The next morning, I had a funny light feeling in my chest. I kept thinking things like, "Twenty – four hours ago I had never been kissed," "Imagine what James would say if he knew," "Felicia still thinks I haven't had my first kiss…"
But I didn't feel the need to confide in anyone. I felt like this secret was entirely my own; I felt as though it was glowing inside of me. Every time I looked at someone else, I was put in a happy mood by thinking about the fact that something amazing had happened to me last night, and they didn't even know it yet. Even James' complaints about me not being at Quidditch just floated right over my head as I dreamily remembered telling Scorpius about the hex I had placed on James' underwear. In fact, the entire morning passed in a dreamy haze. Felicia and Al kept trying to talk to me, but eventually even they gave up. Felicia kept saying that I was in love and you know what? For once I don't think that she was wrong.
Then, something awful happened that pulled me right out of my haze.
"Have you talked to Scorpius yet?" Eurydice breathed into my ear as the Gryffdinors made our way down to the dungeons for Potions.
"Um," I replied.
"Did you say something to him yesterday?" she pressed. "I know that the two of you had detention together…"
"It didn't really come up," I lied.
Eurydice looked crestfallen and I couldn't help but feel just slightly guilty.
"Will you mention it during Potions?" she asked hopefully. I could hardly say no. I decided that I would mention it to Scorpius, but I would try to do it in a way that made it seem as though the idea of Scorpius and Eurydice together was ridiculous.
Which it was, by the way.
When I sat into my seat in Potions in front of Scorpius and Demetria, Eurydice appeared out of nowhere and shoved Al away from his usual spot next to me. She slid into the seat instead. I felt sorry for Al, who was standing there looking confused before Felicia came over to help him find a seat.
For a split second I remembered how Al liked Felicia, but the thought was wiped from my mind as Eurydice turned to me and smiled brightly.
I tried to smile back, but I think it came out as more of a grimace.
"Today," Slughorn told us, "we will be beginning work on the Strengthening Solution. This potion will need to simmer over the weekend, but if we get started now, it should be ready on Monday. The directions are on the board, and you should all have the ingredients in your supplies. You may begin."
Eurydice and I began, pulling out our cauldrons and getting to work.
"You will tell him, won't you?" she whispered anxiously again and again.
I could only say "Yes, Eurydice," over and over, but it didn't seem to have any effect on her. The umpteenth time this happened I accidently poured about twice the amount of salamander blood into my Strengthening Solution as I should have.
"I'll say something when it's the right time," I snapped, but Eurydice wasn't looking at me, she was looking straight ahead, into the face of none other than Scorpius Malfoy, who was grinning at us.
"Hi," I said awkwardly to Scorpius, grinning at bit.
"Hi," said Scorpius.
"Hi," said Eurydice in a very high pitched voice to Scorpius.
"Hi," said Scorpius to her, looking confused. "We're both out of pomegranate juice. Can we have some of yours?"
"Sure," Eurydice and I at the exact same time and each held out our flask of pomegranate juice.
I glowed with happiness when Scorpius took mine instead of Eurydice's. He didn't leave once he had the juice, though, a fact which no doubt made both mine and Eurydice's hearts soar.
"Are you looking forward to next Saturday?" he asked.
"What's happening next Saturday?" Eurydice asked, her eyes wide.
"Quidditch," Scorpius and I chorused. I caught his eye and I could feel myself blushing.
"Oh!" said Eurydice. "Who's playing?"
I said "Gryffindor" at the same time that Scorpius said "Slytherin."
Again we looked at each other and I felt my face burn even more. Scorpius only smiled, though.
"Do you like Quidditch then?" Eurydice asked Scorpius, clearly hoping to start a conversation with him.
"I'm Slytherin Quidditch Captain," he said blankly, looking at her as though fascinated by her ignorance.
"So you like it?" Eurydice pressed.
"No, I hate it," he said.
"But then why are you Quidditch captain?" Eurydice asked, looking confused and clearly not picking up on Scorpius' sarcasm. He caught my eye and we both grinned.
"I ask myself that question every day," Scorpius said, shrugging. "I should get back to work, though…"
He left us and was walking back to his own table when Eurydice nudged me rather painfully in the ribs. "Talk to him now!" she muttered.
I wheeled around on the spot to face him at his own table.
"Scorpius," I said, well aware that Eurydice was listening to every word. "Can I – uh – talk to you?"
"Isn't that what you're doing?" Scorpius asked, handing back my pomegranate juice.
I glanced at Demetria, but she was determinedly not looking at me.
"Yes, well," I said, feeling a little out of place. "You know my friend Eurydice?"
"The talkative buck – toothed one sitting next to you?" he asked, and I prayed that Eurydice hadn't heard that.
But on the other hand, it would be perfect if she had heard it, because maybe then she wouldn't like Scorpius so much…
"Yeah," I confirmed.
"What about her?" Scorpius asked.
"Well, uh…" I said. "She – she likes you a lot. Hopelessly in love with you."
Scorpius was staring at me blankly.
"Just so you know," I finished lamely before turning back to my own potion.
Eurydice beamed at me, and I smiled weakly back. I hoped dearly that this was enough for her, so I never had to do anything so awkward again.
**
Several hours later at lunch, I was gobbling down food. I had barely eaten at all that morning due to the dreamlike state that I had been in, so for the past hour my stomach had been growling with hunger.
Felicia watched me with an expression somewhere between disgust and fascination. "You must be hungry."
"I yam," I replied, my mouth full of food.
Shrugging, Felicia turned back to her own lunch.
"What do we have next?" she asked.
"Arnsfigurasheeon," I informed her through a mouthful of Shepherd's pie.
"Oh no," Felicia moaned, lowering her head to the table. "I forgot to practice Vanishing Spells. Damn."
A happier thought seemed to come into her mind when she lifted her head off the table, though, because she was smiling in a way that she only smiles when she knows of some particularly good gossip.
"Eurydice has been asked on a date tomorrow," she said. "In Hogsmeade."
"Really?" I said, picking up my glass and drinking pumpkin juice like my life depended on it.
"She's going with Scorpius Malfoy," Felicia said, rolling her eyes.
I spat out a mouthful of pumpkin juice, spraying Felicia, Al, James and Lily.
"What?" I gasped amid complaints that I was disgusting and that they were now wet.
"Scorpius Malfoy asked Eurydice on a date tomorrow," Felicia said, looking disgruntled as she wiped her robes with a napkin. "And she said yes. In the future, try swallowing instead, it's much cleaner – where are you going?"
But I ignored her. I had already risen from my seat and was walking towards the Slytherin table, an odd ringing in my ears.
Scorpius had said I was pretty.
Demetria had said Scorpius was in love with me.
Scorpius had kissed me.
Scorpius had then asked Eurydice on a date the very next day.
It was clear to me now that this was a well crafted plan by Scorpius and Demetria to further humiliate me. I should have known! After all, Demetria's favorite pastime is "making Rose's life miserable." I just didn't know that Scorpius felt the same way, we had always gotten on well enough…
My heart was pounding and I could feel the anger pulsing through me. I was vaguely aware of the fact that I still had my glass of pumpkin juice in my hand. Felicia caught up to me when I was almost at the Slytherin table.
"What're you doing?" she asked. "What's gotten into you?"
"Demetria has played a trick on me," I said grimly. "And I don't find it funny at all."
"What has she-"
Felicia was silenced by a Death Glare from me. I had arrived right behind Demetria. She was sitting across from Scorpius and between two girls I didn't know that well.
I jabbed her hard on the back. Demetria immediately whirled around and glared at Felicia and me.
"What do you want?" she asked, her voice cold as usual.
"Thought it would be funny, did you?" I asked, ignoring her question. "Thought it would be a nice little trick to tell me that he was in love with me, set him up to kiss me and then have him ask out someone else?"
"What're you talking about?" Demetria asked, frowning. Behind her, Scorpius was laughing at something Ophi had said. He hadn't even noticed my presence yet. This only served to make my anger grow.
"I've always known you're mean," I continued. "But I didn't know that you were a cold hearted, evil little –"
"You don't want to finish that sentence," Demetria said, her voice threatening and her eyes flashing.
"– Bitch," I finished defiantly.
"Filthy little half – blood," Demetria sneered. "Think you're so smart, do you, coming over here and accusing me of all these things? You better watch it, Weasley, or I'll hex you so hard that you'll be the first bitch in outer space."
I didn't say anything. I didn't even think. Anger was pouring through me and all I could think of was harming Demetria as much as possible – making her regret what she had said…. Regret making me like Scorpius when he had turned out be such a prick…
Before I even realized what I was doing, I had poured the contents of my glass onto Demetria's head.
First her eyes widened in shock, and then they narrowed. I heard Felicia gasp behind me. Demetria took her entire plate of pie and smashed it into my face so quickly that I didn't have time to move.
My nose throbbed painfully from the force with which I was hit, but more importantly I now had Shepherd's pie in my eyes and sticking to my cheeks in the most disgusting way.
But now, however, my anger and hatred towards Demetria had caused me to completely lose my head. Forgetting that I was against rule – breaking, forgetting that I was a prefect, forgetting that half of the Great Hall was watching by now, I wildly turned around and grabbed a bowl of tomatoes from the Ravenclaw table and threw the lot of them at Demetria. Drenched in pumpkin juice and tomato juice Demetria looked more frightening than ever. She let out a shriek of anger, grabbed and bun and hurled it at me. I managed to duck in time and the bun hit Felicia straight on the nose.
"YOU'LL PAY FOR THAT ONE, DUCHAMPS!" Felicia bellowed and suddenly chaos ensued.
The Slytherins seemed determined to avenge Demetria; they descended upon us with all different kinds of food, hurling them at us, throwing them at us, dumping them on our heads and pouring pumpkin juice on us. Felicia and I gave up trying to defend ourselves as we were attacked with food. We crouched on the floor, clutching on to each other and screaming as loudly as we could. Thankfully, the Ravenclaws seemed to feel sorry for us, and starting pelting the Slytherins with tomatoes and pieces of Shepherd's pie.
Through the yells and screams of the Ravenclaws and Slytherins a ground shaking roar broke through, and James sprinted towards us with an entire bowl of porridge in his hands. We watched as he triumphantly emptied the entire contents of the bowl on Demetria's head. Demetria howled with rage and jumped to her feet, throwing buns at James.
"I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOR YEARS!" James hollered above the noise.
The Gryffindors suddenly came sprinting, seeming determined to help the three of us. The Hufflepuffs, not wanting to be left out, hurried after.
With the other Houses also attacking Slytherin, Felicia and I were able to get on our feet and start throwing food as well.
Eventually, there was so much food flying through the air, so many people gathered together and so much yelling that no one even realized who they were throwing food at anymore. I knew that my robes were covered in Shepherd's pie, pumpkin juice, tomatoes, omelet, bacon, pieces of asparagus and cooked carrots, onion soup and even something that tasted like chocolate chip ice cream, but I didn't care.
I was constantly some place between screaming and laughing, as was everyone else. Beside me, I heard James bellow, "THIS IS FOR THE LAST QUIDDITCH MATCH!" before dumping a bowl of pasta salad on the head of one of the Ravenclaw Beaters.
This was the most fun I had had in ages, I thought, as I hurled buns after a Hufflepuff girl, who had seconds before thrown a rather large and sticky omelet in my face.
"STOP THIS AT ONCE!" Professor McGonagall's voice boomed over the screams, shrieks and laughter in the area around the Slytherin table. Everyone fell silent at once and dropped whatever food was in their hand, as though trying to appear innocent. "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" she roared, as she stormed towards us, the rest of the teachers in her wake. A few of them seemed to be on the verge of smiling, but restrained themselves.
"Scourgify," McGonagall muttered, wiping us all clean and then rounding on us again. "ALMOST THE ENTIRE SCHOOL INVOLVED IN A FOOD FIGHT – COMPLETELY UNACCEPTABLE – EVEN THE PREFECTS, YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO KNOW BETTER – YOU'RE ALL SUPPOSED TO KNOW BETTER – FAR TOO OLD FOR THIS – COULD HAVE CAUSED SERIOUS DAMAGE – WISH I COULD SUSPEND THE LOT OF YOU –"
She finally seemed to run out of things to say and instead asked, in a voice that chilled my blood: "Who started this?"
I felt as though the entire school was looking at me and I squirmed.
"Rose Weasley and Demetria DuChamps, Professor," said a small Ravenclaw boy, whom I could have strangled. Demetria looked as though she was thinking the same thing. "And Felicia Cropper."
Felicia made an indignant sound in her throat, but didn't say anything.
"Fifty points from Gryffindor and twenty – five from Slytherin!" McGonagall cried. "And now that I'm at it, ten points from all the houses for inexcusable behavior!"
Everyone groaned, but no one argued. "Miss Weasley, Miss DuChamps and Miss Cropper," said McGonagall. "The three of you will be serving detentions at a later date. Miss Weasley, I am most disappointed in you, you're a prefect after all."
I hung my head, feeling slightly ashamed. But mostly I felt some sort of savage satisfaction. I know that a food fight goes against my entire personality, all my beliefs and morals about the pen being mightier than the sword – but honestly, nothing had ever made me feel so good as pouring pumpkin juice over Demetria's head.
**
After the third person had asked me why I had been so mad at Demetria, Felicia and I decided to take refuge in the library. We huddled in there and built a wall of books around our table and pretended to be studying.
"This is so unfair," Felicia muttered. "Why do we get detention? All the others joined in. We never expected it to get that far."
I merely shook my head. I was so preoccupied with thoughts of Demetria and Scorpius and how ridiculously evil they were that I was hardly listening.
"Why were you so mad at her anyway?" Felicia asked. "Aside from the fact that she's evil, of course."
I shrugged. I didn't feel like telling Felicia the exact reason why I was so mad at Demetria. It was embarrassing, after all! To think that I actually had feelings for Scorpius Malfoy… Of course I should have known never to trust anything the two of them said.
Felicia peeked over our wall. "Well, the entire Slytherin gang is here now," she said.
I looked as well. Sure enough, Demetria, Scorpius, Ophi and a few other Slytherins were sitting not so far away from us. To my horror, Eurydice was sitting behind Scorpius, looking at him like he was some sort of god.
"Damn," I muttered. "I wish that they would just go away."
But of course I had forgotten that fate hates me, because the next second Scorpius looked up, saw Felicia and me, and waved.
I fixed him with my best Death Glare. He squirmed a little bit, and looked down at his book again, but not before Ophi had caught sight of us.
"Rose!" he called and he jumped to his feet and walked over to Felicia and me.
"Hey," I said. I could be nice to Ophi; after all, he hadn't been evil.
"Hey," said Ophi. "Look, Rose, I was thinking… Are you going to Hogsmeade with anyone in particular tomorrow?"
"No," I said.
"Well, uh," Ophi said, looking slightly nervous. "Would you like to go with me? Like on a date?"
I could feel my face breaking into a smile. OPHI was nice. OPHI was asking me out. OPHI hadn't been a git.
"Sure," I told him.
"Great!" said Ophi, looking relieved. "That's really… great."
Suddenly, someone far more unpleasant appeared out of nowhere next to Ophi.
"You're going to Hogsmeade together?" Scorpius asked, beaming.
Ophi and I nodded.
"Oh, brilliant," said Scorpius, still smiling so widely that he was beginning to remind me of the Cheshire Cat. "You know, Eurydice and I are going together."
I wondered if he was trying to rub it in.
"Maybe we should double – date," he suggested.
"Double – date?" I repeated dully.
"Yeah," Scorpius said, beaming at Eurydice as well as she suddenly popped up at his elbow. "I mean, we're all friends aren't we?"
Before I could say "absolutely not," Eurydice had said "Definitely!"
"We could meet up in the Three Broomsticks," Scorpius suggested.
Eurydice was beaming just like Scorpius now, and even Ophi was smiling.
OPHI, who was supposed to be on my side.
"Great," said Ophi.
"Right," I said, trying to give Scorpius the Death Glare, but he wasn't looking at me.
Perfect. Perfect, perfect, perfect.
A double date with one of the people that I hate most.
**
This will be my last chapter for a couple of weeks. : )
I'm going on a trip, but I will be home August 10th, but then I have to start school the next day : O
But of course I will do my best to update as quickly as possible : )
PLEASE review! It means the world to me, and my writing can only improve by it!
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