Winter at Hogwarts was her favorite time of year. Rose loved the way snow dusted the treetops and the turrets, the continuous roar of fires in the common room and library, and the general good cheer of students bustling in the corridors between classes.
The stress of mid-year exams was at an all time high as the first round took place in less than ten hours. The library was teeming with students of all ages, even though the curfew bell lurked merely ten minutes away. The most unlikely pair made themselves at home by the fire, books spread wide and piled high for the better part of three hours. Rose's auburn curls were pulled to one side in a fraying braid that she had undone and redone six times. Her blonde partner had his head in his hands, his elbows propped on the table, as they memorize the final potion.
"One more time," she said, blue eyes clamped tight shut and brow furrowed as she recalled their song. It was to the tune of The Twelve Days of Christmas, thanks to the inspirational antics of Peeves the Poltergeist who had sung twenty-four rounds until the librarian finally ushered him away.
"Once dried nettles, twice crushed fangs, slugs with three horns and…." Rose held out the last note, eyeing Scorpius hopefully. "And…." she repeated, gesturing with her hand for him to finish their rhyme.
"And really bad eggs," he grumbled, his voice muffled by his hands. An hour ago he had been willing to play along with her memory tactics. Now… not so much.
Rose sighed and threw him a look. "Scor…"
"What?" Dragging his palms across his eyes and cheeks, he met Rose's exasperated frown with a look of exhaustion, his lips squished together comedically. "We've been doing this for hours…" His gray eyes rolled and his forehead hit the book in front of him with a thud.
"It's exam week," she replied, poking the top of his head with the tip of her finger repeatedly. "Of course we've been at this for hours. You want to pass, don't you?"
Scorpius grunted and batted away her hand without looking up. Rose laughed and continued to poke at him, messing up his once perfectly coiffed blonde locks. He had run his hands through them so many times in the course of the night that they now fell every which way, and Rose thought he looked even more dashing when they fell into his eyes.
Yes, he was dashing, she thought, particularly when he let a true smile appear, but he was also arrogant, selfish, rude, and easily distracted. Their evening study session had been interrupted more than once by his mates, his affinity for paper airplane making, and his growling stomach.
Rose caught herself recalling his smiles and cleared her throat to wipe the thought away. They needed to get back to business as their potion final was first thing in the morning. "Once dried nettles, twice crushed fangs," she sang again, poking him with each number, "slugs with three horns and…"
Scorpius continued to wave her hand away until, on the last line, he caught her fingers in his and held them tight. "…and five porcupine quills," he murmured in tune, lifting his head from the book ever so slowly until their eyes met.
Rose's smile spread wide and her eyes danced in the light of the fire. Their hands remained entangled across the table between them, but neither of them made any motion to let go. "See? I knew you knew it."
Scorpius chuckled and settled into his signature smirk. "Of course I knew it. You've been singing it at me since dinner. Bloody annoying is what it is."
"You'll thank me when you get O's on all your examinations," she replied with a grin, pointing at him though her hand remained captive in his.
He seemed to notice their connection for the first time and released her hand with a flippant wave. "With my luck, that's all I'll be able to remember, and I'll get a piss Poor on everything."
"Not with my tutoring you won't. You'll be off on holiday with a pocket full of E's at least."
The reminder of the holiday did not sit well with him, and his smirk faded into a frown. "Some holiday," he grumbled, the moment between them evaporating as he began packing up his things.
Her brow furrowed, confused at his sudden deflation. "I thought you'd be glad for the break. Three whole weeks without seeing me or a potion's book." Rose offered him a playful smile but his eyes remained on the contents of his satchel as he stuffed them away.
She tried a different tactic, mirroring his movements as she packed her own things."Don't tell me you're stuck with Patty for three weeks. I'd be sore about going home, too."
This, thankfully, brought a quiet chuckle from him. "Nah, Trish and her family holiday in Spain," Scor returned, and with a wave of his wand their study materials floated to their proper shelves. "It'll just be me, Mum, and Dad for Christmas. I won't miss the classes, but I'll be damned if the break makes me fall behind on the quidditch team."
It was the first year that either of them started on their house teams, so Rose understood his worries. Underage wizards could fly on a broom, but wizarding law still prevented them from making any further magic outside of school walls. Plus, Rose had a built in quidditch league of cousins; he, on the other hand, was an only child.
"I'm sure you'll be fine. You're the fastest seeker in school, so I'm sure that–" Rose cut herself off, coloring pink. "Well, after James that is," she corrected quickly, averting her gaze. She'd turn positively red if she had to watch his grin spread from ear to ear.
"No, you said I'm the fastest in the school," he recalled, pointing a fair-skinned finger at her then at himself. "You said it. I heard it."
"Once dried nettles…" she began singing, pretending not to have heard him as she tidied their table. "Twice crushed fangs…"
Scorpius laughed and rolled his eyes at her, and they both pushed back from the table.
"Slugs with three horns and…" Rose held her breath, moving around the table to stand beside him. "And…"
"…and five porcupine quills," they finished together before laughter overtook them both. The librarian shushed them and several wary glances were sent their way. Scor nodded toward the door and they made their exit together.
"I got it, I got it," he said when she started to sing again in the corridor, waving her off and rolling his eyes. "If I remember nothing else, I'll remember that tomorrow."
"Good," said Rose, adjusting the strap of her satchel as they moved toward the hall of stairs. "You'll do fine, I'm sure."
"Yeah," Scor shrugged. When he continued, he dropped his voice and gave her a sideways smile, one she nearly missed in the dark light of the hallway. "Thanks to you."
Rose fought her own smile and kept her gaze forward. "I'm your tutor. It's what I'm here for."
They moved together onto the landing, waiting for a staircase to settle into place on either side of them. One to take her up to Gryffindor tower, and one to lead him into the Slytherin dungeons.
"I mean it," he added, daring a glance over his shoulder. His reputation was at stake after all, being kind to a Weasley. "Thanks."
"Thank me when you've passed," she replied, offering him a genuine smile. In moments like this, everything felt so much simpler. But the green in his tie and the red in her scarf, not to mention their families' pasts made everything far from simple.
The staircases settled into place simultaneously, and the pair turned their respective ways. "See you tomorrow, yeah?" said Rose, gripping the railing as her lift moved away from him.
A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth as he shrugged nonchalantly. "Whatever, Weasley," he replied, turning his back to her.
The noise on the landing clued her into the fact that they were no longer alone, and she wondered what his reply might have been if solitude had lingered a moment longer. Scorpius Malfoy was a puzzle, as he always had been, but he was also a potions partner she wasn't ready to lose.