Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling's famous. I'm not.
A/N: Thanks to: Anti-Banana19, LMGfly, Loslote, and Paperclipgail1728 for reviewing!
Now, a Memory Refresher!
Previously on Acquaintances:
Carmen Davies, Ravenclaw, tells her mate, Rose Weasley, Ravenclaw, that a boy, according to the creator and editor of the Hogwarts Herald, Melanie Jones, Hufflepuff, named Carter Dillon, Slytherin, has "taken a fancy" with her. Rose doesn't know what to think. Later, in the library, her cousin Albus Potter, Gryffindor, comes to chat, but she ignores him in favor of studying. Hilarity (and disgust) ensue afterwards.
Chapter Ten (Defensively)
Nodding her head, Rose looked around the room James had chosen. Then she turned to one of her older cousins, the smile that had been on her face forming a frown. "You want me to what? Are you serious?"
A smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth. "Actually, several years ago–seventeen, to be exact–Harry James Potter and Ginevra Molly Weasley, my parents as you may know, had their very first child. They decided to name him James Sirius Potter. Me, as you may also know. So, technically, I am in fact serious. Get it?" Without waiting for her reply, he went on, "But really, Cuz-o, I am serious about this." He examined the room again, looking impressed. "Please?" he asked.
Brushing her finger over the tip of her nose, Rose pondered what she should do. She, in fact, wanted Al to have a great birthday, but was it necessary to go to extreme measures with Merlin-knew-what consequences? Her hand came up to rub her cheek. She rolled her eyes at James's puppy-dog face, and swallowed.
"Do you actually want to have the party here? How about in the common room like last time, or out in the Greenhouses, or outside period?"
"No, no, and no–whoa, wait a second," he said, listing off his answers for her suggestions. "I truly like that last one."
Rose's eyes widened. "No, no, no! Hell no! I was only joking! I am not going out there in the cold!"
"No, I meant for my party. Isn't it great to have a summer birthday? Now, I need to jot that thought down somewhere . . ." After finding a spare piece of parchment and a quill with some ink inside, he did so, shoving the parchment in his pocket. "So, whadd'ya say? Will you do it? Just think about your response. Do you want to upset Al on his birthday–his sixteenth, no less? Or do you want to make him a happy boy on his birthday–his sixteenth, no less?"
"Fine," she said grudgingly after a pause of silence, "I'll do it."
"Yes, Cuz-o, you're the best!" James jumped over to where she was to give her a hug, lifting her off the ground.
"Yeah, yeah, put me down!" He did as she demanded. "Now I only wonder how you're going to top this next year–because of how high this idea set the bar and the fact you won't be here."
James shrugged. "Eh, we'll come up with something. Okay, I just need some help with the spells. Hugo and Lily will decorate, but we'll check over them to make sure it's nothing childish, okay?"
O.o.O.o.O
Rose, feeling irritated, slammed close a book that was no help to her. She held it up in the air before removing her hand from underneath it, watching as it floated back to its correct spot. Pushing some loose hair behind her ear, she turned to the grandfather clock positioned against the wall of the library and saw it was six fifteen. After she and James brainstormed spells they knew, they hadn't come up with one that would help with what they wanted. James had told her to go research some spells, but she had refused unless he would come along. He had just (reluctantly) agreed to tag along when Hugo came in the room asking for help with some of the crates of glasses and such. Enthusiastically, their cousin had quickly run off to assist the people on silverware duty. She couldn't believe the timing, but would have rather been helping with the anything else than research.
She was about to conclude that there was no spell for what was required when she remembered the Restricted Section–it housed some other books that could help. The only problem was she doubted if she could come up with a story that a professor would believe that would allow her into the section. Rose slowly began to walk, biting her nails. Her mind was whirring with (feeble) excuses when she heard a masculine voice speak, causing her to stop moving.
"Now, read the first question, and tell me which of the answer choices is correct." There was silence which was most likely whoever the male was speaking to reading what they were told.
"The . . . first one is the only one that makes sense in that scenario," a young feminine voice replied. There was more silence.
"And you're right," the male said. "Let me find the other problems."
The sound of pages turning filled Rose's ears. "So, you never told me how your date with that girl you met here went," the young voice said conversationally. The redhead moved forward quietly to come across the people whose conversation she was eavesdropping on.
"Terrible," was the response. The voice sounded very familiar to Rose.
"Oh, sorry to hear that since you went through all that trouble in the Entrance Hall for her." A pause. "Are you looking for another girl to go out with? Because if you are, my friend wanted me to put in a good word for her."
"My apologies, but my type is usually girls my age, not Third Years, but thanks."
"Hey, ma'am?" someone called. Rose saw a young boy talking to her. She listened to verify if the two had heard her. Apparently not, as they were still conversing.
"Yes, can I help you?" she asked gently, bending down.
"Can you tell me where the History of Magic part is?" he asked anxiously, shuffling his feet.
Looking around, Rose nodded. "Yeah, it's right over there; just keeping walking to the end of this aisle and take a left."
"Thank you," he said, hurrying to carry out the directions. The Weasley smiled. She had missed the end of what the students she had been listening to had been talking about for there was nothing but silence in the vicinity, which was a shame as she would have had varied feelings after hearing it.
"Well, at least I tried." The boy laughed. "What about that girl Rose Weasley?"
"What about her?" The male could faintly hear some voices nearby.
"Well, you're always around her. Do you fancy her?"
A gap in the talk before: "Okay, here are two other questions; I'll give you five minutes to answer them."
"But you didn't answer my question."
"Maybe I'll answer it when you've answered these."
Stepping around bookshelves, Rose finally found the table with the two people: Malfoy and the little girl he was tutoring; Rose couldn't recall her name at the moment. Her heart thumping wildly, she hugged her robes closer to her body.
Malfoy . . . maybe he could . . . help . . . She thought bit by bit.
Silently, she started toward them without realizing what she was doing. The little blonde Hufflepuff looked up at her, stopping in her writing. Since Scorpius's back was to Rose, and he wasn't looking at his tutoree–he was flipping through another book–he hadn't noticed her.
Rose was about to tap on the Slytherin's shoulder when he spoke. "Why'd you stop writing?" he asked, becoming aware of her quill not scratching against the parchment. Before the girl could do or say anything, the Ravenclaw tapped his shoulder. He craned his neck, looking surprised when he saw her. "Yeah, Weasley?"
"Hey, Malfoy, I need help."
"And you can't find someone else in the library to give it to you?"
She hadn't thought of that, but she'd rather not tell him. "No," she said shortly. "Come on; I promise it won't take too long."
"Just give me a moment, Lynn, and finish those questions." Lynn nodded at him, her blue eyes still on Rose. Scorpius stood, following his year mate to wherever she was leading him. When they were a little ways from Lynn and any other people, she turned to face him. He had stopped when she had, his arms crossed and an expectant expression on his face. Given that his sleeves were rolled back to his elbows, Rose could see his forearms. She tried not to stare, but they were slightly tanned and toned, both probably from Quidditch practices and games in the sun.
"Okay, so I need to get in the Restricted Section, but I need your help," she managed to say after forcing herself to look up into his eyes; she had a thing for forearms.
Malfoy's eyebrows shot up. "Why?" he asked after a moment.
"After I get what I need, I'll tell you."
"Have you ever been in that part of the library before?"
"No."
"Then maybe I should go instead." Rose started to object. "Oy, it'd be quicker if I went since I've been in there once."
"And why were you in there?"
"I needed a book obviously. That's all I'm telling you," he added.
"Fine. How do we–sorry, you–get in?" Scorpius looked on as she pulled her lip into her mouth out of nervousness. Licking his own, he shrugged.
"Just leave that to me," he said, walking to the front of the room where the librarian's desk was located. Rose went behind him, but hid behind a bookcase when he made it to the desk. Madam Pince was the thin, very short-tempered librarian. The preface written by her in all of the books in her possession made learners make sure to take care of whatever manuscript he or she had. Many students saw a resemblance to the woman and a plump vulture as her face had filled out in her old age, but Rose didn't partake in those discussions.
Standing at the back of the bookcase, Rose strained to hear any of the conversation she possibly could, but wasn't able to. Rolling her eyes, and wishing he would hurry, she bit her bottom lip. Suddenly, she could hear the blond's voice coming closer.
"I just need to check back to see what book I need," he was saying.
"All right, but you must keep them in here. The door will be open when you're ready. Please tell me when you are done so I can lock it again," said the voice of Madame Pince.
"Yes, madam." He went to Rose who was astounded he had gained access without a pass. "What books do you need? Is there a certain title or spell or something?"
"Er, how about a book on inanimate objects?" she suggested.
"Yeah, because that really narrows it down," he answered sarcastically.
"Um, I really don't know," she replied truthfully. "A book on all the possible spells to put on inanimate objects?"
"That sounds like it could be anywhere on the library, not just the Restricted Section, but okay. Come on, sit at a table near that area so I can hand you the book. You can check if it's the one you want." She nodded, and they walked to the back of the documentation room. Scorpius pointed at an empty, round table, so she sat and waited while he disappeared into the confined books. He came back with two books, and she promptly searched through the hardback on top.
"Not this one," she said, closing the book and pushing it toward him. He picked it up as she read through the second tome. "Or this one." When she closed the book, dust flew off of it into the air. She breathed out, waving her hand to disperse it.
"What now, then, best friend?" he asked, a smirk on his face. Scenes from the day he had called her that flooded throughout her mind.
"Oh, shut up," she snapped, trying to think of another book. What did all enchantments have in common? Shutting her eyes, she thought about it, only coming up with one similarity: most were in Latin. If she couldn't find a charm, perhaps she could make her own. After all, it couldn't be too hard, right? Swallowing, she faced Scorpius. "This time," she began, "a book about making spells." He looked confused, but didn't say anything, lugging the two rejected books back to their spots. Tapping her foot excitedly alongside the ground, she waited, staring at the surface of the table.
"Here you are, Weasley." She seized the book he had found this time, turning some of the pages.
"Ah, thank you, Malfoy!" Rose shut the book happily.
"You can't take that out of here," he reminded her, "so you might want to copy down the pages you want."
"Right." The redhead hopped up to go back to the table she had been occupying. She sat, pulled out some parchment and ink, barely noticing Malfoy taking a seat next to her.
"Make this quick; I was kinda in the middle of something." Rose felt guilty for taking him away from Lynn, so she made sure not to take too long on writing the main points she needed. Ten minutes later, she made a huge flourish, a signal for her finishing. Grinning, she handed the book to Scorpius.
"Thank you so much," she said again, really meaning it. He looked at her bafflement mixed in with something else in his blue eyes.
"Er, yeah, you're welcome." Once he had left to return the book and to inform Madam Pince that she could lock the Restricted Section, Rose set off to the Latin subdivision. She heaved down many books on speaking, learning, and reading the language until she found just the right one. As she was making the trip to the front to check it out, someone grabbed her arm. Turning, she found herself face-to-face with Scorpius.
"Yes?" she asked, annoyed.
"You now owe me an explanation. Go." Sighing, she told him about Al's birthday party, the location they wanted the party, and how she figured in the problem. As she was wrapping up, she wondered why she had told him everything instead of just the main idea. "That seems like a lot of work for just a birthday party," he remarked.
"Not really," she said defensively, even though previously she had agreed.
"If you say so." A pause developed in which Rose considered continuing on her path before she had been accosted. "So, am I invited?"
"You don't even know Al. Would you come?"
"But I know you, and you're invited. Plus, I just played a big role in this," he said, referring the book he had helped her obtain. "And yes, why would I give up a chance to party?"
"You hardly know me," she corrected, "but I'll ask. Now, if you'll excuse me." He nodded, walking back to the table Lynn was seated as Rose, grinning, made it to the front.
A/N: I hope I didn't type the word book too much. Please review; this was along chapter with a lot of Rose/Scorpius action! Even if it wasn't the action you were expecting . . . or wanted . . . ;) But maybe that'll come up later on . . . winky face - oops, I mean, ;)
Please point out any mistakes! :)