AN: Yay, next chapter!

So, remember when I said I was going to try to break the family feud? Well, easier said than done. I've tried to have minimal confrontation with Malfoy, and to try to be nice, but he pisses me off so much! A few times I've found myself telling him off without even realizing it. Okay, maybe the reason I hate him isn't all my dad's fault. Scorpius certainly played a big role in it, too.

The weekend ended and Monday morning arrived. I had successfully gotten through a week without a single fight with Malfoy. My friends noticed.

"Rose? Are you okay? You haven't said a word about how annoying Malfoy is, how much you hate him, and I don't think you've even insulted him all week!" Darn Paula and her insightfulness.

"I'm ok, Paula. Don't worry about it. I'm just trying to be the bigger person. I need to stop fighting with him, so I'm avoiding him. It doesn't mean that I feel any differently, though. I still hate him." Dang it. I shouldn't have said that last part. She stopped talking, but I could see the mischievous gleam in her eyes.

For the rest of the day, they ignored the subject, but I could see them off in the corner whispering to each other, trying to make something out of a change in me that wasn't there. It kind of annoyed me, but I decided it was best to ignore it. Maybe they would give up if I stopped giving them random comments to work with.

I had a lot of things on my mind. I couldn't seem to forget the feeling of contentment I had when Scorpius had held me in that broom cupboard, and that really boggled my mind. If I hated him, why did I feel so safe and secure when I was with him? I just needed to get my mind off this. I needed a distraction. More specifically, a boyfriend. But who? Of course, McLaggen! Sure, I thought he was a bit weird and obnoxious, but he was nice and kind of handsome and I knew he already liked me. This will be good for me. I'll talk to him tonight, maybe we'll do rounds together this time.

The day passed rather quickly, and soon it was time for rounds. I found McLaggen and told him that we could patrol the dungeons together this time, and I wanted to talk to him. The bloke looked like Christmas had come early. We walked down to the dungeons and I started talking.

"So Ernie, I've been thinking, and I never really realized how friendly you are. You really are a great person, and I'd love to get to know you better. I guess what I'm asking is, would you like to go out with me?" I bit my lip, trying to look nervous. That was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be. Maybe it's easier to do something like that when you don't really like the guy, because there aren't any conflicting emotions getting in the way. I kind of felt bad for doing this when I actually had no feeling for him, but I had no choice. I had to get the Malfoy situation out of my head, and having a boyfriend would cause enough drama in my huge annoying family to make me forget the situation completely. I hoped.

McLaggen stayed quiet for a long time and just stared at me. I thought he might be in shock. Just when I was about to ask him if he was okay, he leaned in and kissed me full on the mouth. I was surprised, so say the least, but I decided to kiss him back. You know how in magazines and books they tell you that the first time you kiss someone it's supposed to be a magical moment? Like you're flying, and you never want the kiss to end because you feel so blissful, and it feels like a lifetime even though it's only been a few short seconds before you pull away? None of that happened with Ernie. I felt nothing. Oh, it wasn't bad or anything, he was a good kisser, there just wasn't a spark. Eventually, I pulled away. Maybe it would get better over time? And maybe if I got to know Ernie better I would develop real feelings for him. Only time will tell, I guess.

***************************************Scorpius POV***********************************

Dammit! Stupid Chastity brown is after me again! I don't know why she's named Chastity. She's got a reputation as The Hogwarts Whore. I guess it was Lavender Brown's idea of irony? She must have known her daughter would be as much of a slut as she was, if not more. Oh. My father told me about his school days, and Lavender. Apparently she had tried to hook up with him several times, even when he was dating Pansy. He said he was really relieved when she got obsessed with Ron Weasley, thinking that maybe she would leave him alone, but she just went right back to bugging him the moment Ron dumped her. Anyway, enough about my father.

Chastity had this dumb idea in the small brain of hers that she and I were destined to be together or some shit. I had no idea where she got this from, but once we started 4th year she started stalking me, and ever since them she's been trying to get me in bed. Yeah, I know. 'You're Scorpius Malfoy, and a Slytherin! You should be the one trying to get girls in bed, not the other way around!' But I'm not like that. Everyone thinks that because I'm in Slytherin, not to mention a Malfoy that I would be this rude asshole womanizer, but I'm not. My father taught me to treat women with respect, and fucking a different one every other night is certainly not respect. Actually, the only girl I haven't treated with respect is that Rose Weasley. But that's not my fault, she hates me. My father told me she probably would, because he knew her father and how much Ronald Weasley hated his guts, and to just tryo to be nice to her and she'd eventually leave him alone. But that was easier said than done, I mean the girl was yelling at me every two seconds? What kind of a man would I be if I just stood there and let her bully me? A wimpy one, that's what.

But despite that fact that she annoyed the hell out of me, I had to admit she was hot. No, not just in a 'she's really sexy, I wanna get her in bed' kind of way, I mean she was really beautiful. Not to mention the way she looked when she yelled at me was adorable, albeit annoying. I had started to think these things about her last year, the first year she was a prefect. We all knew she would be, but I didn't expect the effect it would have on her. I expected her to just get all snooty and stuck-up, I mean she was related to Percy Weasley after all, but that didn't happen. She was really nice (to everyone but me of course) and she had this air of confidence about her. Not just, 'I'm a prefect, I have power, behave around me I can give you detention' confidence, but just a general 'I can do anything, I can be anyone if I just put my mind to it' confidence. And for some reason I found that really attractive. I suppose it might be because I have to put up with so much crap because of my last name, that the kind of confidence she has is exactly the kind I need to get through life. So yes, I admit I fancy Rose Weasley. It doesn't matter, though, I mean, she hates me.

I listened, and I didn't hear Chastity anymore. She finally left! Now if I could only get back to my dorm without running into prefects. Rose let me off easy last time, but I think she was just tired. There's no way she's gonna let me go again, she hates me and would do anything to get me in detention. Unless she let me off because she secretly doesn't hate me and… No! I can't think like that, it'll only lead to pain and suffering. Wow, that sounded girly. But it's true. I quietly left the broom cupboard and slowly made my way in the direction of the Slytherin common room. I reached an intersection, and I carefully peeked around the corner and saw…

Rose Weasley in a liplock with Ernie Fucking McLaggen. Bloody Fucking Merlin. What the hell? I thought she was creeped out by that guy? No, I don't stalk her. One of my dorm mates told me that. I think he was trying to make me feel better by saying that there's another guy she dislikes, but it didn't because I knew she hated me more. Apparently, she got over that. I felt a surge of some emotion deep in my gut. Jealousy? Well, that's expected when the girl of my dreams in kissing some other guy right in front of me. And I mean that literally, corny as it sounds, I dream about her. I know, Witch Weekly would get a kick out of that. That's why it's private, thank you. I looked at the ground, and made my way back to my common room. There's no reason to be careful anymore, only two prefects patrol down here and they're obviously… busy. I said the password and the door appeared, which I shoved open roughly. I stormed into the common room and plopped down on the couch, glad that no one was still there. I felt like crap.

Life really sucks sometimes, you know? I sighed and stared into the fire. I guess there's no reason for me to bother Rose anymore, she's in a relationship now and her boyfriend probably doesn't want some other guy bothering her all the time, let alone indirectly flirting. I certainly wouldn't, and I'm polite enough to do the right thing, even if it really pisses me off. So I'm going to ignore her, no that she'd notice, she already avoids me. I settled into the couch, knowing I wasn't about to get any sleep that night.

AN: Aww, poor Scorp. Don't worry, he won't suffer forever I promise! Please review, I love feedback. Next chapter coming soon!

~BurritoTown