Rose
I enjoyed leaving Scorpius in the lurch, being all mysterious and that. And the look on his face that I managed to observe via the blessing known as peripheral vision was priceless; I thought I might give that player a run for his money.
But emotion is rarely a one-way street, and no matter what I did, I couldn't get the feel of Scorpius' arms around me, the shyness in his voice as he'd asked whether we were "hugging friends." The way he smiled when he told me I was "exactly right."
It was Monday, and I had thought of him for the fiftieth time that day. Exasperated, I banged my head against the wall.
"Er… Rose? Are you all right?" the voice of Lily Potter asked. She put her hand on my shoulder.
"No. I'm dead."
She giggled. "Rose Weasley in trouble? Now that's something you don't see every day."
"No, well, I'm not in trouble now, exactly," I said, turning around to face her. "But I—I, um—can we talk later?"
"Yeah. Prefects' bathroom, after class?"
"No!" I cried before she even finished. The last thing I need is for Scorpius to overhear me saying I might possibly maybe just a little bit be attracted to him. He does not need more fodder for his ego, and I don't need the embarrassment. "Anyway, you're not a prefect!"
Lily put up her hands in an appeasing gesture. "So where?"
"Umm… Moaning Myrtle's bathroom?"
Lily raised her eyebrows. "You won't talk in the prefects' bathroom but you'll let Myrtle hear your problems?"
"Well, S—the boy won't be able to go in there, will he? So she can't blab."
"She's been known to hide out in the prefects' bathroom."
"So there's a fifty-fifty chance she won't be there when we talk! See you later, Lily, I have to get to class." I got about halfway down the hall by the time a particular piece of what I had said had sunk in.
"Wait—it's about a boy?" I just smirked and walked off, not bothering to answer.
I took especially good notes during Charms, because I needed something, anything to occupy my mind, which was a million miles away. Well, not a million miles. Probably, knowing Scorpius' schedule through Albus, more like two or three classrooms away.
Damn it, I thought, packing up, why him? Of all people, why did I have to get (adjectives belittling the situation) attracted to him? It's certainly not love. And I know he's good-looking, so that could be it, but… I mean, a whole school of boys, and my fool heart has to pick him. I sighed. It's uncanny.
I nearly ran to Moaning Myrtle's bathroom, desperate to get this off my chest and off my mind. Unfortunately, I ran into the last person I wanted to see on the way.
"You know, Weasley," he drawled, "I'm honored that you're so eager to see me, but we do have Potions tomorrow. Surely you could wait till then to throw yourself into my arms?"
I gritted my teeth, exasperated and a little hurt. "If you know what's good for you, Star Boy, you'll shut your slobbering mouth before I kill you."
"Well, pardon me for assuming that I was the reason you were so flustered and hurried, as you did run straight into my chest. Whither are you going in such a hurry, then?"
I was about to give him a sharp retort when I thought of a better response. Somehow I sensed that this would goad him more than what I had been about to say. "I," I said, smirking, "am going to see Lorcan Scamander. So if you'll excuse me—"
"Wha—Lorcan? You can't be serious! He's a fucking third year!" He grabbed my wrist.
"Love has no age! And whether I'm serious is for you to decide, Malfoy. See you around." I twisted myself out of his grasp and dashed up the stairs and into Myrtle's bathroom, heart skipping beats at what I was certain was jealousy in his eyes. Lily was waiting for me, raising her eyebrows.
"I take it you saw your young swain on the way here?"
"He's not my young swain." I sighed, sliding down the door into a sitting position. "And I guess that's kind of the problem. He's everybody's young swain."
"Everybody's young—who the hell is he?" Lily asked, eyes burning with curiosity.
I cleared my throat. "I, er—well, I might, just a little bit, you understand, maybe, possibly be just a tad… attractedtoScorpiusMalfoy."
Lily stared at me. "Scorpius Malfoy? What exactly did you just say about Scorpius Malfoy?"
"I'm—I—I—you heard what I said!"
"No, I—"
"I said I might—oh whatever! I'm attracted to Scorpius fucking Malfoy!"
Moaning Myrtle chose that moment to materialize. "You're attracted to Scorpius Malfoy? I mean, I don't blame you, but ooh, that's rough."
Lily blinked at me. "Oh my god. I'm—I'm sorry, Rose."
"Look, it's not like I said I was in love with him! I said I was maybe attracted, but that's not the same thing!"
"Then why do you care? If it's just a passing crush?"
"I—I—I—" I was red as a beet. "Look, I am not in love with Scorpius Malfoy. I can't be in love with Scorpius Malfoy."
"Why not?"
I spluttered, horrified at the suggestion. "Because—I mean—obvious reasons, okay? Our parents hate each other. The fact that I'm a Gryffindor and he's a Slytherin. The fact that he has probably slept with half of the girls in this school, and will doubtless sleep with the other half over the course of his final two years here. And the fact that we're constantly at each other's throats!"
"I can think of zillions of ways to fix those problems," said Lily, waggling her eyebrows.
"Oh god, Lily, no…"
"Rose, are you in love with him?"
I took a few breaths. I thought of his arms around me, his laugh, all the cliché things that one notices about one's love. And I thought of other things, too. The way he looked when he was boiling with rage, and how he looked when he was bored—a montage of all his moods and habits and little quirks. Shit, how did I notice all of that? Either I'm really observant or… "Oh my fucking god."
Lily and Myrtle grinned. "Having a life-changing realization? Namely, that you have the hots for Scorpius Malfoy?"
I put my head between my knees. "Ohh, what am I going to do?"
"Seduce him! Beat him at his own game!"
I looked up at Lily, horrified. "What did you just say?"
"Seduce him. Put the moves on him. Use your womanly wiles!"
"I don't have womanly wiles!"
"Sure you do, Rosie! What was that self-satisfied smirk on your face when you came in?"
"Oh—well—I just—I told him that I was going to see Lorcan instead of talking to you."
Lily's mouth dropped open. "Rose Weasley toyed with someone! With a boy!"
I waved a hand, annoyed. "Yes, yes, what's so important about that?"
"So you can do it! You can have that boy wrapped around your finger!"
I went an astonishing shade of cerise, and cursed my father for passing the Weasley blush on to me. "I mean, I don't know… Scorpius Malfoy? Really? The playboy of all playboys?"
"Sure, Rose! And I'll help you!"
Myrtle looked excited. "Oh, let me help!"
I sighed. "I guess I'll need all the help I can get." Those ten words probably qualify as the most regrettable utterance I have ever said in my life.
