NB: FF says that this chapter is 3,129 words long; that's a lie, it's just because it has a lot of line breaks, and that affects the word count. It's actually a little over 2,500...

Chapter Two

"Make sure you beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother's brains."

My dad told me that when I arrived on the platform on my first day at Hogwarts, when we caught sight of the Malfoy family for the first time on September 1st. Scorpius looked the spitting image of his father; blonde hair slicked back and just skimming the top of his collar, his blue eyes like ice, looking disdainfully at everyone he walked past, with a hint of a swagger.

I saw and noted him, and when my dad told me that I had to beat him, I took his words to heart. Not because I was an impressionable eleven year-old (although that was true enough), but because of what I saw in Malfoy's eyes when his gaze caught mine momentarily.

A challenge.

Maybe I was seeing things, but a few months into my first year and I knew that it had not been a trick of the light. Scorpius Malfoy had been put on the Earth purely as my opponent.

September 2019: Rose is 12

Rose Weasley and a few of her fellow second-year Ravenclaws were walking briskly down the corridor, conversing as they made their way to Potions. They arrived in the dungeons in almost no time at all, and lined up outside the classroom just as they always did.

"So Rose, what are you doing for Halloween?" asked one of her friends, Milly.

"Mil, it's only September!" Rose protested.

"Yeah, but you need to have an idea for the costume already, Rose!" Milly insisted. As Rose opened her mouth to argue back, a smooth drawl arose from behind her.

"Weasley doesn't need a costume, Wentworth," Scorpius Malfoy said cooly. "She's hideous enough as it is."

Rose spun round to face him. "You know, Malfoy, that joke gets old quite quickly after the four-hundredth time."

Scorpius raised an eyebrow. "Who said it was a joke?" he said simply, then turned to enter the classroom. "Oh, and by the way, may the best potion win."

There was nothing odd about this statement, the sentiment had been almost exactly the same ever since they had started Potions; Rose and Scorpius were the two most competent Potioneers in the class, and it had become, almost by default, some form of competition. Not only were Rose and Scorpius competing against each other, but it got to the point where all the Ravenclaw members of their class saw it as a personal victory if Rose's potion was given highest compliments in a lesson, as the Slytherins laid claim to Malfoy's triumphs.

This particular lesson was Ravenclaw's point, as Rose pulled off a flawless Swelling Solution, much to the delight of Professor Slughorn. As he poured praise and house-points, Rose looked over to Malfoy and smirked.

Ravenclaw, one, Slytherin, nil.

September 2020: Rose is 13

"We're gonna whip your ass, Weasley."

"That's what you think, Malfoy. Why don't you just admit you're a rubbish Seeker?"

"Because you're getting me mixed up with you. You're the rubbish Seeker, and I'm the good one."

"In your dreams, Malfoy!"

"Sure, Weasley. Except we are gonna win."

The match ended, with both teams completely soaked from the relentless rain which had plagued them for the entire duration. Rose shivered slightly as her curls stuck to her head and face, completely saturated with water. She walked with the rest of her team, wet and dejected.

"What did I tell you, Weasley?"

Rose closed her eyes and counted to three. "Sod off, Malfoy, before I do something I'll regret."

She could practically feel him smirking from behind her, and she clenched her hands tightly round her broomstick.

"How does it feel, Weasley, being rubbish at something?" He said, with the tone of someone pretending to be sincere. Rose resisted the urge to give him the finger, and instead focused on taking deep breaths and making purposeful strides towards the Ravenclaw changing rooms.

Once she was a little warmer and a lot dryer, she took a detour on the way back to her common room, and found herself in a small, unused classroom, where she spent the best part of half an hour destroying everything in her view. Chairs, tables, books, inkwells; if it was there, it was destroyed.

"Stupid, stupid!" she said angrily with every violent stab of her wand. The worst part was, she couldn't decide whether she was talking about Malfoy, for beating her, or about herself, for letting him.

September 2022: Rose is 15

"Can I sit here?"

Rose looked up at the sound of the familiar voice and rolled her eyes. He had long since stopped slicking his hair back, and it had begun to flop into his cool eyes. He raised an eyebrow and looked down at her.

"You deaf, Weasley?"

Rose clenched her fist under the desk. "Well, you can, as in you are physically capable of sitting in that particular seat in this classroom, but if the question is really surrounding whether I want you to sit in that particular seat in this classroom, then I can assure you the answer is most certainly 'no'."

Scorpius stayed silent for a moment. "No, I think I meant the first one."

"In which case, why did you ask, Malfoy? Because my response has no bearing on whether you are able or not able to sit down."

"Gee, when did you become so eloquent, Weasley? Your lawyer mother is clearly rubbing off on you. Or is it the shiny Prefect badge?"

He sat down and got out his textbooks, piling them carefully on top of each other.

Rose couldn't help herself. "Why do you want to sit here anyway, Malfoy?"

He turned slowly to look at her, a grin forming on his lips. "Why, you're my favourite adversary, Weasley. Why wouldn't I want to sit in a place that will give me ultimate pleasure, since I am in a prime position to see your reaction to me beating you in Charms?"

"I hate you, Scorpius Malfoy."

"The pleasure is all mine, Weasley."

Fifth year, the year that Scorpius Malfoy sat next to me in Charms for the first time, was our most competitive year, what with OWLs and the fact that the two of us were, for the most part, equally talented in Charms.

The more we had to compete (because that is exactly what it was, a necessity to compete), the more I despised the boy. He took every moment to insult or belittle me, and was condescending and arrogant as often as possible.

And yet the challenge still beguiled me.

Until Sixth Year, when competition was the last thing on mind.

Having one of your parents being cursed does that sort of thing to a person.

September 2023: Rose is 16

Rose looked down at the headline once more, before her eyes glazed over with tears. She felt cold with the same numbness she had felt when she had first read the article three days ago.

"WAR HEROINE IN MAGICAL COMA

Hermione Weasley, née Granger, one-third of the illustrious Golden Trio was found in an unwakeable comatose state this morning in her office at the Ministry of Magic (Head of the Magical Law Enforcement department). It is understood thus far that she was the recipient of an as yet undisclosed cursed artefact. The question is, dear readers, why was Mrs Weasley targeted? Was it a mistake? Should other wizards be frightened for their lives? Sources close to Mrs Weasley have made no comment at this time..."

The news had thrown Rose back into the same limelight which she held in her first year at Hogwarts as the daughter of two members of the Golden Trio, but this time all the stares and whispers were laced with pity, not awe. Rose hated it now as much as she had then. Three days had passed since she had found out. It had been horrible; the professors could not get to her in time before she discovered the headline in the Daily Prophet. She remembered how the bile had risen in her throat and all the blood had drained from her face. Her friends' faces had swum before her eyes, and she heard Millie beside her gasp as she too read the headline. Acting quickly, she had sprung up and helped her best friend stand up and led Rose from the Great Hall, noting that her brother Hugo had risen from the Gryffindor table and was making his way to the exit as well, looking as pale as a sheet under his mop of red hair.

The next few days passed in a blur of visits to St Mungo's, her many relatives sending updates by owl, and all of her professors constantly asking how she holding up. She hadn't been to breakfast since the day after the incident, simply because she couldn't face the way the table fell silent as everyone suddenly felt bad for talking happily. She'd become accustomed to watching the sun rise from the edge of Hagrid's pumpkin patch; the friendly giant had been more than accommodating, and had even given her a checkered blanket to wrap around herself. He never accompanied her; he knew she enjoyed the company of her own thoughts, and for that, Rose was grateful.

This particular day, three days after Hermione was attacked, Rose read the article for the thousandth time and sighed. She really didn't need this kind of calamity in her sixth year, or any year to be honest. And poor Hugo; she didn't talk to him very often, they were not particularly close, but she saw him enough to see that this situation was affecting him badly. He didn't look much better than she felt, and the poor kid was only thirteen. No thirteen year-old should have to deal with this.

There was a rustle of leaves behind her. She turned her head and found herself looking into the ice-blue eyes of Scorpius Malfoy. She sighed.

"Come to gloat, Malfoy?" she said emotionlessly.

He came closer and dropped anther newspaper in her lap. She flinched.

"What have I got to gloat about, Weasley?"

Frowning, Rose picked up the paper, her hands shaking a little as she unfolded it; newspapers had begun to fill her with a sense of dread.

"CURSED ARTEFACTS STRIKE AGAIN

A mere three days after the dreadful attack on Hermione Weasley, another member of the Magical Law Enforcement Team has been targeted, despite a threefold increase in security in that department. Draco Malfoy, renowned for his public conversion from the Death Eater cause, and his endless contribution to the restoration of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, as well as rising to be one of the most formidable members of the Magical Prosecution Service, has also fallen victim to our mystery curseman. He is currently undergoing treatment at St Mungo's, and according to a spokesperson is in a "critical but stable" state.

It is as yet unknown as to how these attacks are linked, but our thoughts are with both families at this time."

Rose slowly folded up the paper, feeling more even more numb than she had earlier, despite thinking that was impossible. She didn't even notice Scorpius sit down on the grass next to her.

"Malfoy...I'm...I'm sorry...you must be feeling so...awful," she whispered brokenly.

She heard Malfoy make a little snort next to here, and saw he was smiling ruefully. "You know exactly how I'm feeling...gosh, call yourself a Ravenclaw?" he nodded towards the paper. "You went through it three days ago."

"Yeah...Scorpius, what's going on? What is happening? Why -"

Scorpius moved closer and rested a hand on top of hers. "Shh. We don't have the answers. The most important issue right now is...you called me Scorpius!"

Rose couldn't help herself; she broke into a small smile. "All this has been happening and all you care about is the fact that I said your name? That's ridiculous, Malfoy."

He gave an exaggerated sigh. "And we're back to the 'Malfoy' thing again. Damn. I was just about to try to say...Rose."

He said her name slowly, dragging it out into at least three syllables, and Rose swatted him gently. "Oh, shush. Fine. I think we can manage first names now."

"You mean, we're there? We've reached that point?" Malfoy smirked.

"Yeah. We've reached that point in our relationship of hatred, we are now on first name basis. Congratulations." Rose said a little snarkily. She looked up at him, her eyes capturing his icy irises. "Why do we hate each other, Scorpius?"

Scorpius closed his eyes for a few seconds, then let out a breath. "You know, I don't think we do. Hate each other, I mean."

At Rose's questioning look, he continued. "No. There are people I hate, and I wouldn't even spare a look for them. I invest a lot of my time into annoying you, Rose Weasley."

"Yes," Rose said, with a roll of her eyes. "I know you do, and I am eternally grateful for it; you, making my life a whole lot more irritating to live!" She couldn't keep up her pretense of being annoyed; she had to admit that her rivalry with Scorpius had pushed her to achieve as much as possible academically, helping her to excel. Perhaps she had a few things to thank Scorpius for. Not that she would tell him just yet.

They fell silent, each just finding comfort in the other's presence as the seriousness of their situation hung over them again.

"Scorpius...d'you...d'you think they'll be okay?" Rose whispered. Scorpius instinctively wrapped his arm around her back and pulled her close, stroking her long strawberry-blonde waves. She sounded so broken, so worried, that he felt it was essential for him to comfort her as much as he could.

But he couldn't lie to her.

"I don't know, Rosie," he murmured. "But we'll get through it, I promise."

Rose leaned into him, breathing in the fresh, clean scent of his shirt. "I wish we could have become friends earlier."

"Friends? Is that what we are? A minute ago you hated me," Scorpius replied, and Rose could he the bemusement in his voice. She shook her head.

"I never really hated you. I hated what you did to me, always trying to undermine me, but I never really hated you. I loved the challenge."

"Hmm. I can relate to that." Scorpius replied with a contemplative nod. There was a pause, then he spoke again. "So...friends, then?"

Rose smiled. "Friends," she said decisively. "You're not so bad, Scorpius Malfoy. I'm just sorry it took...well, something like this for me to realise it."

"Yeah. It sucks, doesn't it?" Scorpius replied, a little ruefully. He grasped her hand and seized it. "They'll be okay, Rose. They have the best teams working on them. They'll find a counter-curse."

"You think?"

"Rose, look at me," Scorpius said abruptly. He turned so that he could face her properly in the eye. She turned slowly, and he held her face under the chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. She looked a little fearful, and her eyes were glistening with tears that threatened to fall any minute. "Rose, listen. You have to believe that they'll get better. Yes, it's a horrible situation, but you have to remember you aren't alone. You have all your friends, your family, your teachers...and..." He paused. "And you have me."

Rose opened her mouth to answer, but neither of them knew what she was about to say, since Scorpius caught the words in a gentle, chaste kiss.

A/N: Thanks for your feedback on the previous chapter. I haven't used any of the prompts for this chapter, but they will be used in the last chapter, which hasn't yet been written, but will be done before next weekend (round the 29th). This one is out early because it's my birthday this Saturday so I don't know when I would have the time to post this :)

Thanks again, and please leave your thoughts! xxx