The week following the almost-kiss was incredibly awkward for both Rose and Scorpius. They avoided mentioning it for the most part but whenever the Hogsmeade weekend came up, they would go silent. And the air would be filled with an awkward silence which was only broken when one of them finally cleared their throat and left the room. This was happening a little too often and Lily and Charles were beginning to notice. Whenever either of them brought up the Shrieking Shack around their respective friends, both of them would change the topic and strike up a conversation about something else. Lily was the first one to handle the situation since Charles just figured that something weird had happened at the Shack. But Lily wasn't letting go very easily. She ambushed Rose before breakfast, pulling her into a dark corridor somewhere on Rose's floor. She pulled her into the corridor and said, "Okay, what the hell happened between you and Malfoy at that Shack?!"
"Is Albus seeing someone?" Rose asked, changing the subject. She also wanted to know because she had heard female laughter but hadn't seen the person.
"Don't change the subject, Rose! Answer the question!"
"What?! Nothing happened! We just went to the Shack, told off the third years and came back to the Three Broomsticks!"
"No you didn't. Don't lie to me, Weasley. What happened?" Lily said. Rose knew that she really wanted to know because Lily never used Rose's last name unless she was completely serious. Rose knew that this was the perfect moment to tell the truth. So she said, "Scorpius and I kissed." If Lily had been drinking something, she would have spit out her drink all over the floor. She stared at Rose for a second and said, "Excuse me." Rose waited and Lily returned with a goblet of water (where did she get that?! Rose wondered). She took a gulp of it and then spat it out all over the floor. Rose had to jump out of the line of fire.
"Lily!"
"You and Malfoy… kissed?"
"Okay no. We didn't. We almost did. But we didn't." She confessed.
"What? Why?"
"Scorpius wanted to show me something but then we heard Albus coming and we needed to hide- because Al couldn't see me with him- and so he pretended to kiss me until Al left with his girlfriend. So who is Al seeing?"
"Not important. What do you mean 'pretended to kiss'?"
"Well he brought his face really close but we didn't actually kiss." She said and held up her palm, bringing it close to her face to show the distance. Lily's eyes widened when she saw the distance between the palm and her hand. She said, "And he managed to stop himself from kissing you after that?!"
"Well… yeah."
"But… how?!"
"I don't know! Ask him! Actually wait. Don't ask him. He'll kill me for telling you. We have an unspoken agreement not to speak about it." She admitted.
"Oh my god. The two of you clearly like each other. You should kiss and seal the deal."
"Lily, may I remind you that there is a huge difference between dating and getting married. Huge."
"Size doesn't matter." Lily said, waving her hand. Rose rolled her eyes and said, "No Lily, we're not going to get married. Now, if you don't mind, I would like to go for breakfast and fill myself up a little before Transfiguration." Rose said, moving out of the tiny hallway and going towards the Great Hall. Lily followed her and said, "You should try going out. It can't hurt."
"Lily, let it go." Rose said, now regretting telling Lily anything at all. But she knew that Lily wouldn't let it go because Lily just wasn't that kind of girl. And, as Rose had predicted, she didn't.
"But you'd look so good together! Not to mention, you could flip off any girl in the school. Literally everyone wants to get with him whether it's for a one-night stand or otherwise. And-" her voice died out as they entered the Great Hall. Rose followed her gaze and saw her staring at the Slytherin table. There were three girls talking to Scorpius and Rose could tell that they were flirting by watching their expressions. She looked at Lily and said, "Just a second. I need to take care of something."
Saying that it was awkward between him and Rose was an understatement. Sure, it got less awkward as time passed but they couldn't even speak about Hogsmeade. Whenever Charles brought up the Hogsmeade weekend, Scorpius would nod and listen although he wasn't really comprehending what was being said. His mind would reel back to the moment in the forest and he would only come back to reality when the topic changed. Charles noticed but preferred not to speak about it since it obviously made Scorpius uncomfortable. But finally he had had enough. He had been talking about the new barmaid who had replaced Madam Rosmerta and once again Scorpius had zoned out. He said, "OK, Malfoy. That's enough. Spill the beans."
"What?" Scorpius asked, coming back.
"Why do you zone out every time I talk about Hogsmeade?"
"I do not."
"Answer the question, Scorpius."
"Nothing happened at Hogsmeade. Nobody went into the forest and nobody did anything in there! I swear!" He said, not realizing what he had said. He had been thinking so far into the conversation that he was answering a completely different question. Charles' eyes widened and he said, "Why did you go into the forest and what did you do there?"
"What? Nothing! I just told you!"
"You didn't answer my question properly, Scorpius. So shut up and tell me."
"That's very contradictory, you know. 'Shut up and tell me'."
"I don't care. If you don't tell me, I will Crucio you."
"Fine fine! I had a small moment with Rose. It was nothing. Seriously."
"Good or bad."
"Oh it was definitely bad."
"Your grin tells a completely different story." Charles pointed out and Scorpius then realized that he had been grinning. Quickly going back to his previous expression of passivity, he said, "No, it was definitely bad. I mean, we almost-" he broke off, going red. Charles' eyes widened and he said, "You almost…?"
"Nothing. We almost nothing. Honestly Charles, just let it go."
"Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy! What did you almost do! And you owe me this because I used your middle name even though I hate it from the bottom of my heart, all the way to the top! I mean, really, what kind of a name is Hyperion?" Charles said and Scorpius rolled his eyes. He said, "Fine! We almost kissed. But we didn't. Which is why it is incredibly awkward whenever Hogsmeade comes up."
"Merlin's beard. You really like this girl, don't you? I mean, I've seen you with crushes before, Scorpius. It hasn't been this bad. Ever. Remember Clara? Aunt Daphne's daughter? You totally liked her but the second you went out, you got bored of her. Even she wasn't this bad."
"Clara was boring! All she could talk about were other girls and their lives! I don't care about the other girls!"
"And Weasley is somehow different?"
"Rose is completely different! She has her friends but she doesn't go on and on about them. And she isn't going to change just because we start going out. If we start going out. Which we probably won't."
"I can't believe I'm doing this but my matchmaker instincts–" Scorpius snorted.
"–are kicking in," Charles glared at him, "and so I'm going to get you and Weasley to go out"
"And how do you plan on doing that?"
"First step: jealousy. You'd be surprised by how many girls want to get into bed with you. And I've gotten into bed with a few of them. So, I'm going to make Rose Weasley jealous. If she pulls you away from the Slytherin table, it's a plus point. If she doesn't, it's a minus point." Charles said, proudly. Scorpius rolled his eyes again and said, "Fine. She probably won't."
"That is for her to decide." He said and pushed Scorpius in front of him, towards the doors of the Great Hall before following him. For a minute Charles stared at the Slytherin table and his eyes came to rest on three girls. Three eerily perfect girls. Scorpius had a feeling that they had Veela blood in them. Charles went to them, Scorpius following behind. Just before approaching them, he spotted a girl sitting next to the three girls but she was obviously not part of their little perfect group. Scorpius felt slightly sorry for the girl because he knew that Charles was going to try to get her. Charles said, "Okay so I have this move and it's pretty perfect. Well there's this show on television–don't ask what that is– and there's this guy in it who is great with the girls. And he helps out his friends too. So I'm going to pull one of his moves on these three fine ladies who will definitely want you."
"I swear if it's something stupid-" Scorpius began as Charles pulled him down into the seat and slid in front of the three girls. He cut Scorpius off by saying, "Hey ladies, haaave you met Scorpius?" Scorpius mentally cursed Charles until he realized that it was working. The girls turned and gave him a once over at the same time. It was beyond creepy. Then the one in the middle smiled and said, "No we haven't. But we can't wait. Scorpius, was it?"
"Yes. Hi. And you are…?"
"I'm April, this is May and this is June." The girl in the middle pointed to herself and then to the girl on her right and left respectively.
"Where's July? Or did she miss the monthly update?" Scorpius joked. The girls laughed easily but Scorpius caught looks of evil being shared between the three of them. Not evil. But something very similar. He had a feeling that there probably was a July… once. He then realized that their laughs had been too easy. Then May said, "You're a very funny person. You're really good." The Creepy Sisters laughed again but this time it was more real. Scorpius relaxed a little. Then he said, "I'm sure you're just as funny." More laughter. Then June said, "So… Scorpius–" Scorpius felt a strong hand on his shoulder yank him off the bench and he came face to face with none other than Rose Weasley. His eyes widened and he looked at Charles over his shoulder, who had a wide grin on his face. Rose said, "I'm really sorry to have to interrupt your little chat–"
"Then don't." April said and May and June laughed.
"–but I need to steal him away for a few minutes." She finished, through gritted teeth. And, if looks could kill, the entire Slytherin table would be covered with corpses. May opened her mouth to say something and Rose stood a little straighter, holding up her chin, challenging May to speak. Scorpius noticed April put her hand on May's wrist and shake her head so slightly that he would have missed it if he had blinked. May closed her mouth and stared at Rose, glowering. Rose gave a fleeting smile of triumph and then strode out of the Great Hall, pulling Scorpius along with her in her abnormally strong grip. Once they were a safe distance away from the Hall, she turned to Scorpius and said, "What was that? Care to explain?"
"That was– wait, why am I even explaining myself. I don't need to explain myself to you."
"Yes you do. Because I'm the Head Girl which means I'm basically the bride of the school."
"The bride of the… what?"
"When you get married, you'll understand."
"Okay… are you implying that I'm the groom?" He grinned at her goofily and she flicked his forehead, saying, "Focus, Malfoy. What the hell was that? Back there? In the Great Hall?"
"Well, those girls were April, May and June. And–"
"What? Did July not get the monthly update or something?" Rose said, snorting.
"That's what I said!" Scorpius said, grinning. Rose rolled her eyes and said, "You were flirting with them, weren't you?"
"Well… we never actually got to that part because someone pulled me away before the actual fun could start." There was a flash of skin, a crack and a loud howl which followed. Lily came running outside and found Rose standing there, staring at Scorpius, whose hand covered one cheek (although Lily could very clearly see the red spreading underneath his hand). She said, "Merlin's beard. What happened here?!" Lily's voice broke the spell and Rose's eyes widened in horror as she realized what she had done. Her hand came up to cover her mouth as she stared at Scorpius who was fervently rubbing his cheek. She said, "Oh my god… I'm so sorry. I just. I don't know what came over me. Oh my god, Scorpius, I am so sorry!"
"What the hell, Weasley! Why did you slap me?!" He screamed, now regaining his sense of reasoning.
"I really don't know! I'm so sorry!"
"You don't know?! Are you sure this couldn't be how you display a little emotion called, oh I don't know, jealousy? Seriously?! You show it by slapping someone! Not a way to win a man's heart, Rose!"
"If you're so convinced that I was jealous, maybe next time you won't flirt with the first three women you MEET!" Her voice became louder and louder until she screeched.
"I wasn't flirting! How many times do I need to tell you! And are you claiming that it wasn't jealousy that made you go all crazy?"
"Well of course it wasn't! You're just completely neglecting your duties as Head Boy! What if someone was drowning in the Lake?! Would you care?! Or would you just stay in the Hall and flirt?!"
"I hardly think it takes two people to get one person out of the Lake." Scorpius scoffed. Rose stared at him in disbelief and said, "This. This is why you're in Slytherin. I'm sorry that I slapped you." She said and left. Scorpius stared at her, not knowing what to say or what she meant. Once she was out of earshot, he turned to Lily but before he could say anything, she said, "It isn't the number of people that save the kid that matters, genius. It's the number of people who care enough to be there that does." She turned and followed after Rose. Scorpius stood there, staring at Lily who started out walking in Rose's direction but then broke into a jog and then a run.
