To my delight, Scorpius stuck with his suggestion that we would be friends after we reached Hogwarts. I was slightly surprised at first -no one usually liked hanging out with me- but I soon got used to it, and learned to enjoyed his company very much.
We would countless hours after and between classes out on the school grounds, (when the weather wasn't too cold) or just sitting around inside. He would tell me about his house and his family, and I would tell him about mine. Sometimes we would merely sit together while we did homework- but even at that, I loved spending time with him.
He made me feel as if I belonged, which was a feeling that I usually never felt. We had so many similarities that it was almost as if we knew each other our whole life. Scorpius became my best friend, and I his.
It didn't bother me in the slightest that he was a year older than me, except for the fact that we could never have classes together. Apparently he had been skipped up a year ahead of his age, so we were actually around the same age. He wasn't in my house either- he was in Ravenclaw while I was in Gryffindor myself. Neither of us spent very much time in our common rooms; I because I didn't have any friends there, and he because he said that he preferred being with me than his colleagues.
A week into the school semester, I was walking by myself towards my class, when someone stopped me.
I looked up, feeling slightly wary; when I wasn't with Scorpius, many people would stop me to either jeer at the fact that I was always with a boy, or to demand if we were dating. We weren't, of course, because Scorpius only thought of me as a friend- and I thought the same way about him.
To my surprise, it was my cousin, Rose, and she didn't look happy. In fact, her eyes were portraying the anger she felt. "Why are you spending so much time with Scorpius?" she spat.
For a moment I was confused- Rose hadn't shown any sign of disapproval about my friendship with him- but then I realized the only times I had seen her throughout this week was when she was with her friends, and she wouldn't have dared make a scene in front of them.
"What do you mean? We're just friends," I said timidly. Whenever I was alone, I usually would regain my shyness.
Rose tapped her foot impatiently. "You have no right to hang out with him," she snarled. "I told you that I liked him!" She glared at me. "Have you no respect for my feelings?"
I was slightly shocked- if anything, it would be her with no respect for my feelings. I hadn't forgotten how she had spoken to me and ignored me throughout first year.
"I'm not doing anything wrong; you can't control who I'm friends with." I said bravely.
"Oh really?" Rose smirked. "Uncle Harry wouldn't be too pleased to know that you're hanging out with a Malfoy."
I didn't flinch. "Your father would be more upset if he found out his daughter had a crush on Malfoy." I was pleased at how my self-esteem had grown since I had been friends with him. "And besides, I already told my dad about him in my letters." This wasn't a lie; I had owled my father every other day, and in almost every letter I had mentioned my friendship with Scorpius. He didn't seem to have a problem with it.
Rose glared at me, and paced around me in agitated circles. She made me dizzy.
"You like lots of boys- you never had any particular interest in Scorpius." I pointed out reasonably.
Rose's eyes flashed. "Don't you understand?" she spat. "If you get together with him instead of me-"
"-That's not going to happen-" I tried to interrupt her, but another glare from her silenced me.
"-Then it would be a blow to my status." She said passionately. "People wouldn't take me seriously anymore."
I couldn't help but gape at her for a moment. "A status of what? Of being a tramp?" My temper was rising- how could my cousin be so shallow?
She looked slightly shocked as I insulted her- I usually would never insult anyone. "If I find out you're still hanging out with him, you're going to pay." She hissed. And with that, she marched off, leaving me alone.
How could I stop hanging out with him? How could my cousin be so selfish? I had never had a friend before- and she was willing to take my first friend away, just to keep her status up?
I wouldn't stop seeing him- I couldn't. I felt like crying- what exactly had Rose meant by 'you're going to pay'? Would she get her bully-friends to beat me up?
Somehow I found myself on the floor, tears pooling in my eyes. I leaned against the wall, hugging my knees to my chest.
Realization hit me like a stone- if I didn't stop seeing Scorpius, bad things would happen.
Authors Note:
Sorry for a short chapter- I'm half-way done with the third one, which will most likely be longer!
Thanks for all the reviews!
