AN: Uh oh, things get a bit heated with Rose and Scorpius. Who's side will Albus take? Family or friend?

Disclaimer: Don't own any of the characters or anything even remotely related to the Harry Potter Franchise, except my own copies of the books and some merchandise.

What Rose Wants, She Doesn't Get

It was mid-March and the Brat Princes had been causing trouble wherever they could, as usual, but never doing anything serious. They had lost their house quite a few points and earned a few detentions, but they often made up their points; Albus in History of Magic, and Scorpius in Potions. It was a lot harder to impress the strange Potions master than the old ghost, or so thought Scorpius.

One Wednesday afternoon, they were at Potions with the Gryffindors.

"We've been doing a lot of theory as of late. It's time to put theory into practice. Today you will be making a simple muscle relaxant. The instructions are on the board. You have an hour. Start" Professor Prince said in her stern, unemotional voice.

At the beginning of the term, Albus had insisted that Scorpius and he sit with Rose and another Gryffindor girl, despite Scorpius's protests.

"My parents and Uncle Ron scolded me for not being better friends with her. I have to at least pretend to make an effort" Albus had said quietly so that only Scorpius could hear.

"Fine," Scorpius had said sulkily, "but only for you would I endure her presence". Rose hadn't looked pleased when her cousin and his -parasitical, in her opinion- friend sat at her table. They'd been stuck as partners ever since.

They began preparing their potions, Scorpius often helping Albus and stopping him from doing the wrong things. It wasn't that he bad at Potions, he was just careless . . . and Potion-making was an exact science as well as an art.

Scorpius grabbed Albus's wrist and prevented him from emptying his spoonful of sandalwood essence into the cauldron. Albus looked relieved and mildly confused at the same time. "It says to put it in after the crushed leaf-thing" Albus said, looking at Scorpius innocently. Rose rolled her eyes.

"That's right Ally, but you have to let it simmer for a few minute before you slowly add the sandalwood" Scorpius said encouragingly. Albus appreciated that his friend assisted him, without making him feel stupid or inept.

"Oh. Thanks, Scor. What'd I do without you?" Albus smiled widely at the blonde boy.

"You wouldn't be getting such good marks" Rose cut in angrily. "Marks you don't deserve, I might add!"

"No one asked for opinion, smart-arse" Scorpius retorted. His patience was wearing thin; Rose Weasley had been getting increasingly flippant because she didn't appreciate that Scorpius helped her cousin out.

"How will he improve if you fix his mistakes? How will he learn?" Rose said, spitting fire. Her dislike for the Malfoy child couldn't have been more pronounced in her tone.

"How will he learn if he fails and gets kicked out of Potions?!" Scorpius snarled.

"If he just practiced, he'd get it right" Rose said heatedly. "Practice makes perfect" she added, somewhat feebly.

"Practice makes permanent" Scorpius corrected. "If I let him do the wrong thing, he'll learn the wrong way to do it, and the wrong way will be imbedded in his mind and he'll just keep doing it wrong!" the Slytherin argued. Albus just stirred his potion as his best friend and his cousin spoke about him as if he weren't there.

"You're an idiot!" Rose said, frustrated. It was lucky Professor Prince had stepped outside the dungeon to run an errand, for she would not have tolerated the raised voices. Most of the class has ceased making potion and begun watching Scorpius and Rose argue. "You let him take credit for your work! Why?!" Rose yelled. She hated Scorpius for being better at Potions than her (who was top in nearly all the other subjects) and for sharing his skill with her undeserving cousin.

"I'm no idiot, so watch your tongue, Weasley" Scorpius spoke, his voice dangerously even and controlled. "And it's not my work. Most of it Albus does himself, I just keep him in check"

Albus glanced at his friend and felt a surge of affection. He felt so honoured, to be defended like that.

He decided to stop watching passively as his best mate fought for him, and have his say. "You're just jealous because you don't have any friends to help you, so you have to do everything yourself! And you're only angry with us because you know that no one would ever jump to your defense" Albus spat.

Scorpius turned, wide-eyed, to look at Albus. He was impressed.

"Whatever" Rose said darkly, clearly still furious. She packed up her things and relocated to another desk, the other Gryffindor at their table looking scared and helpless.

About fifteen minutes passed, during which Scorpius attempted to fix his potion, which had over-boiled a bit while it was neglected. Professor Prince returned and walked around the classroom, observing silently the concoctions the first years had made.

"You were careless" she commented upon seeing Scorpius. The class sniggered. Scorpius looked disappointed with himself. It was the first time he'd received anything less than "perfect" from the teacher. "But it's still a damn sight better than what most of you snot-rags have produced!" she said loudly to the class. "Homework: half-a-foot essay on the Muscle Relaxant Potion"

"I'm sorry, Professor" Scorpius said quietly. "No need to apologize. It's fine" she replied stiffly. As per usual, Professor Prince gave Albus's potion a curt nod and no comment before walking away. Albus patted Scorpius's shoulder comfortingly.

AN: And now they are enemies. Mua ha ha ha ha! Heads up, I'm going to do a time-skip some time soon, so that we can begin exploring their deeper relationships.

Next Chapter: (Insert title here)

Rose's eyes teared up and she said "Imbeciles" under her breath.

. . .to be continued!