AN: I hope you guys don't hate me for Donovan MacBean, you know, existing.
Disclaimer: Still don't own a thing!
Chapter 2. Potions and Perfection
Barely had the words escaped Rose's mouth when a loud crash was heard from the Potions section. Donovan and Rose exchanged a puzzled glance, and after a few moments of confused silence, Rose excused herself.
"You know, I really ought to go check that out. Prefect duties, and all. I need to make sure a first year didn't just blow up the whole section or anything like that."
"Right," answered Donovan, Rose's fellow sixth-year Gryffindor. "Good luck with that. I'll see you soon, yeah?"
And on that note, Rose stalked away, over to the shelves where the crash had come from.
"Malfoy?"
Scorpius Malfoy was leaning casually against the newly broken bookshelf, nose stuck in a copy of Exploring Potioneering.
"Oh, Rose! Didn't see you there…what a coincidence! I'm just…just catching up. Catching up on some reading."
"You broke a bookshelf while reading?" Rose pointed her wand at the offending shelf, "Reparo."
"I get enthusiastic about my literature, I'll have you know!" came his voice, no longer flustered.
"Right. I didn't know you wanted a career in Potion-making," Rose said, gesturing towards his book.
"What? Oh. Right. Never too early to explore my options, I always say."
"I've never heard you say that," Rose answered with a quizzical expression, replacing the books on the shelf, "Personally, I have no idea what I want to do. It seems like everyone else knows just what career they want, and then…there's me."
Why did she just tell him that? Nobody knew that, not even Albus or Tove.
Scorpius shoved the book back in its place, "To be honest, I don't know what I want to do either. Every time I imagine the future, the only thing I can picture is Quidditch. But that's not the most steady plan, you know?"
For the first time in a while, Rose didn't feel so alone after all. There was someone else in the same boat as her!
"If it means anything to you, I bet you'd be a brilliant Seeker."
"Really?"
"Any team would be lucky to have you."
"Thanks. It does mean a lot."
And as Rose flashed him her beautiful smile and turned to walk away, Scorpius Malfoy felt his heart sinking. He wanted to call out and tell her that she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever met, and he'd known it since first year, and that Donovan MacBean didn't deserve her, and that prefect patrols and Hospital Wing visits were the best part of Hogwarts and it was all because of her.
He wanted to tell her everything, but instead, he kept his mouth shut tight and let her walk away.
Tove Mazel was going to be the first female Minister of Magic. Ask anyone at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry about Tove, and they'd tell you that. Tove Mazel was a top student, involved in countless Clubs, and still had time for her many, many friends. Additionally, Tove Mazel was simply lovely, with her long, dark hair, and her dazzling smile. Tove Mazel was the girl that everyone wanted to hate, but couldn't, because on top of everything else, Tove Mazel was a genuinely nice person.
And with Tove Mazel as your best friend, it is easy to feel a little inadequate.
As soon as Rose returned to the Gryffindor common room, she was blindsided.
"ROSE!" came the shout from her overenthusiastic friend, "Sit down, you're in big trouble, missy."
And within seconds, Tove was at her side and talking a million words per minute (or so it seemed). "What's this about you going to Hogsmeade with Donovan MacBean? You know he's fancied you for the longest time, I never thought he'd actually do anything though! I'm so happy for him, it's about time he bucked up. But more importantly, WHY did I have to find out from Hilliard who found out from Albus who found out from Donovan? YOU should have told me. I thought we were best friends!" she finally finished, looking severely affronted.
"Tove, I only just got back from the library. He asked me about 10 minutes ago, and I was just on my way to tell you. I swear."
"Well, maybe you should make it up to me then. I was in agony for a moment there. Questioning the legitimacy of our friendship, I was. So, that Potions homework is killer, mind if I take a look at yours?"
Hogwarts Gossip Mill: 1, Rose: 0
Tove Mazel has a dirty secret: she's not perfect.
In fact, she's pretty far from it. It started the summer of fifth year, when a familiar owl tapped on her window.
Tove walked over and unlatched her window, "Hi there, Felicis," she said to her best friend's owl, all the while wondering if it was crazy to talk to owls.
Opening the letter, her smile faltered only slightly. Of course Rose was the prefect for her year. She had been foolish to think for a second that she had a chance.
Over the next few days, after she had already written and sent back her best, "I'm-so-happy-for-you-and-I-can't-think-of-anyone-who-deserves-it-more-let's-meet-up-in-Diagon-Alley-soon" reply, it began to eat away at her. Why wasn't she prefect? Wasn't she good enough?
It was then, that Tove Mazel decided to be perfect. Or maybe not to be perfect, but to convince everyone else that she was. Unfortunately for Tove, she had no idea that the surest way to make sure that you never achieve perfection, is to be obsessed with it.
So when Tove returned to Hogwarts that September, she was a little bit dizzy, perhaps because she hadn't been eating as much as she should, because, as she told herself, perfect girls were skinny. And perhaps she wore more makeup than usual, but it was just to look nice. Really. And if there were scars that hadn't been on her body before, she would toss her hair back and laugh about how clumsy she was, always falling everywhere, and you would believe her.
And when her boyfriend told her that October that he loved her, she didn't believe him, but let him do what he wanted with her anyways, because that was what a perfect girlfriend would do, right?
And after Tove tasted firewhiskey for the first time, it didn't take long for her to find a new way to cope.
That Saturday was the Hogsmeade visit, and to say Rose was nervous was an understatement. She had always just gone with her friends from her House, never with a date.
That morning, as she entered her dormitory after a quick, early breakfast, she was immediately accosted.
Tove was standing there with Hilliard Bennett, another sixth-year. Together, they were armed with makeup that Rose didn't recognize the use for, and more clothes than she had ever seen in her life.
"Sit," Tove said, in her best serious voice, pointing at the stool she had somehow procured, in front a huge mirror that hadn't been there before.
Rose didn't see the point in arguing. Instead, she sat.
"How did Hilly get in here? I mean, he may be flamboyant to the extreme, but he's still a guy."
"Oh, it wasn't easy," Tove answered ambiguously, "Let's just say, I've never sweat so much in my life." That was a Tove thing. She was always saying things like, "You gotta keep 'em guessing. Tell people too much, and they get bored. A little mystery goes a long way."
Hilliard walked over to Rose, grabbed a lock of red hair, and frowned down at it. "Right, so Tove can work with this, and then I'll start on wardrobe and makeup."
"It's just a date! Honestly," Rose scoffed at them.
"We just thought a makeover would be fun. This has got nothing to do with your DATE TOMORROW WITH DONOVAN OR ANYTHING!" Tove exclaimed, unable to hide her excitement.
"Enjoy it, Barbie," Hilly added.
"Barbie?" Tove and Rose chorused.
"It's a Muggle-born thing, I guess," Hilly shrugged.
And as the duo got to work, Rose had to admit, they really knew what they were doing. Tove's wand had curled Rose's hair into soft, cascading curls, and the dress and boots combination outfit that Hilliard had picked out was beyond fabulous.
"Perfect," Tove said, standing back to admire their creation.
"Donovan is a lucky man," added Hilliard.
"What kind of person likes the Unforgiveables more than the Weird Sisters? The Unforgiveables are a just another rip-off of the Weird Sisters."
"The Weird Sisters may be classic, but the Unforgiveables have taken their whole concept and made it better!" Rose protested.
"Agree to disagree?" Donovan asked.
"Deal."
The date was going remarkably well. Donovan was easy to talk to, even if his musical taste was seriously skewed. It wasn't exactly a dealbreaker. They had started off the day at Zonko's where they mostly just gawked at the merchandise and played with it, until a disgruntled employee asked if they planned to buy anything. When Donovan very honestly answered "No," and they both cracked up, the employee shooed them out.
("He works in a joke shop! Honestly! He ought to be a little bit more lighthearted!" Donovan commented, as Rose just mused, "I've never been kicked out of a store before. Perhaps you're corrupting me already.") Next, they stopped at Honeydukes. Of course, Rose remembered to restock on fudge, Jelly Slugs, and Sugar Quills, remembering that her emergency stash for Scorpius in case of hospital visits was diminished.
The pair came to a stop in front of the Three Broomsticks. "Care for a butterbeer?" Donovan asked, gesturing to the doorway.
He held the door open for Rose, as she stepped in, the familiar atmosphere engulfing her.
As soon as they found an open table (not an easy task), Donovan stood up. "I'll just get us some drinks. Be right back."
Rose took the opportunity to get lost in her thoughts. Donovan was nice. Really nice. She was enjoying herself, a lot. She had never really given Donovan a chance before, or even thought of him in a romantic way.
She felt someone slide into the booth across from her. She lifted her eyes, "You're back ear…Oh."
Scorpius Malfoy flashed a dazzling smile back at her.
"You looked lonely. Thought I'd keep you company while you're waiting for…him."
They both looked at Donovan, who has about halfway to the counter in the line at this point.
"Well, thanks."
"Are those for me?" he asked, pointing at Rose's Honeydukes bag, a smile creeping onto his normally stoic face.
Rose grinned back at him, "Maybe. But there are requirements to getting them, you know."
"Requirements?" he asked, feigning interest. "What sort of requirements?"
"Well, a broken bone can get you a Sugar Quill or a Jelly Slug, but it's not enough for a piece of fresh fudge. For potions, magical creatures, and spell-related injuries it's based on how amusing I find the potion or spell or bite or attack that landed you in the Hospital Wing in the first place. Additional candy can be given if you tell a really good story about your hospitalization, no matter what the injury is. Do something that needs a week or more of hospitalization, and you get a choice of your candy."
"You have a system? To think, this whole time I thought you just brought me candy on a whim."
"Oh, and if you can come up with an injury that's so original that I haven't even thought of it being possible before, I'll give you the whole damn stash."
"Sounds like a challenge, Weasley."
"Take it to mean whatever you want, Malfoy."
At that moment, Donovan returned, holding two butterbeers.
"Oh. Hello, Malfoy," he said, looking more tense than he had the entire day.
"Don't worry MacBean, I'll get out of your way. I was just leaving."
And as quickly as he came, Scorpius Malfoy was gone.