Brooms and Blows
It was few weeks later and there was a Quidditch match between Ravenclaw and Slytherin in full swing. The rain pelted down from the blackened sky and soaked everyone in the stands and on the pitch through to the bone. Rose shivered as she hovered in front of the middle goal hoop. Her fingers grasped her broom tightly since she feared she would slip off because of the rain and her knuckles were white. Her eyes scanned the players that flew around the pitch. All of the Chasers for Ravenclaw were doing a decent job at keeping the Quaffle away from the Slytherin Chasers, which was something Rose was thankful for. But the Slytherin Beaters took shots at the Ravenclaw Chasers with the Bludgers that were just as good and could barely be avoided. From the corner of her eye, Rose saw that Scorpius hovered high up in the air, away from the main traffic of the game. His eyes were squinted as he attempted to see the Snitch amongst the heavy raindrops that plummeted down. She could see he was getting frustrated and smirked at the thought.
If we win this game, everything will be worth it, she thought to herself as she looked away from her fellow Head. She watched as one of the Ravenclaw Chasers, Matthew Finnegan, was hit square in the chest with a Bludger. He released the Quaffle as his chest compacted and then fell off of his broomstick. He landed hard on the soaked mud below and was rushed off the pitch by Madam Pomfrey. As for the Quaffle, it had moved into Slytherin possession and the Chasers flew right at her. They intended to try and score a goal. Well, it wasn't going to happen, was it?
Rose steeled herself and kept her eyes peeled on where the Quaffle was amongst the three Slytherin Chasers. Albus was one of them and he gave her a smirk as they drew closer. Rose always had an advantage with Albus as the Weasley/Potter clan played Quidditch together at the Burrow on their vacations therefore knowing exactly how Albus threw and phased a play. But Albus also knew Rose's weaknesses and strengths as well and she could practically see the gears turn in his head as he thought of a way to outsmart her. He finally settled on a strategy and threw the Quaffle to the hoop on Rose's immediate left. Rose flew to stop it and was just able to graze her fingers on the ball before it moved past her and through the hoop. Slytherin was now up another ten points and the two teams were tied. Rose cursed herself and Albus gave her a little wink before he flew back onto the pitch with his fellow Chasers.
She looked for an open spot amongst her teammates to find someplace she could throw the Quaffle. Matthew was down so she only had two Chasers. Thankfully, one of them was open and she used to her broomstick to hit the Quaffle to them. As she turned her attention back to the rest of the game, she looked up to see that Scorpius no longer hovered over the game. Her eyes flashed around as she hoped to spot him and when she did, she groaned. He was within three feet of the Snitch with his arm outstretched and the Ravenclaw Seeker was just behind. She caught the attention of one of the Ravenclaw beaters, her cousin Louis, and gave him a furtive glance to the Seekers. Louis took the hint and when a Bludger came his way, he aimed it at Malfoy. Direct hit!
Malfoy's arm was hit straight on and he cried out in pain. He didn't let go of his broom but he sunk through the air until he hovered just above the mud-slicked ground, clearly dazed; he clutched his arm and looked up at Louis with a glare but before he could do anything, Madame Hooch's whistle blew.
The Ravenclaw Seeker had continued on and caught the Snitch. Slytherin had lost the game.
Fast-forward to that night and the Ravenclaw team members were celebrating in their common room. Rose was invited, of course. When she arrived, she saw that Scorpius stood outside of the common room with his arms folded over his chest. "What are you doing here?" she asked as she moved to stand beside him and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear.
"I came to talk to your cousin. Pomfrey mended my arm instantly but he and I need to have a few words."
"Louis? He's a Beater, what do you expect? All's fair in love and war, Malfoy." She leaned on the door that marked the entrance to the Ravenclaw common room and the doorknocker came to life. "No riddles right now, we can wait to be let in," Rose snapped before it could say anything. It faded back into objectification, hardened metal. She turned her gaze back to Scorpius. "Upset that you lost, then?"
"I'm upset because I lost because of your stupid cousin."
Just then, the door opened and Albus and Louis appeared at the doorway. "Hey, glad you could make it," Albus said to Rose before he turned to face Scorpius. "How's your arm, mate?"
"It's fine. Louis, can I talk to you?" Scorpius asked in a clipped tone. Rose watched as her cousin came forward. She glared at Scorpius as she stepped into the Ravenclaw common room and Albus shut the door behind her. The arms of her teammates instantly enveloped her as they gave her congratulatory hugs for their win. No one heard what was going on outside in the corridor where Louis and Scorpius had been left until the music that had been blasting the entire time was turned off so Rose could make a speech. It was then that they heard a loud bang that seemed to shake the room and Rose turned round, shocked.
Albus ran to the door and opened it and the people within Ravenclaw Tower rushed out to see that Louis and Scorpius had their wands drawn and were in the middle of a duel. Both bled heavily from several gashes. Rose and Albus ran forward but were held back by some of their friends.
"Louis, stop!" Albus shouted as his cousin and pulled his wand to cast a protective shield in between the two. But he before he could cast the charm, Scorpius wordlessly executed another spell that sent Louis flying back into the walls of the corridor and he slumped when he fell to the floor. They waited for him to move but when he didn't, Albus ran forward to check his cousin. "He's unconscious but breathing. Scorpius, you need to get out of here. It looks bad, really bad."
Before she could think about it, Rose turned around and cast a forgetful charm over everyone that had witnessed the duel. She then ran to Scorpius' side to help him but he glared when she came close.
"Don't you see? It started off as a simple talk and we turned it into a duel. I am the monster, Weasley," he said as he looked at his victim. "I didn't mean for him to get hurt that badly but I wanted him to get hurt."
"We can talk about it later, Malfoy but I have to get you out of here," Rose said, panicked. She took his hand and began to lead him away. "Albus, you need to make Louis forget what happened right now!" she called over her shoulder to her cousin. "Quickly!"
The sound of footsteps as they travelled through the corridor alerted everyone to the fact that not only students but teachers were on their way to check out what had been happening. Rose barely had enough time to get Scorpius into a broom closet before a crowd of people flooded the corridor with the Headmistress in the lead of it all. Rose locked the broom closet and cast a charm so that if someone looked into the broom closet, the two Heads would be concealed, camouflaged into their surroundings.
"If we lose our badges for this, I will kill you," Rose hissed as she heard McGonagall ask Albus why Louis was unconscious. Albus played it off like Louis had gotten too drunk and had fallen down the stairs from the entrance to the common room. The other students, having had their memories modified, didn't remember a thing so they all went along with what Albus said to not seem foolish. Rose sighed in relief and glanced at Scorpius only to realize exactly how close they were in this broom closet. He gave her a little smirk.
"Scared, Weasley?"
"You wish," she whispered back as she put her hand over his mouth to keep him quiet. In response, Malfoy did the same to her and she glared at him. Scorpius just cocked an eyebrow in response, his eyes holding playfulness.
They were stuck here until everything was figured out. Great.