The next day started in a blur. I was still semi – paralyzed by the news that, apparently, Scorpius Malfoy had been in love with me since forever (okay, since the beginning of last year) and that Demetria DuChamps had a heart. I didn't even say good morning to anyone as I sat down for breakfast. I mechanically went through the movements of buttering my toast and pouring some pumpkin juice for myself, but without thinking.

"Rose!" Felicia half shouted.

I blinked and looked up.

"I've been saying your name for the past five minutes," Felicia said, looking both concerned and agitated. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," I said. "Fine."

"So you're just going deaf, or what?"

"Maybe," I said, shrugging.

Felicia shook her head and went back to her porridge. Eurydice leaned over Jane (who was, once again, immersed in a book) to poke me on the shoulder.

"Rose," she whispered. "Do you remember the thing we talked about a couple days ago?"

I stared at her blankly. What had Eurydice and I talked about a couple days ago? My mind raced but I came up on nothing.

"You know," she pressed. "The thing about Scorpius." She pretty much mouthed the last word.

Then it all came rushing back to me. How Eurydice was hopelessly in love Scorpius and had been so since some Potions class.

"Oh," I said, my voice unusually hollow. "Right."

"Well," she breathed, lowering her voice even further. "You two have always gotten on so well. Won't you… talk to him for me? About me, I mean."

I opened my mouth and then closed it again. I had no idea what I was supposed to say. How do you tell someone that you can't help them with their love life, because the object of their affections is apparently in love with, well… me? How was I supposed to say that?

"Sure," I heard myself say. "Yeah, I'll tell him during Potions today."

Eurydice's whole face lit up with glee. "Oh, thanks Rose!" she burst out, grinning from ear to ear. "You're the best!"

I smiled, but I didn't really mean it. I would have to mention Eurydice to Scorpius, now that I had promised… For some reason I felt a sudden, ugly surge of hate towards Eurydice, but then I felt bad. Eurydice couldn't know how Scorpius felt about me or how I felt about Scorpius.

But how DID I feel about Scorpius? I had no idea. Ever since Demetria let her secrets slip, I kept having these images in my mind of Scorpius and me holding hands, hugging, laughing together and… kissing. Maybe I was being ridiculous. Maybe I was going mad. The possibilities were endless, but one thing was certain: I was incredibly confused.

Later, as Felicia, Al and I were walking to Potions class, we met Ophi.

"Hey," he said enthusiastically, falling into step with us.

"Hey," I said a bit more dully.

"What's wrong?" he asked, clearly picking up on my mood.

I might have feelings for your best friend.

"Nothing. Just, you know, tired."

"Oh, yeah, I know all about that. It's really hard to fall asleep when you have a lot on your mind."

You have no idea. I not only have all of Demetria's burdens on my mind, but also the knowledge that Scorpius Malfoy likes me.

"Yeah, totally," I said absent – mindedly.

I suddenly remembered what Scorpius had said the day before – I've noticed Ophi has been paying a lot of attention to you lately.

Surely Scorpius wasn't jealous? No, I decided. No, he was probably just stating a fact. Ophi and I were friends, nothing more, and obviously he was paying attention to me, I mean, we were becoming friends!

We walked into the dungeon, Al and I dropping into our seats in front of – sigh – Scorpius and Demetria.

Sometimes, I wonder if fate hates me.

I turned around to catch Demetria's eye. After all, she had spilled her guts to me the day before; the least I could do was acknowledge her existence. But Demetria buried her head in her book. Instead, I caught Scorpius' eye. He winked.

My stomach did somersaults.

This was ridiculous. I turned around and faced the board again, trying to listen intently, though my mind kept wandering. I would have to be completely normal around Scorpius again. I couldn't let on to the fact that I knew about him liking me. AND what if I suddenly started acting very differently now that I knew that he had feelings for me, and he then suddenly wasn't in love with me anymore?

A new panic gripped me and twisted my insides. No, I would have to be myself, one hundred percent. I would have to act completely normally, without any differences.

Suddenly, a folded up piece of parchment landed on my desk. I unfolded it carefully, knowing full well who it was from.

R-

You seemed weirder than usual yesterday.

Looking forward to Hogsmeade this Saturday?

Can't wait till Quidditch next weekend.

S

I gaped at this note for a few moments, then, with a quick glance at Slughorn, I started to write back.

Who cares if I acted strange yesterday? I was in a hurry. I know that YOU sail through life without a care, relying mainly on talent to get you through, but the rest of us actually work hard to keep our reputation. I know that you care about your reputation, although you pretend not to, but you must, just a little –

No, I definitely couldn't write that. I quickly tore off another piece of parchment and tried again.

Yeah, I was in a hurry yesterday.

Why are you talking about Hogsmeade this Saturday? Are you thinking of going with anyone in particular? Like, I don't know, ME?! You could ask me, you know, because I know your secret, Demetria told me all about it –

NO! I started again.

Yeah, I was in a hurry yesterday.

Of course I'm looking forward to Hogsmeade, I need to visit Honeydukes.

Quidditch – DEFINITELY. I need to beat you.

Why are you even writing to me?

I read the note through three times before finally throwing it over my shoulder. A few seconds later, another one landed on my desk.

You're probably stressed; you have too much to do. Try relaxing a bit, like the rest of us. Then again, I guess that's not really in your nature.

Honeydukes and ZONKOS!!!!!

Quidditch – yeah right, keep dreaming, Weasley.

I'm writing to you in the attempt to start stimulating conversation.

I'm not stressed, I'm fine. Besides, what should I give up? I love all the things I do.

ZONKOS? But that's prank things! That's Jamie's favorite shop.

YOU keep dreaming, Malfoy.

This isn't stimulating conversation, this is rule breaking.

"Yes, indeed, this is rule breaking," a voice said behind me. I turned around in my seat, startled. Apparently, the note that I had thrown had landed right in the hands of Professor Slughorn.

My heart sank.

"Professor…" I tried to say, but my voice died in my throat.

"Five points from Gryffindor and Slytherin," said Professor Slughorn. "And if I see any further note passing, there will be a detention tonight."

My blood turned to ice. Detention? I was a prefect! I couldn't get detention, this was… this was… all Scorpius' fault. Trust him to get me in trouble.

A few minutes later, though, another note landed on my desk. Fuming, I unfolded it.

HAHA! That was funny. The look on your face when Slughorn said detention was priceless.

Any lack in stimulating conversation is all you.

Infuriated, I couldn't help but write back.

That was NOT funny. Did you know that I have never before gotten a detention? I will thank you not to get me my first.

I'll end this very unstimulating conversation: STOP WRITING TO ME!

"Miss Weasley, did you not understand me?" Professor Slughorn asked, apparently having seen me throwing my last note over my shoulder. "Detention tonight, for Miss Weasley and Mr. Malfoy."

I gasped. I had just landed my first detention.

"I'm especially surprised at you, Miss Weasley," Slughorn continued. "You are a prefect, after all."

I sunk low into my seat, trying to hide my burning face. I felt horrible. Slughorn was one of my favorite teachers! Thankfully, though, Scorpius didn't write to me throughout the rest of the lesson.

**

James was furious when I told him about my detention. At first, he didn't say anything. His face went sort of red and lips got thinner and thinner until they were only a line. His nostrils flared and his eyes bulged in the most alarming way, and once again, I had the thought that maybe now would be the time to get Madam Pomfrey in case they fell out. James' chest swelled and he somehow seemed to grow bigger and bigger.

Maybe he was going to explode.

I stared at him in fright. Finally, though, he opened his mouth. I was expecting a roar, but he was quiet in the most threatening way.

"We have Quidditch practice tonight," he hissed.

"I am well aware of that," I said calmly. "But I will be unable to attend due to a detention."

James seemed to swell even more. I turned around, looking for help, but everyone in the Gryffindor Common Room seemed to be backing away. I finally saw James' sister, Lily and gestured wildly for her to come help me. Reluctantly she walked over. She regarded him with apprehension.

"What do I do?" I whispered, ignoring the fact that James could probably hear me.

Lily shrugged. "Let him get it out," she said. "It's the only way. Otherwise he will carry a grudge from now until Christmas."

"YOU LANDED YOURSELF IN DETENTION WHEN YOU KNOW THAT WE HAD QUIDDITC H PRACTICE TONIGHT?" James bellowed.

Lily and I jumped back about two feet.

"DO YOU HAVE NO CONSIDERATION FOR THE TEAM?" He continued to roar. "WE HAVE A VERY IMPORTANT MATCH COMING UP, BUT CLEARLY THAT DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING TO YOU – NO, ROSIE IS FAR TOO GOOD FOR PRACTICE, SHE DOESN'T NEED IT, DOES SHE? OH, WHAT DOES SHE CARE THAT THE REST OF THE TEAM DOESN'T WORK PROPERLY WHEN THEY ARE ONE CHASER DOWN?"

"James, I didn't mean to get detention, it just happened," I said slowly. Beside me, Lily had escaped.

"James, I didn't mean to get detention," James mimicked in a very high pitched voice. "EITHER YOU GET OUT OF THAT DETENTION OR I WILL… I WILL…"

He trailed off, clearly considering threats. I took advantage of his silence.

"I know that this is very frustrating for you, James," I said as calmly as I could. "But you see it wasn't really my fault. Scorpius Malfoy was sending notes to me in class and Slughorn decided to give both of us detention, for some reason…"

Okay, so this was a slight lie. But when your cousin is looking at you with bulging eyes and a red face, you would probably say just about anything to make him calm. Besides, I knew that Scorpius' name would do the trick, and I was right. James calmed at once.

"Scorpius Malfoy?" he asked. "I should've known. Of course he would get you into trouble. That little arrogant, conceited git."

I thought that this was taking it a bit far, but I decided not to say anything.

"AVRIL!" James roared.

The Gryffindor Seeker, Avril, came sprinting towards us.

"Yes, Jamie?" she asked, clearly trying to be as sweet as possible.

"You're coming with us," James said, making way for the portrait that led out of the Common Room.

"Uh," I said as Avril and I hurried after him, "where are we going?"

James pushed open the portrait and stormed off, Avril and I jogging to keep up.

"Slughorn's office," said James. "We need to convince him to let you off detention. And you, Avril, you need to do those cute little eyes, you know, the one's that get you everything you want."

Avril and I exchanged glances, both concerned about James' welfare. Perhaps this was it. Perhaps my detention was the final blow to what remained of his sanity and now it was gone. Perhaps he needed to go to St. Mungo's before he inflicted anymore emotional pain and trauma on himself or those around him (meaning mostly me). James has always been slightly arrogant, which I suppose is just a personality trait when you are:

A: Harry Potter's son

B: Unbelievably handsome (and this is from a cousin's point of view)

C: Talented on the Quidditch pitch and

D: Somehow unbelievably confident in everything he does.

But still. James' temper has long been a problem for all of us (meaning mostly me) but we've for the most part been able to deal with it. But this time, I really thought that he had finally gone mental.

James stopped in front of Slughorn's door and pounded.

"Eyes," he hissed to Avril. To me he said, "Look innocent."

Slughorn opened his door. I tried to fix my face into an expression that was half pleading, half apologetic.

"Ah, Mr. Potter, Miss Weasley and Miss Thompson!" he said, clearly delighted at seeing us. "Would you like to come in?"

"No," James said shortly. "I'm here to negotiate the terms for Rose's detention."

"I see," Slughorn said, his eyes moving over to me. "Miss Weasley, are you in pain?"

"What?" I asked, startled. "Um, no?"

"Then why are wearing such a pained expression?" he asked.

"I – uh…" I trailed off. Clearly, mixing expressions isn't exactly my talent. I decided for a purely innocent expression. James glared at me.

"I demand that Rose's detention be postponed till – uh – tomorrow," James said, turning back to Slughorn.

"I thought that you were here to negotiate," Slughorn said kindly.

"Yes, well, now I'm demanding," James said. "We have Quidditch practice tonight, you see."

"Oh, Professor Slughorn," Avril said, and I could swear that her eyes were welling with tears. "We really need Rose on the Quidditch field tonight. Otherwise – well, otherwise I simply don't know how we'll ever win another Quidditch game."

Over – dramatic, much?

Slughorn didn't buy it.

"I'm certain that the Gryffindor Quidditch team will get on fine enough," he said. "Besides, detention is supposed to be a punishment. It's hardly a punishment if it is at a time perfect for the – uh – accused, is it?"

James attempted to glare Professor Slughorn down. When it didn't work he grabbed Avril and me and stormed off in the other direction.

"Seven O'clock in my office, Miss Weasley!" Slughorn called after me.

I waved miserably to show that I had understood.

"Pathetic, smarmy bastard," James was muttering. "I bet if precious Scorpius had asked to have his detention changed Slughorn would do it on the spot because Scorpius is a Slytherin. He just wants Slytherin to win over Gryffindor in the next match."

"James," I said reasonably. "I'm sure that Slughorn didn't mean it in that way, you know, I'm sure that…" I trailed off as James glowered at me.

"Yes," I said. "You are absolutely right. Slughorn is biased, and the goal in his life is to see the downfall of Gryffindor."

James actually looked slightly pleased.

**

At five to seven I stood outside of Slughorn's office, a million thoughts racing through my mind. First, of course, there was the matter of the detention itself. I was certain that I was the first Hogwarts prefect to ever have gotten themselves in detention. Honestly, Hogwarts prefects are picked for their rule-abiding ways, and to land yourself in detention is the exact opposite of what you're supposed to be doing. I wondered if they would take my prefect badge away. I would be the first prefect in the history of Hogwarts to have their badge taken away. I would be a disgrace to Hogwarts, to Gryffindor to my family… You know, both my parents were prefects, that's quite a lot of pressure to put on a young girl! Imagine having to live up to parents like mine. I comforted myself with the fact that Voldemort had been a prefect at Hogwarts, and look how he turned out. Honestly, compared to the horrors Voldemort caused, a bit of note passing (WHICH WAS NOT MY FAULT!) is quite innocent. ¨

The second thought on my mind was Scorpius. I would probably have to spend hours with him. I would have to do my best not to be all awkward, and think of anything else than the fact that he liked me. Having decided upon this I boldly knocked on Slughorn's door.

"Why, Miss Weasley, hello," he said in his pleasant voice. "Mr. Malfoy is already here, come in…"

I stepped into Slughorn's office and looked at Scorpius. He was actually smiling. Despite of our dire situation, of possible prefect – badge – away – taking on my part, he looked perfectly calm. Well, then again, Scorpius wasn't a prefect, so what did he have to lose?

"Well," said Slughorn, opening the door between his office and his classroom, "the class I had after yours today had a minor explosion, and I thought that this would be the perfect way for the two of you to serve your detention. You will be cleaning up this mess without magic, using the bucket with soap water, the sponges, the mops and the brooms over there."

He smiled encouragingly at us and we stepped into the classroom. Minor explosion was about the understatement of the century. The floor and walls were covered in green slime, with odd little black pointy things in it that seemed to be moving.

Slughorn smiled at the look of horror on our faces.

"Yes, well," he said. "There is quite a bit to be getting on with, so I'll leave you here. I'm off to have a cup of tea with the Headmistress, please excuse me…"

And he walked off shutting the door resolutely behind him.

Scorpius and I looked at each other in shared horror. After a few moments, however, the looking became awkward, and I felt that I had to say something.

"I'll take that end, if you take the other," I said.

Scorpius nodded his agreement and went off to the other side of the classroom, hauling the heavy bucket of water with him. We got to work and worked silently for what felt like hours, but probably wasn't more than twenty minutes. I felt awfully self conscious, though I knew that Scorpius had his back to me. I kept rearranging my hair, but it didn't help, because I felt equally ridiculous whether it was braided, hanging down, in pigtails or piled on top of my head, so I ended up just tying it into a hair ponytail and hoping that it didn't look too stupid.

"I can't stand this," Scorpius finally said. "We have to talk about something."

"Like what?" I asked.

"Uh…" said Scorpius wisely. "What's your deepest darkest secret?"

"My deepest darkest secret?" I echoed. "Scorpius, you sound like a second year."

"Well can you think of anything better?"

"No," I said truthfully.

"Fine then," he said.

I thought for a moment, then said –

"I once bewitched James' underwear to bite him in the arse."

Scorpius roared with laughter. "You did not!" he finally gasped.

"I did," I said, grinning in spite of myself.

"But I thought you disapproved of such things?"

"I do!" I exclaimed. "But he was being really horrible during one Quidditch practice, he actually made our Seeker cry, and I was just so fed up…"

Scorpius snickered. "I hadn't expected that of you, Rose," he said, with a look of real admiration on his face.

"Yes, well," I said, trying to be businesslike. "It's not something I'm proud of."

Scorpius continued to smile, though.

"What's yours?" I asked.

His smile seemed to vanish. Scorpius looked over his shoulder, as though checking that there wasn't anyone in the room who could overhear. We had both stopped cleaning now, and were sitting on the ground, facing each other. I couldn't remember when I had turned my body around towards him.

"You have to promise not to tell anyone," he said darkly.

"I promise," I said.

"If you do, I'll have to flush you down the toilet."

"Flush me down the toilet?" I repeated. "How on Earth would you-"

"I don't know, I'd find a way," he interrupted. "Just don't tell anyone."

"Okay, fine," I said impatiently, now more eager than ever to hear his secret.

"The Sorting Hat wanted to put me in Hufflepuff," he whispered.

"Really?" I exclaimed.

"Yeah," Scorpius said, looking as though he would like to sink into the ground. "But I said no way in hell, put me in Slytherin."

"And?"

"And it said that Slytherin would suit me fine, though I was better fit for Hufflepuff," he finished.

I stared at him, open mouthed. I could not imagine Scorpius in Hufflepuff. Loyal – well, that part fit, I had never heard him say a bad word against any of his friends. But hard working?"

"Hard working?" I said out loud.

"You know, I do work hard," Scorpius said. "Just not where schoolwork is concerned. But Quidditch and things I actually care about."

"But how could you not work hard?" I asked. "You almost beat me in every test-"

"I have a really good memory," said Scorpius. "And I mean, really good. I can remember almost anything if I put my mind to it."

"When was the first goblin rebellion?" I asked automatically. I decided that even Scorpius wouldn't be able to remember this, Professor Binns droning on and on in a monotone voice… Not even Scorpius would pick up on everything.

"876," said Scorpius promptly. "Lead by Umeric the Unclean and his son Hespiath the Hesitant. It ended approximately five years later, when the rebellion was squashed by the wizard knight Magnus the Magnificent, who went on to be good friends with Godric Gryffindor, one of the founders of Hogwarts."

He stared at me defiantly, as though daring me to mock him or question him.

"Oh, Merlin," I breathed. "How many people know of your talent?"

"My best friends," he said, loosening his gaze a little. "My parents. Now you."

"It must be very convenient," I said, trying to sound casual, when I was really burning with envy. I, of course, knew about the first goblin rebellion, but I had long since forgotten the exact names and dates.

Scorpius shrugged. "I guess," he said. "But I don't really care. I mean, it helps with school work, but I don't care that much about my marks, I mean, I'm much fonder of Quidditch. I like flying."

"So I've guessed," I said, smiling a little. "You're really good, you know."

Scorpius raised his eyebrows. "Is Rose Weasley admitting that I might be better than her?"

"Oh, shut up," I said, feeling a little grumpy. "You won our competition, fair and square, despite what James might say, and I have to admit that you fly well."

Scorpius beamed, and then became thoughtful. "You know…" he said, trailing off.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothing," he said, examining the sponge in his hand.

"It's not nothing," I pressed, slightly annoyed. "Tell me."

"Well," Scorpius said, speaking very slowly, as though he was hesitating before each word. "Do you remember how I said that I wanted to collect my winnings?"

"Yes," I said.

"Well…" he trailed off again, looking a little embarrassed.

I sighed. Fine, so he wanted something from me.

"What do you want?" I asked impatiently. "Recognition of your triumph? Do you want me to perform another biting – hex on James' underwear? I could, you know, he still hasn't found out that it was me last time, he thought it was-"

"Kiss me," Scorpius said so low that I almost couldn't hear.

"What?" I asked, certain that I had misheard.

"Kiss me," he repeated in a louder voice.

I stared at him. He couldn't be serious, could he? Then again… Demetria had said that he was in love with me…

"Oh – uh, okay…" I said, my voice suddenly much smaller than usual.

"Only if you want," Scorpius said quickly.

"No, it's fine," I said. "I don't mind."

I stood up and walked shakily towards him and finally sat down right in front of him. My mind was racing. I had never kissed anyone before! What if I did it wrong? What if my lips weren't nice? What if we somehow bumped noses or something? What if it was just one big embarrassing experience waiting to happen?

Scorpius seemed to be watching me intently. I leaned forward and tilted my head just a bit… Scorpius was coming closer… my heart was pounding, could he hear it? My stomach seemed to be twisting around inside me… he was closer… he was closing his eyes, should I do the same?

And then, suddenly, his lips touched mine, and for a few moments my mind was wiped completely blank of all my worries, and I could only focus on our lips, sealed together for a few moments.

We eventually broke apart. I could feel myself blushing furiously and Scorpius' cheeks were pink. I wondered what I was supposed to say now, but I was spared the trouble by approaching footsteps.

"Slughorn," Scorpius said simply. He pulled out his want, "Scourgify!"

The dungeon was instantly wiped clean a moment before Slughorn burst through the door. Scorpius quickly pocketed his wand.

"Splendid, splendid," Slughorn said, looking around the clean dungeon. "You have been quite effective, and in very short time as well… almost as though you've done it before."

He beamed at us and we smiled weakly back.

"Well, then, you're free to return to your common rooms!" Slughorn said happily, waving us out into the corridor. "I'll see you in class tomorrow!"

We got to our feet and I followed Scorpius out into the corridor. My legs were shaking quite unsteadily and my mind seemed to be stuck in some sort of daze. I followed Scorpius dumbly through the rest of the corridor, before we got to the stairs.

"Well," said Scorpius. "I have to turn left."

I nodded. "Yeah, I, uh, have to go… up." I pointed.

"I know," he said, smiling a little. "That would be logical, seeing as the Gryffindor common room is in a Tower."

"Right," I agreed. "Uh, I'll see you."

"See you," he said.

I watched him walk along the corridor before I finally shook my head and walked up the stairs. My head still seemed to be in a daze, though, because I walked right into Felicia.

"Oh, hi," she said. "I was coming to look for you. Are you all right? You're very red in the face."

"I'm fine," I mumbled.

Felicia's eyes widened. "Is it because you've realized that you like Scorpius Malfoy?"

"What?" I asked, finally coming to my senses. "Don't be ridiculous. Scorpius is nice, but he's nothing earth – shattering. Let's go."

The two of us walked up to the Tower together, talking about everything other than Scorpius.

But when I lay in bed that night my lips were burning where Scorpius had kissed me.

**

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