A/N Sorry it took longer to update, but I'm currently in a production of cabaret, and it has literally taken over my life and I'm not even a main part. So this is a little bit of Scorpius. I really struggled with this, so please don't be too harsh. Also little bit of smut. Nothing explicit though. Although, one of my friends is proof reading it for me and says that I should get them together in the next chapter... I'm considering it...

Thank you all you lovely reviewers. I got two in my chemistry lesson today, and I literally did my review dance in class, no word of a lie. Anyway, please read and review. Oh and enjoy :)

Love x

Chapter Seven

Scorpius Malfoy

I lie on my bed, staring up at the dark green coverings of the curtains, the sound of Jacob Nott, and whichever slut he has in his bed tonight, fills the dormitory. They clearly forgot about silencing charms, and that the rest of us want to sleep.

My mind flicks back to dinner. After spending all of yesterday with her, not seeing her all day today was a bit weird. Which, in itself was weird. Never in my life have I ever thought that I would go a day and miss Rose Weasley, but I did. And I could even admit it to myself. Anyway, she came into the Great Hall, her head down, looking upset, like she'd been crying. I stared at her, remembering the feel of her hand on mine as it brushed past yesterday. I wondered if she remembered it too, hell, I wondered if she remembered locking eyes with me at that party at the beginning of term. I got goose bumps even now. Merlin, I'm turning into some soppy girl. She looked up and her eyes locked with mine. Shit, she's seen me looking I thought, and I never acknowledge her, let alone look at her. But curiously, she had smiled at me, a small sad smile, one that made me want to get up and go and comfort her. She looked away and went to sit down at the Gryffindor table where her friends engulf her. I turned back to Al who was watching me knowingly, a smirk, plastered across his face.

"What Al?" I said sharply.

"Nothing." he said in an amused voice.

I sighed at him. After a few minutes awkward silence:

"So Rose eh?"

I had known it was coming, smarmy git.

"No!" I exclaimed, "Why would you say that? I've hated her for six years, and now we're only getting on for your benefit."

"Whatever you say Scorp."Al said, as if he's omniscient. "Whatever you say."

And quite right, whatever I say. My mind returns to the present, the noise in my dorm, and the ever-present thoughts of Rose Weasely linger in my mind. I try and block out the noise, but that's seemingly impossible, so I roll over and grab my wand.

"Silencio." I mutter at Nott's bed and the sounds stop.

There's a groan of "Thank you," from the other three in my dorm.

"Why didn't you do it yourselves?" I ask quietly into the darkness. When there's no reply, I roll over and try to sleep. My thoughts on a certain Rose Jane Weasley.

XX

"Scorp… Scorp?" Al snaps me out of my reverie. We're sitting at breakfast on Monday morning. Al has been talking at me for what must've been about five minutes. Obviously I haven't been listening.

"Yeah?" I say vaguely.

"Help me."

"With?"

"Have you not been listening at all?"

"No."

"I was saying, that I need help getting this girl."

"Your Albus Potter. You can get anyone." I inform him.

"Yeah, but she's so not interested in me. Like beyond uninterested."

"Who is this mystery girl?"

"I don't wanna say. You'll laugh."

"Mate, I won't. I promise."

"I'll think about it."

"Al." I whine, putting on my best puppy dog eyes.

"No."

"If you don't tell me, I can't help." I say smugly.

"I'll think about it."

"Al, you always need my help for everything. Relationships, school, you know - life in general."

"Oh shut up. Your so full of it."

I smirk at him.

I want breakfast to hurry up so I can go to potions. For obvious reasons (Rose Weasley). But as they always say, when you want something, time slows down. And I genuinely think it may have done just that.

"Hey Scorpius." Jenny Nott, Jacobs twin sister (aka) the single most annoying girl on the planet. I look round at her. She smiles flirtily at me.

"What is it Jenny?" I ask in trepidation of what is about to come. Not trying to be polite, she's thick enough not to notice. Not only is she annoying, she's also hugely self-centred and thinks that the two of us should be dating. Okay, so perhaps I did sleep with her at some point last year. I mean she's hot, no question. But her personality completely negates that. And just because I slept with her does not, in any way mean that I would ever, ever consider dating her. As a rule, I never date. Fuck-buddies, sure, why not. But not dating. Never. I mean, a man like me? With looks like I have, why would I tie myself down when I have all these opportunities?

"So I was thinking," she says placing her hand on my thigh.

"You were thinking?" mutters Al at his breakfast. She glares at him and I struggle to keep from laughing.

"I was thinking, that we should go to Hogsmeade together on the next weekend? 'Cause I mean I saw you with that Weasley girl, and to be honest, I don't think you, of all people, should have to stoop to that level." She says snootily.

"That's my cousin you're talking about." Al says angrily.

"So…?" She asks dumbly.

"Are you seriously as thick as you look?" He asks heatedly.

"Oi, Potter. Don't you dare talk to my sister like that." Oh fan-fucking-tastic, here comes Jacob to start a fight.

"Then don't let her talk about Rose like that." Al shouts.

"Al, mate, come on, lets go. She's not worth it." I say to him grabbing his arm and pulling him away.

Jacob shakes his head and goes to sit down. As I'm walking away I hear Jenny come up behind me.

"So, what about Hogsmeade." She asks, as if she hasn't just been a complete bitch.

"No." I say bluntly. I am so not in the mood for this right now. I walk away, dragging Al behind me, leaving her standing in the doorway to the Great Hall.

As we storm out into the entrance hall, a small figure smashes into me. I let go of Al and grab her waist to stop her falling over. I look down. Blue eyes framed by porcelain cheeks and auburn hair look up at me. We stare at each other for a few seconds. The smell of vanilla and lemon overwhelms me.

"Uh, Rose? Scorp?" Says Al, clearly utterly amused by the situation.

She pulls away from me, but I don't let go. She smiles amusedly up at me and gently removes my hands from the small of her back. The touch of her fingers on mine sends tremors down my back.

"Just can't get enough of me, can you Malfoy?" She winks at me and walks into the Great Hall.

"See you in Potions." She says looking over her shoulder.

"You love her, you love her, you want to marry her." Al singsongs all the way down to the dungeons.

"Al, shut up. Or I'll have to do something to you that I may later regret."

"You'd never do that to me, I'm your best friend."

"I may just." I say.

He laughs at me and continues to sing.

"So who's the girl Al?" I ask and he quickly shuts up. I laugh.

"I'll tell you when I want to." He says haughtily.

"In the name of Salazar Al, take the stick out of your arse and tell me."

He doesn't respond. I can tell this is going to take some skill to get out of him.

We reach the wall where the entrance to our common room is.

"Sometimes I go fast, sometimes I go slow. But I always stay continuous no matter what you feel. What am I?" Asks the wall.

"A new one." Al says. I think for a moment.

"This is getting easy." I mutter. Al looks completely nonplussed.

"You are time." I say. The wall opens to reveal the entrance to the common room.

"How do you get them?" Asks Al in astonishment.

"Just being me, I mean, I am a genius." I say cockily.

He looks at me dubiously "One day, your head isn't going to fit in this castle. You'll be stuck outside and your genius won't be able to flourish." He says raising his fingers, air quoting the word genius.

"I don't need lessons to make me a genius. I come by it naturally," I point out, and Al looks at me despairingly.

"We have lessons to get to." He reminds me.

xx

We get to potions ten minutes late. Al took ages to find his stuff. It was ridiculous; I was on the verge of leaving without him. But then what kind of friend would I be?

"Potter, Malfoy, ten points for lateness." Professor Slughorn sighs at us.

I go and sit down in the empty seat beside Rose. Her scent washes over me.

"Hey, why so late?" She asks.

"Al."

She laughs, "no other reason needed then."

"Nope." I smile.

Slughorn begins his drone of the week. "Today, Ladies and Gentlemen, we will be making Wolfsbane, this takes a couple of weeks to make, so we will be working on it for a while. It is an immensely complicated potion…"

"It's always an 'immensely complicated potion'" I mutter to myself imitating Slughorn. Rose giggles.

"Anything you'd like to share Miss Weasley?" Slughorn asks.

She blushes a faint pink.

"No Sir, sorry Sir."

"Right then, all of you get started." He says looking slightly put out.

I flip open my book and Rose goes to get supplies. As she comes back, I notice a small frown across her face.

"What's wrong with you?" I ask.

"Nothing." She replies flipping her hair over her shoulder.

We proceed in silence. Occasionally our hands touch, but she doesn't snap at me about her 'rules'. Not today.

"There, done." Rose announces adding the porcupine quills that I'd just finished powdering. "For today." I add.

Slughorn then booms across the dungeon:

"You must add the porcupine quills before the end of todays lesson, as it must stew for twenty-four hours before the Wolfsbane is added. If you have done that, you may pack up and leave."

Rose packs her things away and I follow suite. I wait for Al, and Rose waits for her friend Josie, who are paired together.

When Josie joins Rose they walk out of the classroom, and Al and I follow them up into the courtyard. They sit down under one of the massive oak trees outside and Rose conjures a portable fire. Al and I sit down opposite them. I watch Rose as her and Josie put their heads together and start whispering about something. Her hair falls across her face and she gently pushes it back behind her ear.

I look round at Al, whose staring at Rose's friend. I laugh out loud.

"What?" Asks Al snapping round.

"It's Josie right?"

"What?" He asks, looking shocked. "How did you guess?"

"Oh, just the besotted expression on your face when you were looking at her."

"Really?" He asks grimacing.

"Yeah, we've gotta work on you hiding that, otherwise its obvious you're whipped."

He punches me on the arm.

"Scorp! Al!" Jacob calls as he walks towards us. "How are you ladies?" He asks, laughing at his own joke. He addresses me, "Apparently you and my sister are an item?" He asks.

"What?" I exclaim. "Since when?"

"Since she told all her friends."

"Eugh. No, we're not. Tell her for me?"

"Yeah, sure mate." He says. For all the crap he spews about standing up for his sister, he'd much rather remain friends with me. He sits down next to us and the rest of our friends stroll over to join us. Harry Ketts, Tom Wood, Joe Creevey and Alex Creevey, all greet us and sit down.

"So guys, how do we get Josie Patil, to notice Al?" I ask them.

"She's the girl?" Harry asks.

"Yep." I confirm. Al glares at me for telling them.

"I've heard that she's as easy as Jake's sister." Says Joe, earning himself a punch from Jake.

"No she's not." Exclaims Al.

"How did you find out Scorp?" Asks Harry.

"By the expression he wore as she walked away." They all laugh and wolf whistle at Al.

"Not even dating her and she's got you whipped." Says Alex.

"I am so not whipped." Al says angrily.

"Yeah mate you are." I say laughing.

"Not as badly as you are with Rose." Al says smiling evilly at me.

"Rose?" Asks Alex. "As in Rose Weasley? As in Al's cousin Rose?"

Before I have a chance to confirm or deny said statement:

"Potter, what are you and your pathetic little friends saying about my cousin?" Asks an angry looking Fred Weasley.

"Nothing, Fred." Says Al quickly.

"It better be nothing." He says as he walks to his friends.

I may have a big ego, but I'm sensible enough to know not to get on the wrong side of Fred Weasley. Apparently, he enters all these Muggle boxing competitions, so he's completely stacked. Not the person to get in a fight with.

"So Rose Weasley, Scorp?" Repeats Alex. But before I have a chance to reply, the bell rings and I jump up quickly.

"Right I'm off to lessons." I smile smugly at them; they all look intensely annoyed about my lack of answer. I know I'm going to have hell to pay later. But that's later. I'll deal with it then. Right now, I am going to concentrate on following auburn hair to my next lesson.

The rest of the day passed in a haze of seeing Rose, and then avoiding my friends, who eventually cornered me after dinner and questioned me, yet I still managed to be deliberately vague, obviously all part of being a genius. The cocky part of me smiled at my amazingness.

XX

"Scorpius." She purred my name and her hands ran through my hair. I pulled her close, a low growl escaping my throat as she pressed herself against me. I looked down into her blue eyes and pulled her chin up, brought my head down, and kissed her softly once more. She pushed closer into me, adding pressure to our kiss, I bit her bottom lip gently and she moaned. As her hands roamed my body, she lifted my shirt up and I pulled it over my head, breaking our kiss for only a second before I crashed my lips back down on hers. I pushed her against the wall as she undid the buttons on her own shirt. As she undid each button I kissed down her body where exposed flesh had just appeared. When I reached the top of her jeans I moved back up to her mouth and kissed her hard, my hands on her tiny waist. She pulled away and looked up at me, and her cheeks flushed slightly. I fell into her eyes and she pulled my head down once more to kiss me. Her hands slid down my chest to my jeans, she moaned slightly as she felt my abs. She followed with her mouth, kissing my chest and undid my jeans pulling them down, leaving me standing only in my black boxer briefs.

"Rose." I moaned pulling her back to me, craving her every touch.

I pulled her out of her tight jeans and grabbed her round the waist and she wrapped her slim legs around me. She moaned as she felt my hard on against her soft spot through her lacy underwear. Just the noise made me want to do things to her, I'd never thought of doing to anyone else. I held her against the wall and kissed her hard, my hands moving to undo the clasp on her black lace bra…

I wake with a start, relishing the memory of my recent dream. I lie for a while, remembering the exact feel of her body against mine. Then I look down. Shit. I look at the clock. Forty-five minutes till I have to be up. I better go and take a shower, a very cold shower. I get up and promptly run to the bathroom that I share with the rest of my dorm. I switch on the faucet and turn the temperature right down to cold. I step straight under it and stand there in the freezing water for a while, enjoying the feel of it on my hot skin. After I can't bare the cold anymore, I turn on the hot and covered myself in my shower gel. It was some Muggle Calvin Klein stuff that mother got for me for Christmas. I hadn't got around to using it, purely because, I'd seen the muggle adverts, and they were completely ridiculous. After I've contemplated my life (which is clearly, not what I do in the shower) I get out, pull on my robes and head up to breakfast about half an hour before everyone else.

I enter the Great Hall and it's deserted. I decide that rather than eat my breakfast alone, I'll go down to the kitchens and eat there. I stroll along to the portrait of the bowl of fruit and tickle the pear. It giggles and the portrait swings open.

What confronts me, is a sight I never thought I'd see. Sitting against one of the stoves a way into the kitchen is a person. A very particular who I had perhaps just been dreaming about. I contemplate leaving, but she looks round, so I step up into the kitchen, and am instantly surrounded by what seems to be a sea of house elves.

"Sir, what can we gets for you, sir?" Asks one.

"Anything, Sir." Says another.

"Bacon and eggs would be great thanks." I say, smiling at them and they hurry off.

I wander over to the girl sitting against the stove.

"What are you doing here so early, Malfoy?" She asks.

"Couldn't sleep anymore, what about you?" I reply.

"Same reason." She says. But she's lying; I can tell she's lying.

"Really Rose?" I enquire.

She looks at me curiously, as if wondering how I knew she was lying. It's a bit weird, 'cause it's not something people would notice, but when she lies, she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and looks down. Wow I sound like a stalker now.

"Nope. But I'm not gonna tell you what the real reason is." She says.

"Okay." I shrug.

She looks up at me, "You gonna stand there all morning?"

I slide along the oven to sit next to her; I think I overestimated my sliding proximity. We are now very close together. In fact, she could probably lean her head on my shoulder and be very comfortable. She takes another spoonful of what must now be very soggy cornflakes.

"How can you eat them soggy?" I ask.

"They're not that bad." She laughs when I grimace at her.

"Okay, they don't taste great." She says. "But I don't want to be rude." She continues, her voice dropping down to a whisper.

I laugh at her and she shoves me, bringing us even closer together. My dream flashes through my mind. No. I must not be thinking about that. Not now. It could get so very very awkward, if that were to happen. And given the lack of action I've had in the past week, it's definitely more likely to. Honestly, this girl is driving me crazy.

The house elves trot over with my breakfast.

"Bacon and eggs for the friend of Miss Weasley, Sir." They say, handing me a plate that is loaded with food.

"Thanks." I say taking a knife and fork from another elf.

"You seriously going to eat all that?" Asks Rose.

"You doubt I can?" I ask smirking.

"No, I was just wondering if I can steal some bacon?" She asks cheekily.

I laugh, "Yeah, sure you can." She looks at me curiously again and a house elf runs up with a fork and hands it to her. She watches me as I dig into my plate.

After a while, I ask "You not gonna eat any?" As her fork lies unused in her hand.

"Yeah, yeah I am, I just remembered something, that's all." She smiles a tiny smile up at me.

She grabs a piece of bacon and starts eating it. She sighs in satisfaction "Bacon, food of the gods." She says. "And best hangover cure." She adds.

I laugh and she joins in.

"Well said." I agree still smiling at my plate.

We chat until we both finish my massive plate.

"Gah, I've eaten so much." She says, holding her non existent stomach.

"Yeah, but you're so slim, you could eat a house and not put on anything." I reply, surprising myself. A compliment, and this early in the morning too, must be a record.

She laughs and whispers "Yeah, but, it's because, I wear spanx, they come up to here." She gestures to just below her breasts. "Brilliant invention, they just hold all the fat in." She smiles up at me, mischief, sprinkled in her eyes.

"Sure, sure." I say laughing at her.

"Promise you won't tell anyone my secret?" She asks. mock seriously.

"Never." I reply in the same tone. We fall about laughing.

I look into her eyes as we stop, now would be the perfect time to… no, I can't, I will not screw this up. Plus, I don't know how she feels. She sits up next to me again and leans her head on my shoulder. Dream. Flash. Dear Merlin, I am going to go crazy.

"Who would've thought, me and you getting on?" She sighs. "Our fathers would be so proud." She continues sarcastically.

"Well, its like Al always said."

"'You two are more alike than you think, if you'd just get to know each other.'" We chorus.

"Perhaps he is right." She says.

"Al's always right."

"Don't tell him that, his head will actually explode."

"We'll keep it from him. Don't fret." I placate her.

I look at my watch. "Shit, we have lessons in ten minutes."

"What! Normally I notice it get busier in here." She exclaims. "They ask me to move."

We look around at the other stoves, and sure enough, they are bustling with activity.

"Twinky." She calls.

A house elf comes speeding towards us.

"Yes Miss?"

"Why didn't you come and tell us the time?"

"Because Miss, Twinky has not seen Miss look so happy in a long time. With Sir here, Miss is happy. Twinky and the other elves did not want Miss to not be happy." Says the elf, Twinky, very quickly. "But you must go now, or else you will be late for your lessons."

"Thanks Twinky." Says Rose. "See you soon…"

"Goodbye Miss Rose, Goodbye Sir." Says the elf and she scurries back to her job in the kitchens.

We drop out of the portrait into the deserted corridor.

"You eat in there a lot?"

"Not a lot. And I normally have time to go up to breakfast and sit with my friends after. So you wouldn't notice if I did." She explains.

"Ever been joined?"

"Nope. You're the first."

"Sorry," I say, "I hope you don't mind?"

"Not at all, it was nice talking to you." She says and smiles shyly at me.

"Good." I say as we enter the Great Hall. In my head I'm dancing, she said 'you', not someone.

"I'll see you in Transfig?" She asks.

"Yeah, definitely."

She begins to walk away. But stops and looks back "Save me a seat?" She asks warily.

I look at her, in shock. Public displays of friendship already? But I answer quickly.

"I will."

She smiles and then walks off up the marble staircase to her common room. I watch her go, her auburn hair shimmying behind her.

XX

When I reach Professor McGonagall's classroom, there's a small queue outside. I join Al, who's standing with Harry and Alex.

"Where were you at breakfast?" He demands.

"Got up early and went to the kitchen." I say coolly.

"For the whole of breakfast?" Harry asks suspiciously.

"Yes." I tell him.

Al looks at me curiously, I try to give him my 'I'll tell you later look'. But unlike him and Rose, Al and I do not share some vague sort of telepathy.

"That's a hell of a long time. Cause you were gone when I got up, and I went for a run." He says.

"Yeah? So? I woke up really early."

"There was someone else there, wasn't there?" Alex asks.

Damn him and his intuitiveness. Luckily the door to the classroom opens at this moment.

"Let's go." I say as an answer. They grumble at me and we go in to the room and the other three sit down in their normal seats. I look round, waiting for Rose, remembering my promise to her.

Al looks at me curiously and gestures to the seat next to him. I shake my head infinitely. And sit down at an empty desk. The door opens again and Rose, Josie and Ria wander in laughing about something. She looks round and catches my eye, she smiles and comes to sit next to me. She slides into her seat. I look at her friends; they look at her like she's mad, and she just smiles at them. The rest of the class look at this new seating arrangement and wait for one of us to explode as per usual.

"Good twenty minutes?" She asks smirking.

"Good interrogation don't you mean?" I ask. She laughs.

"Me too." She says.

"Today, we will be vanishing mice." Begins Professor McGonagall. She waves her wand and a box with a mouse appears in front of me. "You know the spell, but as a quick reminder for those of you who aren't kind enough to pay attention in my class, it is disparatasure." She says surveying us all. "What are you waiting for? Get started."

"Eugh, this thing is gross." Says Rose examining the mouse in front of her.

"Didn't take you to be the squeamish type." I jibe.

"I'm not, but just imagine it crawling up your shirt. That would just be so horrible." She says squirming in her seat. I laugh.

"Hey, don't laugh." She pouts at me.

I laugh again.

"Disparatasure." I say flicking my wand aimlessly at the mouse in the box. Its tail disappears.

"What was that?" Rose asks.

"You try it then." I challenge.

"Disparatasure." She says and waves her wand. Her whole mouse disappears. She smirks at me.

"You were saying Mr Malfoy?" She chides me.

"Well done Miss Weasley." Professor McGonagall comes over. "Ten points for Gryffindor."

She looks disdainfully down at my tailless mouse. "Keep trying Mr Malfoy." She says and walks away.

Rose sniggers.

I glare at her.

I then successfully vanish my mouse, and although only three minutes after Rose, she did not cease to tease me about it for the rest of the lesson. By the end of which we were both doing it non-verbally. We got up and left together heading to Defense, our next lesson.

Al, Ria, Alex and Josie follow us.

"What's all this then?" Asks Alex.

"What's what?" Replies Rose innocently.

"You two, putting up with each other." He explains.

"Oh we're not." She says. "Scorpius just needed reminding that I'm better than him at just about everything." She smirks up at me. The others laugh.

"Glad to see nothings changed." Says Josie.

Al looks at her, that besotted puppy dog look on his face once more. I really have to get rid of this look. It's quite disgusting. Rose, looks at him, and then to Josie, and then to me and smiles. She's definitely worked it out. I'd be surprised if she hadn't already worked it out.

The six of us spent the rest of the day together. And when it got to dinner, we even sat together. Like keen little first years. Joe, Tom, Harry, Lorcan, Molly, Dom and Lily joined us, making it not so unlike any other dinner, but instead, Rose and I were sitting opposite each other. Something that never ever happened. It was like history in the making. And that night when I went to bed, my thoughts were once more on a certain Rose Jane Weasley.

XX

The next morning, I woke early again. Slightly on purpose. I walked to the shower and hopped in. I showered as quickly as is humanly possibly, which for a guy, is ridiculously fast. I wash the product out of my hair and mess it up as I step out and I dry myself. I really am a fine specimen, I think to myself. Any girl would be lucky to tap this. I pull on my robes and head down to the kitchens, deciding once more that I will not eat breakfast in plain site alone. Also I'm kind of hoping she'll be there. I head down the corridor that leads to the Hufflepuff common room. I reach the portrait of the fruit bowl and tickle the pear. My heart-beat increases infinitesimally as the painting swings forward. I look down to the stove where I had sat yesterday.

"Hey." She says smiling at me. I get butterflies in my stomach.

"Hey Rose." I reply.

"I wasn't sure if you would come." She says.

"What do you take me for?" I ask walking in and sliding down next to her.

"I wouldn't miss this for anything."