A/N: Thank you SO much to all those who are reviewing and/or reading this story. I'm so glad people are enjoying it because I'm enjoying writing it! Please keep letting me know what you think!

Chapter rated T for language and mildly suggestive themes.

Chapter 9: Hear Ye, Hear Ye

The news that Hadley Underwood and Rose Weasley were dating again spread through the school like wildfire.

Some people congratulated me.

"Hey, Rose! I heard you and Hadley are back together! That's great!"

"Good for you, Rose! I'm happy for you guys!"

I imagined that they only thought it was great because they thought it would be something like The Taming of the Shrew. Other people were annoyed.

"You and Hadley?" Lysander had said. "Really?"

"Rose…" Hugo had groaned.

I saw some people who eyed me suspiciously—as if they were waiting for the other shoe to drop. Those people weren't happy for me at all. They didn't want me to be happy because they were afraid of what might happen if I suddenly wasn't.

Then there were two who were downright pissed.

Megaera Bloodworth had practically lost her mind when she'd seen us walking down the hall with his arm around my shoulders and my arm around his waist. She'd shrieked and rushed from the Great Hall when she'd seen him kiss me on the cheek during breakfast. And when she'd walked in on us snogging in the common room—something I'd planned because I knew the time she always came back from the library—she'd burst into tears and run to the dormitory.

I knew how she felt. I had done almost the exact same things when I would see the two of them together over the previous year. But they had had no regard for how I felt—the sound of my shrieks and my tears did nothing to bother them—so I didn't feel the need to watch myself around her either. It annoyed me that Hadley didn't seem to notice or care when she had these fits, though. Because that was how I knew that when I had been reacting the same way, he hadn't even batted an eye.

The other person who was angry with me was Albus. He could barely look at me. We were partners in a lot of our classes, but we had been working in silence for the past several days—ever since the fight we'd had when he had first heard that Hadley and I were back together.

"What the hell, Rose?"

"Good morning to you, too," I said as I walked down the staircase toward the Great Hall.

"Is it true?"

I rolled my eyes. "Is what true, Albus?" I said exasperatedly. But I knew what he was talking about.

He grabbed my arm and stopped me. We stood on the staircase with him one step above me.

"Are you back with him?"

I shrugged. "I suppose."

Wordlessly, he grabbed my arm and dragged me down the stairs. I didn't try to protest as he dragged me into an empty classroom. He slammed the door shut behind us and pushed me away from him when we stepped inside. I rubbed my arm unconsciously.

"What are you playing at?"

"What do you mean?"

"Don't play stupid, Rose. You fucking hate Hadley. He—"

"I know what he did," I said. "And—and I know what he is, but I"—I paused. I didn't know if I could bring myself to say the words without dry heaving—"I miss him. I love him." I clenched my jaw. Albus didn't notice.

He gaped at me. "Are you serious?" he nearly shouted, horrified. "Hadley Underwood is a selfish, arrogant prat who takes what he wants and discards what he doesn't. He—he doesn't love you, Rose. And you—god, you're a fucking idiot if you think he does. As soon as you aren't what he wants anymore, he's going to toss you aside just like he did last time."

It scared me how right Albus was. It scared me that he'd been holding these feelings in over the last year. These kinds of feelings didn't spring up over night. It scared me that he seemed to see so much. Those were things I told myself constantly about Hadley. Hadley had never cared about anyone but himself, and he probably never would. Right now, he was acting as if he couldn't live without me, but as soon as he realized that I still wasn't going to sleep with him, I knew it would only be a matter of time before he rejected me again. I just had to get what I wanted from him before that happened.

I wasn't ready to tell Albus that one of the reasons I was doing this was to make Malfoy jealous. It sounded stupid in my head, and I knew it would sound even stupider out loud. I hadn't told Albus about the first kiss or—my heart fluttered—the second. I hadn't told him that Malfoy rejected me and then had the nerve to call me into his office and tell me he wanted to rip my clothes off. I hadn't told him that the whole reason this began was because I thought I saw a flash of white blonde hair before I had pulled Hadley into that kiss.

It just… It sounded crazy.

I couldn't tell Albus that the other reason was that this was my final act of sabotage to get back at Hadley for what he'd done to me. I couldn't tell him that I had to do this in order to move on completely—to feel that Hadley finally saw the error in his ways.

But here was Albus, my best friend in the world, standing here, trying to stop me from making a huge mistake. And even though he didn't know that I wasn't really back with Hadley and that he wouldn't be hurting me again, I loved him for caring. He was one of the few people who really did.

"Do you have anything to say?"

I sighed. "Albus, I know you're upset—"

"Upset?" Albus stared at me with wide eyes. "I'm not upset, Rose. I'm… disgusted."

I was horrified. "Albus—"

"Do you know that everyone in this school is waiting for you to fall?" Yes, I knew that. "Everyone is waiting—watching—hoping that he breaks you again because they all think you deserve it—or… whatever. They're too—fucking stupid to realize that the reason they… Fuck." He ran a hand through his messy black hair. "The reason they hate and fear you is because of this asshole. They don't realize that you—that you changed because of him—because… he broke you once. And they don't realize how much you really changed... They didn't see you eating less or sleeping all the time. They didn't know that every time you were—mean—to one of them at the beginning, you would hide out and cry for hours after. They didn't know that your heart—fucking, GOD—fucking closed and you lost hope in… fucking everything. They didn't see that." He paused. "But I did."

"Albus. Stop." I couldn't bear what he was saying. I should have just told him the truth just to shut him up because I hated what he was saying. I hated seeing what I had become because of Hadley. I was always trying to ignore it. I hated seeing it right in front of me. I hated that Albus saw it.

"No—no I won't stop. Because everyone else may be fine with watching your downfall but I'm not. Because the thing is…" He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He deflated. "God… They don't realize that this time… When he breaks you… I'll never get you back."

I inhaled sharply and stared at my friend. "Albus… What are you—?"

"I lost you. When Hadley—the first time, I watched a piece of you go—a piece of your fucking heart. But I got you back. It was a different kind of you, but I knew that the real you was still in there… somewhere… Now… Rose, you won't be able to survive another heartbreak like this. It'll fucking kill you. You'll be… completely lost. And these"—he swung his arm around, gesturing out of the classroom—"fucking vultures don't see—they don't see—that when this happens—"

"Okay, Albus," I said, my voice shaking. "I get it. I know. You don't want me with Hadley." Was this what he thought? That I was some fragile girl who would lose herself completely if Hadley and I so much as fought again? How long had he been keeping this worry and fear inside? How long had he been waiting, watching, hoping that I didn't crumble? How long had he been scared that he was going to lose me forever? How long had he just been this fucking worried? How long had he cared this much about me?

I sighed and stepped forward, reaching out and taking Albus's hand. But he pulled it away and turned around, his back to me and his hands on his hips.

"Albus, I'm sorry… I didn't know…" I sighed again. "Look, Al… I'm not going to let him break me. I'm—I'm cautious this time. My guard is up. But listen… I really…" I bit my lip as my chin started to quiver. "I really appreciate that you care—this much about me. No one fucking cares about me like this. No one cared then and no one cares now. But you… I mean, I know that everyone is waiting for me to fall and—" My voice broke. "I know everyone wants me to get what I deserve, and you're the only fucking person who cares about me," I said through my tears. I was shocked. I couldn't believe I was crying. I wiped the tears away. "For the past year, you—you've been there constantly, and… I know it's been hard. I know I haven't been easy…" Albus turned to face me, tears welled in his eyes. "But I fucking love you Albus, and I… I don't know… You just…" I covered my eyes and bent over as the crying took over.

Albus stepped forward, pulled me up, and put his arms around me. I cried into his chest. I was just overwhelmed. Because after Hadley had broken up with me at the end of fifth year, I'd been convinced that I was in it alone—that no one understood me, and no one cared. But Albus had. He loved me and he cared. It was—there was really no other word—overwhelming. My feelings were scaring me.

After a while, I stopped crying and pulled away. I looked up at Albus. "I know you don't want me to be with him, but I really… I really need you, Al. I don't want you to stop being my friend because of this. Please."

Albus regarded me for a long time. Finally he sighed. "I can't, Rose…" he said quietly. "I can't… just stand by and watch your downfall like the rest of these vultures. I… I can't."

And then he'd left the classroom, and we hadn't spoken since.

But I understood that he was upset. He would just have to understand that this was the choice I'd made for now. Soon he would get it.

For my part, being Hadley's girlfriend again was surprisingly easy during the day. I would walk to class with him, sit with him at meals, make out with him in broom cupboards and secluded hallways and empty classrooms and sometimes let him grope me. I would hang all over him in the common room. The nausea wasn't bad. We spent some time alone, but a lot of the time we were with his friends—the other 7th Year Gryffindor men and a few sixth years.

It was easy because really it wasn't me—at least, that's what I told myself to get through it. I wasn't Hadley's girlfriend. I wasn't fawning all over him. It was some other girl—some other version of me. It was like I was an actor. Every morning I woke and I performed my role. I performed it with diligence and professionalism. And at night, I went back to my reality.

At night… That was when it was hard. It was hard when I was laying in my bed thinking about Malfoy. It was hard when I looked at myself in the mirror before bed and saw a hickey that Hadley had left and I shuddered. It was hard when I heard Meg crying herself to sleep. It was hard when I couldn't sleep because all I could think about was what Hadley had done to me, and how he thought he had won. It was hard when I thought of Al.

It was hard when I remembered that I did, in fact, still have a heart.

But right now, it was daylight. Hadley and I were walking to Potions together with our arms around each other. I was excited because it was in Potions when I felt that all of this was worth it. Seeing the look on Malfoy's face could make up for a few sleepless nights.

Right before we turned the corner to the hallway that Potions was in, Hadley dragged me down an empty hallway and attached his mouth to mine. This was hard. But I usually made it easier by shutting my eyes and picturing Malfoy's mouth—Malfoy's hands.

But, really, Hadley was nothing like Malfoy.

His tongue invaded my mouth, whereas Malfoy's tongue always seemed to be asking permission—tentatively pushing in, questing, curious. He ran his hand down my thigh, and then hiked my leg up to wrap around his waist, whereas when I kissed Malfoy, it was like my legs had a mind of their own—they wrapped themselves around Malfoy of their own accord. Hadley did know how to snog. He really did, but he didn't seem to know my mouth and my body the way Malfoy did. He wasn't the expert that I remembered Malfoy being, but it wasn't terribly hard to pretend.

He moved his mouth from mine and began running kisses along my jawline. I remembered that night after the concert when Malfoy had done the same thing. With that in mind—picturing him—I moaned softly. Hadley sighed and then began unbuttoning the buttons of my school shirt.

"We should get to class," I breathed, trying to maneuver away from his hands.

"Yes, you should."

My heart leapt to my throat as Hadley pushed off me. The buttons of my shirt were halfway undone as I leaned against the wall.

"Professor—I—"

"This is inappropriate school behavior," Malfoy said. Even in the dimness of the dungeons, I could see his eyes blazing with anger and a vein in his forehead protruding. He glanced at me, and I noticed that his eyes flickered down to my chest, where my bra was exposed. I didn't bother to button up. I wanted him to see. I shivered at the thought.

"You will each serve detention with me tonight for this behavior," Malfoy said. "Mr. Underwood, come to my office at 6 o'clock. Ms. Weasley, I'll see you at 8 o'clock. Our usual time," he added. I smiled.

Later that afternoon, Gryffindor had the first round of tryouts for the Quidditch team. Tryouts were being held for seeker, chaser, and beater positions since Hugo was already the keeper. Hugo was killing it as the new captain. He spoke with authority, he ran everything efficiently, but he also made everyone laugh, and he was constantly giving people compliments and pointers on their techniques. Everyone was looking to him with reverence and respect. I had never been more proud.

Hadley and I were huddled on the bleachers, waiting for Hugo to call the chasers for their tryouts. After we had all warmed up together, Hugo had called the beaters first and told the rest of us to wait. There were twenty people waiting to try out for the three chaser positions. Really, though, it was eighteen people trying out for one position because Hadley and I were sure to make the team.

"Hadley!" I giggled as he nudged my neck and nibbled my ear. "Stop—people are watching," I whispered. He smiled. Then he ran his thumb over my lower lip and stared at my mouth for several seconds before turning back to watch the tryouts. He slid an arm around my shoulders and I buried myself into his neck. I shuddered. I would be so happy when I could end this fucking ruse. Luckily he took my disgusted shudder as a shiver.

"Are you cold?"

He glanced down at me, and I just looked up and shook my head with a smile. I cuddled closer.

This was one of the few times I was thankful that Albus wasn't a Gryffindor. He hated seeing Hadley and me together, so I tried to keep it to a minimum in places where I knew Albus would be—in the halls, in class, and in the Great Hall. So instead, I made up for it in places where I knew Albus wouldn't be—like the Gryffindor common room and Quidditch trials.

A bit later, the beaters were finished with their trials, and Hugo told the chasers to mount their brooms.

We spent most of the time flying around and trying to make shots against Hugo. He had us run some of his formations, and he switched up the group of three each time to see who flew best together. There was a fourth year called Perseus Church who was trying out for a Chaser position, and who was incredibly good. During one of the drills, Hugo had the beaters who were trying out circling in, flinging bludgers at us while we ran Hugo's formation. At one point, a bludger almost hit me because I was too focused on Church's skills at dodging bludgers, weaving around the other chasers, and zooming toward the goal posts.

"Babe, you have to pay attention," Hadley said after he touched down and walked over to me. "You almost got hit." I flashed him a grateful smile, but when I turned away, I rolled my eyes.

During the drills, Hugo had Hadley, Perseus, and our cousin Lucy going against everyone for a while. They flew really well together, and I was amazed at how much Lucy had improved. She hadn't made the team in the last couple years that she'd tried out because she got too distracted, but her focus seemed to be on point today. I started to get nervous and antsy seeing Hadley, Perseus, and Lucy flying together because they looked so good. For the first time, I worried that there wouldn't be a spot on the team for me.

After the Chaser trials were finished, Hugo told everyone to take a break and get a drink, and he called me over.

"What's up?"

"When the hell did you get so fast?"

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that you're the fastest one out there. And other than your distraction with the bludger—"

"Did you see Church?"

Hugo laughed. "I know. He's definitely getting on the team. It's insane. But other than that, you saw everything out there."

"Thanks?" I said with a shrug. "It's not a big deal."

"Yeah it is, Rosie," Hugo said quietly, ushering me a bit further away from everyone. "I want you to go out for the seeker spot." The spot was currently completely open since James had graduated last year.

"What?" I said incredulously. "I'm a chaser, Hugo."

"No chaser flies that fast."

"I've never played seeker."

"Sure you have."

"Okay, yeah, in stupid family matches."

Hugo rolled his eyes. "Look, I want you to go out for the seeker spot. I saw some of these guys when we were warming up, and none of them were near as fast as you. And!" Hugo said excitedly, "Some of them have the newest broom models, and you have an old nimbus." He gestured to the broom in my hand.

Despite my trepidation, I felt proud of myself. James had never noticed me for how fast I was because he had always been the fastest—even though I'd always been close. I had to admit to myself that being seeker would be really fun and a new and exciting position. The outcome of the game would rest largely on my shoulders. I imagined the snitch fluttering in my hand while everyone shouted "Weasley! Weasley! Weasley!" With that in mind, I said—

"Okay, I'll try out… but Hugo"—he looked at me with a tilt of the head—"what if I'm no good?"

He grinned and nudged my shoulder before he walked away. "Not possible, Rosie." I rolled my eyes as he shouted, "All right, everyone, let's run a few more drills and then I'll have my seekers!"

After we ran a few more drills, I got ready for my seeker tryout. I was nervous as I walked to the middle of the pitch with the other hopefuls. Even though Hadley was grating on my last nerve, him wishing me luck and saying he would be rooting for me and that I would do great was a welcome encouragement when I felt so nervous about this whole stupid thing.

Who did I think I was? I wasn't a seeker. I had always been a chaser, hadn't I?

There were seven people going out for the seeker spot—more than I had ever seen now that James was gone. Hugo had everyone try out in groups of two. I was last since he had everyone going in alphabetical order by last name. He had each team looking for the snitch three times. He wasn't just looking for who caught it, he told the group. "I'm looking for the best discipline and technique."

One team spent almost half an hour looking for their final snitch. I'd seen it hovering around the pitch about four different times. The fifth time I saw it glimmering, and I looked up and saw those dopes flying around aimlessly, I straddled my broom and bolted across the pitch. A few seconds later, the snitch was fluttering in my hand as the lookers-on laughed, and the two who were trying out looked sheepish.

Hugo chuckled as I put the ball in his hand. "Sorry," I said. "They were taking way too long."

For my tryout, Hugo paired me with a kid who had caught all three of the snitches in his round. I gave Hugo a look, but he just smiled and shrugged.

Hugo blew his whistle and the two of us took off into the sky. It was amazing—how the wind felt in my hair and on my face. There was almost nothing better than flying. Playing in my band felt amazing. Getting an 'O' on an essay felt pretty damn good. Snogging Malfoy had left me breathless. But here—in the air—above everything… There was nothing like that.

Up here, it was just me, my broom, and the wind. There was no Hadley trying to fondle me on the bleachers. There was no Meg glaring daggers at me from across classrooms. There was no Albus hating me. There was no Malfoy staring at me or catching me with Hadley. There were no schemes or plots. There were no snarky comments. There was nothing but me, my broom, and the wind. I laughed loudly—giddy as I dove around looking for the snitch. It was exhilarating.

The first snitch was easy to find. I was down on the ground handing it to Hugo after only about a minute. The next one took a bit longer, but much to my opponent's dismay, I was diving toward it after only a few minutes. Hugo gave me a knowing smirk when I put it in his hand. I just rolled my eyes as I hopped back on my broom.

The final snitch took longer. I could tell that my opponent was frustrated that he hadn't caught any. He was looking around frantically, watching me closely as well to see if I had spotted it. At one point, I saw it fluttering near the kid, but I acted like I didn't see it because I knew he would be there long before me. So I started diving in the other direction, and just as I had known, he had followed me.

Faintly, I heard Hadley cheering for me, but I blocked it out. I just wanted to find that snitch. The flash of gold reminded me of the flash of white blonde hair that had gotten me into this mess. It taunted me, teased me, encouraged me to come toward it while it bolted away at the same time. It was a menace and a bother and it was so bloody confusing, but I wanted to catch it. I had to catch it. Because wouldn't it feel so good once I did?

Then I saw it. It was glimmering behind one of the goal posts at the opposite end of the pitch.

Like it was watching me.

I was closer, and without hesitation, I dove.

I had to catch it. It was like it was begging me to. I blocked out any other noise and distraction. My opponent disappeared from my vision. I didn't care about him. He wasn't important. The only thing I cared about was that snitch. And suddenly I felt desperate to catch it. The other times I had wanted to catch it, too, of course, but this time it was like if I didn't catch it, my heart and my head would explode. It was like that snitch was my lifeline, and the only way to survive was to have the feeling of that snitch in my hand.

My heart was pounding, and my palms started to sweat. I felt tears sting my eyes. I didn't know if the tears were from the wind in my eyes or from everything that was swirling around inside me.

I had to get that snitch.

I was diving. It was at the bottom of the post now. When I got close, it ducked underneath the stands, and blindly, I followed. The tarps that lined the stands fluttered around me as I dove through them. And as if the snitch had been waiting for me in the darkness, it was suddenly in my hand. I screamed with ecstasy and flew underneath the stands. I encircled almost the entire thing where no one could see me. It was just me and my snitch.

And then I was diving out from under the stands, grinning broadly as I held up the snitch. I heard people cheering, and when I landed in front of Hugo, he just grinned back at me and said—

"Told you so."

Next chapter:

Things get heated in another detention...