A/N: It's Rosie's turn.

Big Mistake

The week was going by at a torturously slow pace, much to the students' chagrin. The days were stretched for no apparent reason; classes seemed more pointless and tedious than they usually did, and even the food served during mealtimes tasted a little bland. It seemed like the colour was drained out of everything-or maybe everybody was just anticipating the Christmas holidays, which was still a little over a month and a half away.

Rose Weasley, however, seemed to be the only one immune to the plague that swept throughout the school. She was bouncing, almost literally on her heels whenever she was standing still, and there was a little skip to her step as she walked to each class. She was hardly seen without a smile since Tuesday; even when she was studying on her spare period there was the wide, goofy grin plastered on her pretty features, quite reminiscent of her father's. People figured she was ecstatic because of the fact that she could produce a full fledged Patronus, or because she scored perfect on that dreaded Veritaserum assignment. Tuesday must have been the best day of Rose Weasley's life.

It seemed like decades had gone by before Friday rolled along; the whole school had woken up from its colourless trance and began to look a little more lively, probably because there was the much anticipated Quidditch game between Slytherin and Ravenclaw after classes today. Everyone had been talking about it even before the Halloween Ball. Who was going to win: calm, cool, collected Damien Byrne of Ravenclaw, or aggressive, bold, daring Scorpius Malfoy of Slytherin? The boys had already placed their bets on who they thought was going to emerge victorious; the girls, however, frankly did not care. Most of the female population of Hogwarts were attending the game simply because the two Seekers were something worth looking at for an hour or two, even if they were sweaty or muddy or up in the air, too far away to be examined properly.

"Open your books to page 216 and answer the questions, please." Professor Longbottom instructed distractedly during Herbology that Friday afternoon. It was the last class of the day and they were not going to do anything, except read from their textbooks and answer questions. Albus was excited for the game even though he was not playing; he nearly dashed over to his seat as if getting his work done faster will bring the game any closer. Rose shook her head with a smile, amused, and headed over to sit beside her cousin.

"You still have an forty-five minutes left 'till your game, Al. Stop jostling all over your seat." Rose whispered, barely unable to contain her grin. Albus' writing was even more illegible than it usually was.

"It's not my game, Rosie, it's Byrne's today. He's the year's best Seeker, I know he is, and he's going to kick Malfoy's sore loser arse today." He uttered with a determined smirk on his face; he nearly toppled over his ink bottle from his excitement. Rose shook her head again and flipped the pages of her textbook.

"He can't possibly be better than you, Al. Everyone keeps saying you're the best around." She said as she trailed the text with her index finger, trying to find the answer to the first question. Albus scoffed and stabbed the parchment, dotting an 'i' by puncturing a hole.

"Nah, everyone's actually talking about how Malfoy's basically my double when it comes to Quidditch. People say we're almost exactly the same, except for the fact that he's a little bit of a pusher. Bloody irritating to have him match up with me." He spat, dropping his quill and glaring down the table. Rose followed his stare, and suddenly her heart jumped up to her throat. Scorpius was bent over his parchment, furiously scribbling down his answers, his eyebrows knit and his tongue slightly protruding from the corner of his mouth. Ever since Tuesday, she had been 'seeing' Scorpius in a different way. His voice did not sound as drawling and bored as it usually did, and his eyes, while they still retained that piercing feeling whenever she stared into them, seemed to have a softer edge now. His looks also looked sharper to her, more attractive, which was probably the reason why she currently had difficulty breathing.

He paused writing for a split second to look up, and at an instant his eyes found hers. Her heart dropped all the way to her stomach and she quickly looked down at her own parchment, her eyes and cheeks burning. She was sure he could see, even from so far away.

"All right there, Rosie?" She could hear Albus' concerned voice through the pulsing in her ears. She slowly turned towards him and nodded, wondering if she was capable of speaking. She did not dare to try it out. Instead, she picked up her quill and resumed her writing. Albus stared back questionably, but shrugged it off and continued writing.

Herbology eventually came to an end, and Rose was eager to run out of the greenhouse so neither Scorpius or Albus could confront her about what happened earlier. Knowing Scorpius he was probably going to tease her about it later during Head Duty or something, so she did not want to double the torturing session, and Albus was probably going to hammer her with suspicious questions. The moment she felt the cool autumn wind on her face she thought she was home free, but she felt a hand on her shoulder and her elation was whisked away with the breeze. At first she thought it was Albus, but then she remembered him telling her he had to see Lisa after class.

"Weasley." Was all that Scorpius had to say to get her heart racing. She whirled around, trying her best to look irritated, but she probably looked nervous instead.

"What do you want, Malfoy?" She asked. She noticed that her voice was quivering. Scorpius was standing at least an arms' length away from her. His ruffled hair was moving with the wind and his mercury grey eyes were staring straight into her own blue ones, ripping them apart.

"Nothing. Just wanted to say hello, that's all." His voice seemed so smooth now that she had put most of the nearly seven year long resentment she had for him behind her. She raised en eyebrow at his reply.

"Are you sure about that, or are you just looking for some kind of excuse to bother me?" She smirked, though it was nothing compared to his, and shifted her weight on one leg so that one hip swung out. His eyes darted downwards for a short second (she noticed and she could not help but smirk again) before opening his mouth to reply.

"Going to the game tonight, then? Your date's gonna be there." He said half-jokingly; his usual smug expression changed to a sort of grim one. She laughed a little quietly; she realized that there were people staring at them as they passed them by.

"Of course I am. My whole family's dragging me along for the ride, plus, as you've just mentioned, Damien's going to be playing." She held her books close to her chest and spoke in an unusually bubbly voice, testing it out to see his reaction, "He's such a good Seeker, he's going to beat Slytherin tonight for sure. He promised me he would." She topped it off with a quiet giggle. That should have done it.

Just as she expected, Scorpius' eyes narrowed at the mention of the Ravenclaw Seeker's name, but his smirk was still visible. He took a dangerous step forward, and suddenly they were so close his eyes became too intense for her to stare at; she felt her knees buckling.

"Byrne's got nothing on me tonight." He leaned in so that his lips brushed against her ear; chills ran up and down her spine as his sultry voice whispered, "Make one promise for me, then: at the game, shout my name as loud as you can so he can hear you. Drown everyone out."

He stepped back to where he was originally. She stared back at him, dumbstruck. He was being oddly charming today, but his charm was not enough to sway her into agreeing. She originally came to cheer on Ravenclaw, and though he was being nice (she cringed at using the word 'nice' in the same sentence with him) she kept in mind that he was also the one who was responsible for breaking Albus' leg and fracturing Randy's wrist.

"Sorry, Scorpius, but I'm still siding with Ravenclaw. I'm not cheering for the person who seriously hurt two of my family members." She replied nonchalantly. She noticed the slight hurt in his eyes and she bit her tongue to prevent herself from verbally changing her decision. The pain he was expressing quickly dissolved into his usual haughty expression anyway, and he even chuckled a little.

"Suit yourself, Weasley." He shouldered his bag and prepared to walk past her. When he was close enough, he leaned in towards her ear once again.

"But I'll still be looking for you in the crowd, regardless if I can hear you or not."

She felt her ears growing warm, and she mentally cursed herself for being a Weasley. She watched him wordlessly as he walked casually back towards the castle with his bag hanging off one shoulder and his hands in his pockets. He seemed so different, yet at the same time he was exactly the same. It did not make the slightest sense to her.

She shrugged it off and began her own journey back to the castle. Her stomach was rumbling and she needed all the energy she could muster to cheer on Damien at the game later tonight.

--

Classes whizzed by and the anticipation for the game intensified. It was starting after dinner, which was odd because Quidditch games were usually held during the day when it was brighter out. Evening games were more interesting to watch anyway, especially for the girls; the lights on the field were brighter and more focused than the sun was, so people got a better look at the players.

The Great Hall was flooded with Quidditch conversation. At the Gryffindor table, Albus and Hugo were having a heated discussion about who was going to win. Oddly enough, Hugo thought that Slytherin was going to take the competition. Rose raised an eyebrow at her brother, whom she thought hated anything that had to do with Slytherin, but evidently she was just proved wrong.

"I dunno Al, I mean the Goyle brothers have that raw power that not even our team can stand against. You've seen those tree trunks they have for arms, they can beat anything down to the other side of the field." Hugo argued before taking a bite of his steak. Albus rolled his eyes and stabbed at his potatoes with his fork.

"But those brothers are probably as dim as a wet match in a dark cave. They're probably going to have labels on the balls-y'know, something that says BLUDGER on a Bludger or something-so they won't get them mixed up with people's heads." He shot back, and Hugo could not help but laugh. Rose giggled into her pumpkin juice.

"Scorpius is a sharp Seeker though; he's quick on that broom of his, and his reflexes seem to be on par. Damien's speedy too, but I don't think his reaction time is as good." Hugo stated in an almost business-like tone, reminiscent of his mother. Albus stared at his younger cousin with wide green eyes.

"Are you kidding? Remember the last game we had against Ravenclaw? Damien snatched that bloody Snitch right under my nose, literally!"

The argument darted back and forth like a serious tennis match, right up until supper was finished. This time the school was really riled up; everyone leaped out of their seats, eager to get good ones down at the Quidditch field. Mandy pulled on Rose's wrist as they followed their brothers and cousins out of the castle and into the cold air; they had brought their coats, hats, gloves and scarves down before supper so they did not have to waste time running up to their common rooms to retrieve them.

"See, this saves us at least five minutes, so now we have a good chance at getting some good seats for the game…" Randy exclaimed in the midst of the crowd; they had managed to get a bench on the first level of one of the stands. Rose pulled her gold and scarlet scarf up so that it covered her mouth. She wrung her gloved hands; despite the fact that she had little interest in Quidditch, she was quite excited to see Damien play. She had never seen him play before and according to what her friends and family were telling her he was one of the best around.

"Can't wait for Damien to come out, eh Rose?" Lisa was sitting beside her and she looked just as cold as she did; her voice was muffled behind her scarf and she had one arm looped around Albus'. Rose smiled for the both of them; they had been 'sort of' ("I wouldn't say it's actually a thing," Albus replied when she asked about them, "we're kind of just y'know, trying it out for now.") dating since the Halloween Ball.

"Of course I am, Lisa. With the lot of you constantly talking about him as if he's a god or something, why wouldn't I want to see him play?" She paused for a moment, and then hesitantly added, "Plus, I can't miss him beating Scorpius Malfoy."

Lisa grinned and Albus, who kind of overheard their conversation, leaned forwards so Rose could see his face, and gave them both the thumbs up.

"Byrne's got this for sure. Malfoy's a-"

Rose never got to hear the end of Albus' sentence because a high-pitched scream drowned him out. Though Jane was wearing earmuffs, she had her hands placed over them, her eyes clamped shut in agony. Hugo, Lily, Mandy, and Randy turned towards the noise, annoyed expressions on their faces.

"Oh, these are wonderful seats, Patricia! Thank you for saving them for my friends and I!"

Rose did not need to turn around to see where that voice came from, but she did so anyway. Tatia Schultz was the one who screamed in delight, and to Rose's dismay the prissy half-Veela and her three friends (who were not as attractive as her but they were still good looking; that was probably why Hugo and Randy's facial expressions changed when the turned around) were going to sit on the bench behind her. She groaned and slapped her forehead. Lisa laughed and patted her friend's shoulder in sympathy.

"Don't worry, Rose, they won't bother us. We'll cheer so loud our voices will drown them out."

"I'll try, Lisa, but I can only scream so many times. My vocal chords probably aren't as strong as hers." Rose muttered, vaguely remembering the time she heard Tatia's voice from the opposite side of the field. She turned back to the field, waiting for the game to start.

She really hoped she would not lose her hearing tonight.

--

"Damien Byrne is nothing. Ravenclaws are nothing. They won't have anything on us tonight." Scorpius said, his voice cutting cleanly through the icy air. The Slytherin Quidditch Team was huddled in a small circle just before the entrance to the vast field; it was tradition to have the captain give a small pep talk before they were introduced.

"Remember, the only Chaser you have to worry about is that Scamander fellow; make sure you knock him out as quickly as possible." Scorpius nodded towards the Goyle brothers, the sole Beaters of the Slytherin team, and nodded in reply. "Their Beaters are pansies, they can't beat a bloody Quaffle a mile down if that was even allowed." Several players snickered. "Just remember to stay on your toes. Use all of your strength. Don't hesitate to be aggressive; that's what we're all about."

Music began to play from outside, and Scorpius knew that it was time to start. He stepped backwards and motioned for everyone to mount their brooms.

"And now let's hear it for the currently undefeated Ravenclaw Quidditch Team!"

From the far end of the field Scorpius could see beams of blue and bronze shooting out and up into the sky; he knew the one leading the group was none other than the supposed Cedric Diggory of their time, Damien Byrne. He smirked as he watched Damien wave towards the crowd; that git was going to be the first one knocked down tonight.

"Now for tonight's second team, the also currently undefeated Slytherin Quidditch Team!" Ryan Jordan's voice echoed throughout the field; Scorpius immediately kicked off the floor and zoomed straight out into the field. He could hear jeering and cheering from all sides.

"SCORPIUS! SCORPIUS!"

Though she was screaming, Tatia Schultz's voice still sounded melodious, and he cringed as he stopped in the centre of the field. He did not even bother to wave at her.

"So here we are." Damien Byrne called out to him; he was a few metres away on his half of the field, his arms crossed and his legs dangling over his broom. Scorpius smirked and ran a hand through his hair.

"I'll try not to tackle you too hard, Byrne. Don't want you breaking a leg now." He sneered, and Byrne rolled his eyes. Madame Hooch was far beneath them, screaming out rules and regulations.

"I don't think I'll be the one getting hurt tonight, Malfoy." Damien said just before the Quaffle was thrown up into the air; Theodore Flint raced towards it, but he was beaten by Lysander Scamander, who grabbed it seconds before Theodore and zoomed down the field. Scorpius grabbed the end of his broomstick and began to circle the field, his eyes searching for the Snitch. He caught Damien on the opposite side of the field, doing the same thing.

Ten minutes had gone into the game and Ravenclaw had proved themselves to be a worthy opponent. The Quaffle was being tossed back and forth between the two teams and nobody has scored a point just yet, though there were many close calls. This pleased the crowd; Scorpius had never heard them so excited before.

Suddenly his ears picked up a faint buzzing noise, and he swerved around to his left; the Snitch was hovering a few metres away, twitching in all different sorts of directions. Smirking, he leaned forward and advanced towards it. When he was just about an arms' length away from snatching the Snitch and the game altogether, he felt a hard shove and was pushed off course; Damien had just shouldered him and was now heading for the Snitch.

"Oh, it looks like the two Seekers have finally located the Snitch! This is it, folks: will Damien Byrne take the win, or will Scorpius Malfoy grab it at the last second?"

This is it. Ryan Lee's voice echoed in Scorpius' head as he regained his composure and sped off to elbow Damien in the ribs. Damien cried out in pain but did not falter; instead he gave Scorpius a glare and dove straight down towards the ground. Scorpius followed suit and picked up speed; soon he was ahead of Damien. He could see the Snitch flitting away, just a few inches too far to reach out and grab.

"The two are really going at it for the Snitch!"

Scorpius twisted left and right in a sort of zigzag motion so Damien could not speed in front of him. He was closer to the Snitch now; he tried drowning out Tatia's overexcited screams so he could concentrate…

"SCORPIUS!"

That doesn't sound like Tatia…

He turned his head towards the crowd to confirm his suspicions.

The last thing he saw was a deep, rich bronze flash.

Then he felt a sharp pain at the back of his head, and everything went black.

--

Rose had to admit that the game was pretty intense; there had been no score on any of the teams since the game started because the defense was so tight, and the players had literally been duking it out. There was a lot of shoving, pushing, name calling-Madame Hooch was forced to foul a few players for their rotten sportsmanship. Damien was doing well so far; he and Scorpius were the only ones untouched. Their robes were still clean and their faces were not smudged with dirt or blood.

"Oh, look! I think Damien's found the Snitch." Thomas shouted animatedly, pointing towards a blurry blue and bronze shape on the field. Damien only looked blurry because he was flying so quickly; he collided straight into a blond boy clad in green and silver.

"DON'T LET HIM OVERTAKE YOU, SCORPIUS! GO, GO, GO! GET THE SNITCH!" Tatia was practically screeching over Rose's head; her poor eardrums were ringing.

Scorpius and Damien were neck to neck in the race for the Snitch; they gave it all they had to get at least within a metre of the Snitch's range.

"C'MON SCORPIUS! NO-NO, DON'T LET HIM SHOVE YOU LIKE THAT! YES, THAT'S IT! PUSH HIM OUT OF THE WAY!"

"ALRIGHT, NOW YOU'RE CLOSE! GO GET IT, SCORPIUS!"

"KICK THAT RAVENCLAW'S ARSE!"

"DON'T LET HIM GET TO YOU, SCORPIUS!"

Rose could feel a vein pulsing in her forehead; she was going to explode if she heard Tatia's voice one more time. Lorcan and Lisa eyed her worriedly.

Shout my name as loud as you can. Drown everyone out.

His velvety smooth voice echoed in her mind, and she smirked to herself. So she would be keeping her promise after all…

Rose turned around quickly to give Tatia a pointed stare. She then turned back towards the field and cupped her hands around her mouth. She drew back, taking in a large breath of air, and shouted the loudest she had ever shouted in her life:

"SCORPIUS!"

She definitely kept her promise; her voice rang through the air as clear and loud as a gunshot; everyone turned to look at her, even the people that were sitting in the stands from across the field. Her voice overpowered everybody's; Tatia's voice was a whisper compared to hers.

Scorpius even stopped for a bit to find the source of the scream; his glorious white blond head had turned towards her, and she swore she saw his eyes darting over to her. Her heart accelerated, her veins pulsing wildly...

He was too distracted by her scream to notice the small black ball zooming in his direction.

She gasped and opened her mouth to shout a warning, but it was too late. The Bludger hit Scorpius square at the back of his head and he crumpled, tumbling off of his broom and spiraling towards the ground.