The rest of the week flew by. Albus still wasn't talking to Rose, and even James and Fred seemed to be ignoring her now. She grew very close to Scorpius, Will, and Lila. Jessica was a bit difficult to get close to, but they were still friendly. Two days after she sent the letter to her parents, Rose received a reply.
Dear Rosie,
First of all, we are both thrilled that you are making friends. Perhaps Will can come over Christmas and meet Teddy. I'm sure he would love to become aquatinted with another Metamorphmagus.
Now, about Slytherin. We do not mind. If Slytherin is the right place for you, then by all means, enjoy is! Your father was slightly disappointed, but I spoke with him and he is fine now. Just don't get too caught up in the Slytherin mindset.
And I am so sorry about Albus. I spoke to Harry and Ginny, and they are very disappointed in him. They'll probably write him soon and try to talk sense into him, but you know Al. He's too much like his Uncle Ron. When we were younger, your father and I would go without speaking for weeks at a time, and look where we are now. Obviously, I do not want you to marry your cousin, but he will come around. You've been too close for too long to just forget that.
Congratulations on your success in classes so far. Neville wrote to us and said that you are very good in Herbology. We are so proud, Rosie.
We love you,
Mum (and Dad)
Rose smiled. Her mother was right. Al would come around. At least her parents were-A loud voice coming from the Gryffindor table interrupted Rose's thoughts. "ALBUS SEVERUS POTTER! WHAT HAS GOTTEN INTO YOU?" Uncle Harry's voice echoed throughout the Great Hall in the form of a Howler. "FIRST I FIND OUT THAT YOU'VE GOTTEN INTO A FIGHT WITHIN YOUR FIRST FIVE MINUTES AT HOGWARTS! NOT ONLY A FIGHT, BUT ONE THAT YOU PROVOKED? YOU HAVE NO IDEA JUST HOW DISAPPOINTED YOUR MOTHER AND I ARE IN YOU! I SPECIFICALLY TOLD YOU NOT TO GO OFF AND FIGHT SCORPIUS MALFOY, AND WHAT DO YOU DO? YOU GO OFF AND FIGHT HIM!
"AND THEN, AFTER WE WERE ALREADY FURIOUS ENOUGH, YOUR AUNT HERMIONE TELLS US THAT YOU'RE IGNORING YOUR COUSIN JUST BECAUSE SHE WAS SORTED INTO SLYTHERIN! WE RAISED YOU BETTER THAN THAT, ALBUS. YOU WILL TALK TO HER AGAIN, ALBUS SEVERUS. AND IF YOU DON'T, WE WILL KNOW!" Then, the Howler blew up.
The silence in the Great Hall rang in Rose's ears. She just stared at her plate with red cheeks. Will and Scorpius were being painfully silent. Then, Will started making faces at Rose, like she was trying to warn her of something. Someone tapped Rose on the shoulder, and she turned to see Albus, looking furious.
"You told on me? To your mom?" he yelled incredulously. "It's none of Aunt Hermione's business who I do and don't talk to, and I'll fight whoever I want! They want me to talk to you? Fine. We'll have a little chat. You're just a spoiled little tattling brat. You think you're better than everyone else, but you're not. You're nothing, and I'm glad you're in Slytherin, because it means you're away from me. Have fun with your little Death Eaters."
He turned to leave and Scorpius stood up sharply, but Rose yanked him back down. Scorpius looked at Rose questioningly. "I don't want to get you in trouble, too," she explained, her eyes full of tears and resolve. She wouldn't be writing to her parents about Albus again. She also wouldn't take this lying down.
Rose glanced at the teacher's table and saw Professor Longbottom watching her sympathetically. She got up and swung her bag over one shoulder. As she was walking through the halls, Rose spotted the Bloody Baron and was struck with an idea. "Baron! Hey, Baron, sir!"
The Bloody Baron stopped and slowly turned to face Rose. "Yes?" he asked in his eerie, gravelly voice.
"Please, sir. Do you know where Peeves is?"
The Baron looked upwards at the ceiling. "Peeves is probably wreaking havoc on the transfiguration wing, as per usual," he said slowly.
Rose nodded. "Thank you, Baron!" she said, and rushed off towards the Transfiguration Wing.
The Baron had been right. Peeves was busy smashing ink bottles near the Transfiguration classroom. "Peeves!" Rose called, which startled the poltergeist.
"Ah, look," he said gleefully. "It's the newest ickle Weasel!"
Rose nodded. "Yeah, yeah. See, I wanted to meet you. My uncle, George Weasley, told me that you're the King of Pranks. He said you couldn't be beaten. Apparently, he and his twin couldn't even out- prank you while they were at Hogwarts." Rose was turning on the charm full- force.
Peeves swelled slightly with pride. "Did he, now? The Weasel twins always were my favorites, they were."
"Right," Rose said quickly. "Well, I was wondering if you could do me a favor,"
Peeves hung upside down and squinted at Rose. "Why should Peeves?"
Rose shrugged, thinking fast. "Oh, well, my uncle was thinking about writing a book about you. You know, your best pranks and such. Mostly like propaganda so people can know how much of a genius you are."
Peeves grinned. "Well, I am a genius."
"Right. So Uncle George wanted me to kind of watch you, to make sure you're still a genius. But I wouldn't want to lie to him, so I wanted to give you a sort of 'mission' to make sure I can tell Uncle George something good about you."
"A mission?" Peeves asked with interest. "What kind of mission?"
"Well," Rose said. "I was thinking you could kind of follow a certain student around, as a sort of target."
"Any student?" Peeves asked.
Rose shook her head. "Well, no," she admitted. "I was thinking you could follow Albus Potter around."
Peeves laughed. "Ickle Potter Wee Potty? But isn't Georgie his uncle, too?"
Rose nodded. "Yes, he is. That's why you should go after him- because then, he can tell Uncle George what it's like to be his target."
Peeves seemed to think about it a moment. He grinned. "Very clever, Weaselbee! Peevsie will do it." He then zoomed off.
"Rose?" A now familiar voice came from the shadows, and Scorpius emerged. "Did you really just do that?"
"Do what?" Rose asked innocently.
"You know," Scorpius said with a shrug. "Trick Peeves into going after Potter."
Rose turned bright red. "Oh, er… yeah… I mean, I was just kind of upset about what he said and…"
"You have every right to be mad. You're finally showing your Slytherin side."
Rose bit her lip. "So, you think I'm getting mean?"
Scorpius shook his head. "Slytherins aren't mean. We're just… we don't let people walk all over us. That's not a bad thing."
Rose nodded. "I guess so…" she said dubiously. She then looked at Scorpius. "Wait… why'd you follow me?"
Scorpius paused. "Um… after what Potter said, I was worried about you…" Rose surprised her new friend by hugging him suddenly. "What was that for?" he asked her awkwardly.
"Thank you," Rose said simply. "Now come on. I bet I can crush you in Wizard Chess."
A/N. Jules again! Hope you enjoyed chapter five of "Is This Real Life?"
So, questions. What did you think of Rose's plan? Do you think she'll be successful, or will it blow up in her face? How about Albus? What did you think about that?
As much as I liked the Peeves idea, it turns out I really hate writing Peeves scenes. It's really hard for me to get into his character. Oh, well.
You know, Hermione's okay with Rose being in Slytherin, but how do you think Ron's REALLY taking it? Hmmm? XD
Now, RoseMalfoy101 said "I was a bit shocked James nor Fred said anyting on the train ride when they walked they have better manners than Al." Well, I think that's a point that needs to be addressed, so here's your answer!
In this story, it's not that James and Fred have BETTER manners than Al. The thing is, they're just slightly more mature. But the main distinguishing characteristic between James + Fred and Al is the level of respect they have for Harry. James and Fred basically idolize Harry and will do ALMOST anything he says. Harry said not to fight with Scorpius, and not to be all prejudiced, so they're trying not to be. They're still distancing themselves from Rose, though. They're just more… quiet about their rudeness.
Albus does what he wants. If he wants to be rude, he is. If he doesn't like someone, he shows it. He wears his heart on his sleeve.
Anyway, thanks! Next chapter will be in Scorpius' point of view!