All students were required to be in their respective common rooms after dinner to receive talks from their Heads of House. Rose stood in the back of the room as she and her fellow housemates listened to Professor Longbottom talk about how the Common Room is a place reserved for student privacy and, in some ways, safety. And how entering the Common Rooms of other Houses uninvited was a serious breach in those principles.

"It is my duty as Head of House," said Professor Longbottom, "to inform you that when the student who did this is discovered, they will be punished accordingly. I am also supposed to ask that if you have any information on this matter, you should come forward."

Professor Longbottom sighed. "Unofficially, I wish to say that if it was anyone from my House . . ." He smiled. "Well done."

Rose sighed in relief as her fellow housemates laughed and applauded. She imagined Professor Longbottom wouldn't have been in such good humor if the incident had occurred after curfew. So it wasn't as serious as she'd feared. If anyone realized it had been her, at least she didn't have to worry about being expelled. Detention and loss of House Points didn't sound like much fun either, but she'd take it compared with the alternative.

She began to worry about Scorpius, though. If this was the result from her getting into Slytherin, what would happen when he got into Gryffindor? It especially worried her that she'd asked him not to disguise himself. She could offer to call the whole thing off, but he seemed just as stubborn as she was. She doubted he'd accept.

She would just have to tell everyone that she had invited him. She could only imagine the reaction she would get, especially from Amanda. It didn't matter that Al had calmed her fears; they would all resurface if Amanda saw her hanging out with one of the Slytherins. Still, it was better than having Scorpius get into trouble.

Her friends were good to her. They didn't want to see her get hurt. She knew that once they got to know Scorpius and saw that he wasn't the stereotypical Slytherin, they'd warm up to him. Really, she had nothing to worry about. But, ashamed to admit it as she was, she still worried about what people might think.

Over a week later, Rose was awoken by tapping at her dorm room window. She climbed out from her four-poster bed to find Scorpius' head bobbing outside the glass pane.

She ran to open it. "What are you doing up here?" He was on his broomstick, dressed in his Quidditch robes.

"Can I come in?"

"What?"

"Can I come in?" he asked again.

She wanted to argue with him. Of course he couldn't come in! But he was dangling in mid air outside her window; this was no time to argue. She stood back and offered a hand to help him through the small opening. She was rather impressed he managed to do it, albeit awkwardly. "What are you doing here?" she asked when he finally had two feet planted firmly on the floor.

"Getting into Gryffindor Tower," he explained with a smile.

"N-no," she said. "I meant you had to be in the Gryffindor Common Room."

Scorpius raised a finger. "But you said 'Gryffindor Tower,' and this is part of it, is it not?"

She had nothing to say to him. He was right, but she wasn't going to admit it.

"And, if you want me to prove my bravery by showing my face," he continued. "We could wake your roommates."

"No!" Rose hissed, grabbing his arm as he headed for Amanda's bed.

He gave her a look. "You really think I would?"

"I don't know you well enough to say."

It was an honest answer, but silence still fell between them. It was eventually broken by Mandy groaning as she turned in her bed.

"Out," said Rose, shooing Scorpius with a motion of her hand.

She watched as he just as awkwardly, if not more so, managed to climb out the window. Once he was secure on the broom, she grabbed his arm.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Coming with you. This conversation isn't over yet, and I'm not finishing it in there."

He held onto the window as she situated herself on the broom and put her arms around him. She was surprised at how warm he was in the cool air. "Let's go."

Scorpius spent some time flying around. He told himself he was looking for a good spot to land, but, if he was honest with himself, he really just liked the feel of her arms around him.

Eventually, he did find a low sloping roof to land on. They dismounted and Rose stood rubbing her arms in the darkness. The days were gradually getting warmer but the nights were still cold. Scorpius had worn his Quidditch robes to protect himself from the chill breeze while flying, but Rose was in her pajamas and had been completely unprotected.

"Here," he said, taking off his robes and handing them to her.

"Thanks." She put them on and wrapped them around herself.

They were a size too big for her. She was completely swallowed up in Slytherin in green. Scorpius smiled; it was a cute look.

She stared back at him, and he averted his eyes. "So," he swung his arms as he searched for a topic. "Who won?"

Rose sighed. "Neither of us, I guess. We both did what we said we'd do." She sighed again.

"Is something wrong?" he asked her.

She didn't answer right away. "Ever since I agreed to this bet, I've been asking myself why. Why did I agree to do it? And why, after all the worrying I did, did I refuse to back down?"

She sat on the roof shingles, wrapping the robes more tightly around her. "It's been so long, I'd almost forgotten. It was the first time I ever saw you, first year as we were getting on the Hogwarts Express from Platform 9 and 3/4."

Scorpius sat down next to her to be closer to her, and to his surprise she leaned against him.

"I saw you, and daddy said to me, 'make sure you beat him on every test, Rosie.' And I guess I took it to heart."

"That was it?" he asked, surprised.

She nodded. "I was eleven. I didn't think about it. I wanted to beat you because dad had asked me to."

He didn't have anything to say to that. It certainly wasn't an explanation he had been expecting. He was slightly disappointed she hadn't been pestering him all these years because she'd thought he was cute.

"All I've done is compete with you," she continued, apparently unbothered by his silence. "In class. In Quidditch. How do I even know who I am if all I've ever done with my life is what someone told me to do?"

"Now, come on," he said, placing a comforting arm around her. "That's not true."

She looked up at him. "Isn't it?"

"No. You didn't get to be top of your class just by competing with me. You excel at all your classes, including the ones I'm not in. And you do it because you care, because you want to succeed. If you had played Quidditch just to beat me, you have been Beater, not Chaser. You do it because it's fun and you want to." She was smiling at him, so he continued. "I know who you are, Rose, and you are not a push over. You are a very strong, intelligent, beautiful young woman."

She grasped the hand he had placed on her shoulder, and he felt his heart jump. "Scorpius," she said. "We're friends right?"

"Of course, we are."

"Really good friends?"

"Yeah."

She leaned in toward him, and he kissed her.

Apparently that wasn't what she had wanted or he had completely misread her body language because she pushed away from him. "Whoa!"

"I'm sorry!" he blurted, jumping back from her. "I thought you-"

"I didn't mean-"

"I'm sorry."

They were both on their feet now, the distance between them significantly increased.

"I'm sorry, Rose," he said more steadily. "I-I misunderstood."

She nodded.

Damn, he was an idiot. "I hope . . . I hope this doesn't change what you said."

"Of course, not." She shook her head. She had his robes wrapped tightly around herself, almost protectively, like she was afraid he might do something weird again.

"We can still be friends?"

"Of course."

"Good."

They stared awkwardly at each other for a few moments. Scorpius thought he could feel his ears reddening. How could he have been so stupid? She was looking for friendship from him, nothing more.

He turned around and picked up his broom. "Shall we?" The sooner he got this night behind him, the better.