evading the Falcons' attempts at fouling—even without his Beaters' aid."

Rose had never been so transfixed by a Quidditch match in her life—which, coming from a girl who had to be guilt-tripped into attending school matches, wasn't exactly saying much. But there was no denying that professional Quidditch was played on a different level entirely.

"These Falcons are really playing dirty today! Malfoy barely evades Williams, weaving out of there in a nicely executed Kandinsky Manoeuvre. Now, if only—oh, yes, here we go and—MALFOY SCORES! 10-0 to Puddlemere! That's Scorpius Malfoy with the first goal of the match!"

"Just fantastic," commended Tom. "Malfoy's performance must be making Puddlemere management very excited. For those of you who don't know, Scorpius Malfoy has just recently transferred from the Montrose Magpies—"

"Now, correct me if I'm wrong, Tom. But Malfoy never formally gave a reason for the transfer, did he?"

"No, no, he didn't. And that's not the only bit of mystery surrounding this young Quidditch star," said Tom. "In fact, today, he reportedly didn't arrive at the stadium until 15 minutes before the match started..."

"Blimey, Tom. That can't have made Coach Wood happy. Any speculation as to why?"

At this, Dom gave Rose a pointed look, but the redhead rolled her eyes, frowning. She herself only encountered Scorpius about half an hour before the match's starting time—and half an hour before the match was still late, she was sure. She remembered he had been in a huge rush when he'd apparated in, but why?

"Well, whatever the reason is, it's irrelevant now. Malfoy's skill on the pitch speaks for itself. Here he is, in possession of the Quaffle once again, and—Malfoy scores! 20-0 to Puddlemere!"

The match continued in a similarly adrenaline-inducing fashion, with Puddlemere United ultimately winning 370-110. Happily, Rose and Dom decided to end their night with a late dinner at one of their favourite pubs, The Knotty Kneazle.

"Did I tell you Hugo's band landed their first gig? They're opening for the Luminosities—in just a few weeks, I think," said Rose, smiling with sisterly pride as she rounded up the last of her risotto.

"Way to go, Hugh," cheered Dom. "Knew it was only a matter of time."

Rose laughed. "I know. He's not telling Mum and Dad yet, though. He wants to make sure the band is actually going to succeed before breaking the news to the parentals."

Dom nodded sagely. "Smart. Can't imagine that conversation going over too well. Aunt Hermione is just going to have to settle for having only one golden child rising through Ministry ranks."

Rose shook her head, amused. "I'm more worried about Dad. He's still crushed that Hugh declined all of those invitations to pro Quidditch tryouts… they'll come around eventually, though, once they see how passionate he is about music." She paused thoughtfully, eyeing their empty cocktail glasses. "Should we get another round to toast Hugh?"

Her cousin smirked. "I just might. You, lest we forget, can't hold your liquor."

"Who can't hold their liquor?" inquired a very smooth, and very familiar, voice.

Rose's head snapped up, startled by the sudden appearance of the tall platinum blond Quidditch player.

What was Scorpius Malfoy doing there? Shouldn't he be out at some celebratory party? That was what her cousins did whenever they won a big match…

"Are you stalking me?" asked Rose, suspicious.

"Ouch, Rose. Slytherin, remember? I'd be a much better stalker than this." He smirked, turning to Dom with an extended hand. "I'm Scorpius. You must be Dom?"

"Pleased to meet you," she said, grinning. "Rose has told me so much about you."

Scorpius chuckled. He looked at Rose. "All bad things, I expect?"

"Is there any other kind?" She rolled her eyes, a slight smile on her lips. "Oh, and congratulations on the match."

"Thanks, Head Girl. I knew you were a Puddlemere supporter."

"How can you be so sure I'm not a diehard Falcons fan?"

He laughed. "Well, if anything, you'd be a diehard Cannons fan. But you were at a home match for Puddlemere, and I'd hoped you had better taste than that, what with all the Quidditch talent in your family. And if you didn't, well…" He grinned crookedly at her. "Then I'd take it upon myself to persuade you… personally."

Something about the way he spoke made Rose blush. She lowered her gaze, wondering what it'd be like to have Scorpius Malfoy personally persuade her…

She glanced up to find Scorpius still staring at her, his teasing grin replaced by a different, more intense gaze. Her breath hitched slightly—

Abruptly, Scorpius looked away, his cheeks slightly flushed. His voice, however, was light and casual as he nodded at Dom. "So, Dom, you must've been a few years ahead of us in school? I've met a lot of Weasleys, but I don't recall meeting you."

Dom smiled. "That's right. I was Class of 2022."

"Ah, brilliant," nodded Scorpius. "Class of 2022, well…" he shrugged. "Not quite on par with Class of 2024, of course, but still respectable."

Dom laughed, a curious brow arched. "And why is that?"

"Because 24 is 'greater' than 22, of course."

Dom's jaw fell open, but Rose nodded in agreement. "See, Dom? Scorpius agrees."

The blonde grinned, nodding uncharacteristically eagerly. "Oh, look at you cool kids."

"Well," chuckled Scorpius, "I suppose it's only fair that Rose gets to be a little bit cool."

Rose crossed her arms. "I'll have you know, I'm very cool."

The Quidditch player grinned rakishly. "Well, I'll have to see it to believe it. Anyways, I should be getting back to my new teammates. Nice meeting you, Dom. And thanks for letting me drop by again, Rose."

Rose rolled her eyes, a soft smile playing on her lips as Scorpius left. Glancing across the table, she frowned. Why was Dom smirking at her like that?

"Yes, Dom?"

"This is so much better than a Muggle fairy-tale."

A/N: Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed, alerted, and favorited! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please review if you'd like to see more! :)