A/N: Alright, here's the next chapter! We're in the summer before sixth year.

Chapter 2

Scorpius and I continued our hostility right through to Uncle Harry's birthday dinner the summer before sixth year. It was the first time Al invited Scorpius, and I can't say I was too pleased with it. However, what was I supposed to do? I couldn't very well say anything about it. I'd just have to grin and bear it.

"Alright, let's go! Mum'll have a fit if we're late," Aunt Ginny interrupted, herding us all towards the fireplace. James appeared with a 'pop' behind Ginny, causing her to jump about a foot in the air. She turned to scold her son, who had just turned 17 last month, but he merely grinned at us before waving, turning on the spot, and disappearing again with another 'pop'. "I swear to Merlin…" Aunt Ginny muttered, turning back around to turn her attention to us.

"He's been doing that all summer. It was funny at first, but then he started doing it to me, too," Al told us in an undertone as Aunt Ginny and my mum started ushering Lily and Hugo into the fireplace, "Bit annoying, really."

I smirked, remembering the one time James had 'popped in' while I was visiting Al. I swear, the kid jumped three feet in the air and screamed like a girl. It was hilarious.

The moment I arrived, I headed for the kitchen, knowing that was where Grandma would be. As soon as she saw me, she bustled over to wrap her arms around me tightly, causing the breath to whoosh out of me, but I didn't mind. I returned the hug, smiling widely. I loved Grandma Weasley. After me, every other Potter and Weasley child lined up to have the air sucked out of them in one of the very same bone-crushing hugs she'd given me. Even though Albus complained, we all knew he loved Grandma's hugs just as much as the rest of us.

After the hugs had been issued, Al having been the last to receive one, we started to separate when Grandma spotted Scorpius hanging back at the fringe of the group, hands shoved in his pockets awkwardly. She smiled warmly, walking through the group in her regular, hurried steps, spreading her arms wide when she reached him.

"Scorpius dear, so good to see you again," She exclaimed, wrapping him in a tight hug as well. He looked surprised for a moment, as did I, I'm sure. It wasn't the first time Scorpius had come to the Burrow, but it was certainly the first time I'd seen him welcomed so warmly. Although, I guess I hadn't really stuck around to see him welcomed before.

Dom and I spent the rest of the time before dinner outside talking about a lot of trivial things. Once the call came for dinner, we headed to join the cluster of people that was normal for our family. I smiled as I surveyed the chaos. It was fun, sometimes, to watch it all unfold. I took my seat and glanced up only to have the smile drop off my face. I was staring right into the eyes of Scorpius Malfoy.

Great. The table was probably a mile long, and I happened to pick the seat across from Malfoy. Or maybe he picked the one across from me? Whichever way it went, we were seated across from each other, and I wasn't happy about it. Seeing him across from me was almost enough to make me lose my appetite.

A throat cleared loudly, and I looked up to see Albus giving me an exasperated yet pleading look. I rolled my eyes, having seen that look before. He should know by now that I was not about to put on a smile for Malfoy. Not even close.

I had just taken a huge swig of my juice when Scorpius spoke up. "So, Weasley, what exactly are you hiding under that shirt of yours?"

I choked on my juice almost immediately, definitely not expecting his question. Dom smacked me on the back, looking alarmed, until I regained my composure enough to retort, "Wouldn't you like to know."

He smirked suggestively and I allowed a shudder of disgust to course through my body. The smirk only widened.

"You're disgusting," I muttered, pushing food around on my plate.

He shrugged, "You're the one who brought it up."

My temper flared, "Actually-"

"Guys!" Albus interrupted, annoyance colouring his tone, "Stop it! Merlin, I've had about enough of you two."

"Don't look at me," I snapped defensively. How could Al possibly blame me for any of this? It was obviously his best mate being a prat that started it all.

"Oh lay off, Rose. You're not innocent in this. You two are always at each other's throats. Just bloody cut it out already."

My cheeks flushed in a mixture of anger and embarrassment. I was sure most of the kids were staring at us by now. Scorpius muttered a 'sorry' before the two boys were back to grinning and shoving each other like kids. I rolled my eyes again. They were so immature.

All of this brings us to the turning point in our relationship, that very same night.

"Rose, can I have a word?" Albus asked, startling me a little.

I turned from the kitchen sink, a wry smile twisting my lips. "You can have several."

His lips didn't even twitch. "Seriously, Rose, this has got to stop. It's gone on long enough. You need to stop overreacting to everything he says. He doesn't mean it to offend you. It's just how he is."

I clenched my jaw, not knowing what to say to his perfectly reasonable request. To be honest, Scorpius hadn't technically insulted me in about a year. We just traded barbs and irritated each other. There shouldn't be a reason for me to so strongly dislike him, besides the obvious of him being a total player. Though, I guess I couldn't dislike him based solely on that. Yes, I probably overreacted, although I would never admit to conceding that point.

"Can't you just give him a chance? Do you really think so poorly of my judgement to believe I'm lying when I say he's a good guy?"

Still with the silence. My brain whirled trying to come up with something concrete that I could use against him, but it came up blank.

"Please, just try to be nice, for me?" He pleaded.

I looked to the Quidditch pitch, where our cousins almost had the teams sorted, and back at Albus, sighing noisily. "I will if he does."

And so I swallowed my pride for the sake of my best friend.

And, of course, because he's Albus, and he takes a mile when you give him an inch, he thought it would be good for our 'truce' if Scorpius and I were pushed together as much as humanly possible over the summer.

"Al, I don't know what more you want from me. That's all I can do," I snapped tiredly as he opened his mouth. The rest of Uncle Harry's birthday supper had passed in relative silence from me. While not exactly what I imagined Albus had in mind, ignoring the bloke fell within the boundaries of my promise to be nice to him. I couldn't very well be mean if I wasn't speaking to him, now could I?

"I know, and I wanted to say thank you. Do you want to, um, come hang out tomorrow?" He asked, hope colouring his features. Seeing my hesitance, he rushed on, "It won't just be me and him. Ben and Gage are coming, too."

Gage McDonnell was a Slytherin in our year. You would think, given my intense dislike of Scorpius, I'd also have some sort of problem with Gage, but I didn't. I wasn't completely prejudiced against Slytherins, just Malfoys.

Finally, I caved to the hopeful look on my best friend's face. He really needed to stop doing that. "Fine. I'm supposed to hang out with Dom and Emily tomorrow. I'll see if they want to come."

Al grinned for what must have been the millionth time that day as I took a handful of floo powder. "Thanks, Rosie!"

"One condition."

His face fell. "What?"

I kept my face dead serious until the last second, allowing a grin as I said, "Stop calling me Rosie."

He chuckled. "Not a chance, Rosie."

And so, I convinced the two of them to accompany me to Potter Manor for the day. Of course, they didn't really need convincing since, as they so readily pointed out, they didn't have unexplained grudges against Scorpius. They even forced me into a fitted top for the occasion instead of my regular baggy t-shirts. Dom was ecstatic that I'd finally caved after her years of trying to convince me to broaden my wardrobe. So I liked comfort, sue me.

"So, what was up with you last night? You barely spoke to Scorpius after dinner, and you didn't snipe at each other like you usually do."

I studied my comforter as I mumbled, "Al asked us to call a truce."

"And you're going to? Just like that?" She asked, sounding doubtful.

"I guess so."

"What makes this time different from all of the other millions of times he's asked?"

I hesitated before answering, trying to come up with the reason. Finally, I just had to settle on, "I'm not exactly sure."

Dom shrugged, taking that as a good enough answer, and started babbling about a shopping trip she was planning to take next week, and trying to convince me to come along. I vehemently refused, claiming a severe shopping allergy. I had no interest in repeating last year's trip she'd forced me on. She rolled her eyes at me good-naturedly. Thankfully, I was spared from further harassment by the sound of Emily's footsteps outside my door.

"So, in continuing my truce with Malfoy, Albus asked if we wanted to go over there today and hang out. Gage and Ben will be there," I blurted out once she joined us. No going back now.

"Two days in a row, Rose?" Dom asked, "I'm impressed."

"It's not that big of a deal," I muttered.

"Um, it kind of is. This time last year, no, this time last week you would not be caught dead suggesting we do this," Emily contributed, brushing her medium-length, curly blonde hair behind a shoulder.

"Well, I'm trying to give Al what he wants, ok?"

Dom held up her hands in surrender. "Ok, sorry. Let's go!"

"Seriously?" I asked, "You guys are actually ok with this?"

Em shrugged, "Why wouldn't we be?"

I bit back a defensive retort, recognizing that I really didn't have a legitimate one. "Ok, then. Let's go."

Emily sighed, "Hold up. You need to change first."

I frowned, "What's wrong with what I'm wearing?"

Dominique replied, "That shirt is shapeless."

I crossed my arms in front of my chest defensively. "What's wrong with that?"

Emily turned back, clutching a hooded jumper that was a size too big for me, with an eyebrow raised. I really wished I could do that. "You actually have to ask?"

"I love that!" I protested as she hung it back in my closet and continued browsing.

"Case and point," Dom replied.

"We're just going to Albus's. I don't see what the big deal is. He's our cousin, Dom," I pointed out.

"Yes, but Scorpius, Ben, and Gage are not our cousins."

"Doesn't mean I have to get dressed up for them. I really don't care what Malfoy thinks of me to be honest."

"Like you haven't made that clear enough already. It's not just Malfoy there."

I let it go with a sigh. Despite myself, I surveyed the other two. Dom wore skinny jeans, boots, and a sparkly gold top with a fitted jacket, while Emily was dressed in ripped jeans and a pink patterned top that flowed out. Looking down at myself, in my jeans and plain t-shirt, I realized they may have a point. Even though they were both just coming over here to hang out, they'd still made some sort of effort. Truthfully, when I was getting dressed this morning, I'd just grabbed the first shirt I saw. After what felt like forever, Em seemed satisfied with some shirt in the back of my closet and slipped it off its hangar, tossing it at me. I caught it quickly and grimaced. "No."

"No? Come on, it's cute!"

"No. Mum got this for me ages ago."

"And it's cute!"

The shirt in question was a charcoal gray, tight-fitted, strapless top. There were little embellishments under the bust. It wasn't my style.

Seeing they wouldn't convince me to wear it, Em sighed and turned back to my closet. She settled on a plain charcoal grey tank top, just because she loved the colour so much. I protested that choice as well, but could see I would get nowhere this time. I would just have to deal with it riding up as it always did. I hadn't thought that one through when I'd bought it on last year's shopping trip. Luckily, they didn't comment on my ponytail and my jeans were deemed acceptable, so we were allowed to go.

I stumbled out of the fireplace, graceful as always, and almost ran smack into Albus.

"Glad to see your balance has improved, Rosie," He said with a teasing smile.

"Sorry to see your face hasn't," I retorted easily, before a snort of laughter brought it to my attention that we weren't alone. Scorpius was standing across the room, leaning against the doorframe.

"Malfoy," I nodded in his direction, remembering my truce agreement.

"Weasley," He returned my nod. Albus looked pleased that we were still being civil.

Anything else we might have said was interrupted by the arrival of Dom, who stepped gracefully out of the fireplace.

"See, Rosie, that's how you do it," Albus grinned.

"I thought we agreed you weren't going to call me that."

"Nope. I remember no such agreement."

At that precise moment, Emily emerged, and Scorpius started out of the room, the rest of us following suit.

After all was said and done, I realized it really wasn't that difficult for Scorpius and I to be cordial to one another. It was also startling to see the guys' reactions to my fitted top. They looked almost shocked that yes, I do have curves.

Of course, the most interesting part of the afternoon occurred right as we were leaving.

As we were heading toward the fireplace to head back to my house, we caught James bounding down the stairs. Usually, he would just continue on his way, but he suddenly stopped short.

"Hey," He said, grinning. I frowned. That was the smile he pulled out when he wanted to charm someone. Out of the three of us girls, two were related to him, and I was sure he hadn't switched teams without notifying us, so that left one possibility. I turned behind me to confirm, and wasn't disappointed. Emily smiled back politely along with Dom, who also looked slightly confused at his sudden desire to be polite. I grinned, turning back to James and giving him a look that clearly said "you're not subtle." His cheeks tinted slightly pink as he caught my gaze, and he promptly excused himself, pausing only to glance back once before almost running straight into the doorframe. I snorted, only getting more confused looks as I stepped into the fireplace.

Emily left as soon as we got back, and I was left to be cornered by Dom.

"What was up with James?" She asked as she studied her nails. I could tell it was just a lead-in to what she actually wanted to say.

I grinned, "Isn't it obvious? He was totally staring at Em."

"Seriously?!"

"You didn't notice?"

"No! OHMIGOD that is so awesome!" I swear Dom didn't even take a breath between the sentences.

"Dom, you know how James is, and he was just looking at her. It didn't mean anything necessarily."

"I guess," She conceded. "You know, none of those guys could take their eyes off you in that tank top," She pointed out after a brief pause, attempting subtlety. She was about as good at it as James. "Scorpius especially."

I rolled my eyes. "So? I basically just disproved his theory that I'm secretly a man. He's bound to be crushed."

Dom scoffed, "Oh please. Those were not 'damn all my hard work was just squashed' eyes; they were just 'damn' eyes."

It was my turn to scoff, "Please, Dom."

"It's true!"

"Don't you have somewhere to be? Like not here?" I finally asked, eliciting a cheeky grin from her. "Oh," I called out as she was halfway out my bedroom door, "Are you still, uh, planning on that shopping trip next week?" I finished, swallowing my pride.

Her grin widened, "What about that allergy?"

"I found a potion that will make it bearable."

Dom only laughed, squealing in excitement at having finally convinced me to go shopping with her again. What had I gotten myself into?

The shopping trip, despite my horrible expectations, turned out to be not so bad. Dom even went so far as to grab all of my old shirts (except for a select few of my favourites that she begrudgingly let me keep) and tie them into bags. I don't know where she took them, and she told me I never would. She always did love being over dramatic.

Nothing was mentioned about the Emily incident again until our trip to Diagon Alley, during which my suspicions were confirmed.

Dom, Albus, and I walked at a leisurely pace through the winding Alley. James fell into step beside me as we passed the ice cream parlor, trying to look casual and failing.

"So, how are you three doing this fine day?" He asked after a moment of silence. I smirked. I knew exactly what this was about.

"Oh we're alright. You?" I returned, barely containing my laughter.

"Good, good," He answered and waited a beat before asking, "So, that blonde friend of yours-"

"Emily?" I supplied.

"Yeah, Emily. How come I haven't seen her before?"

"You have definitely seen her before, James."

He looked taken aback. "What? When?"

"We've known each other since first year."

He was silent, obviously trying to puzzle out why he hadn't taken notice of her before.

"Why do you ask?" I finally allowed myself the pleasure of his discomfort.

I wasn't disappointed. "No reason…"

"You sure about that, brother?" Al joined in, grinning. He enjoyed any opportunity to watch James squirm.

James's cheeks tinted pink. He, Albus, and I were the only three in the family who hadn't inherited the 'Weasley Blush,' a fact that Dominique was eternally jealous of.

"You know what? Why don't you just shove off?" He muttered defensively. "I have to go meet Fred."

As he departed, I started laughing, with Al and Dominique joining in.

"Where did your brother inherit his amazing subtlety?" Dom asked, still giggling.

"From Uncle Ron I imagine," Al muttered, staring after his older brother with an unexplained look in his eye.

The rest of the summer flew by, and soon we were boarding the Hogwarts express. James, ever the role model, made Head Boy, and wasn't hesitant to use his authority to show off.

"Hey, remember, Prefect's Carriage soon as the train leaves, Rosie!" James called to me, and then paused to smile at Emily before hurrying away again.

James showed up five minutes late for the meeting, the prat.

Sixth year seemed to fly by. Dominique's make-over garnered a lot of male attention from the second I stepped on the platform. At first, the lingering double-takes made me uncomfortable, but once I got used to them, I decided I liked it. It was nice to be looked at the way Dom was. Of course, I really didn't expect anything to come of the make-over.

"So the whole school's at the Halloween feast, and Rose Weasley sits alone in the library."

I looked up at the vaguely familiar voice, staring straight into the green eyes of Adrian Davies, a Ravenclaw in my year. Adrian was almost as notorious for his many women as Scorpius was, meaning he was completely attractive.

"Adrian, right?" I asked, trying to appear nonchalant. In all honesty, my two short-term relationships had not prepared me for this kind of conversation with this kind of guy.

He looked slightly put out that I had to clarify, which I decided I liked. It was fun, catching him off guard. A guy like Adrian was used to having girls worship at his feet, much like Scorpius. Maybe it would be good to knock him down a few pegs.

From then on out, I could not shake Adrian Davies, no matter how hard I tried. Finally, I broke down and accepted his fifth offer to go out with him, mainly just to shut him up. Once he spent more time with me, there was no way he'd want a second date. It was by far the easiest solution to the problem. Of course, Dom and Emily saw no problem. It was, after all, Adrian Davies.

"Oh, come off it Rose, it's one date. With Adrian Davies. You can't not be excited about it. This is the dream of so many of the female population, and you get to live it!" Dom gushed.

I scoffed. "Right."

"Seriously, just give him a chance. He might surprise you," Emily added, a small smile on her face.

"Who are we talking about?" Albus asked, dropping into the seat next to me. I grimaced. I'd been trying to keep my date quiet.

"Rose is going on the next Hogsmeade trip with Adrian," Dom supplied, grinning.

"Adrian Davies?" Al clarified, looking horror-struck.

"Yes, Adrian Davies, Albus. Do you have a problem with that?" I asked, bristling at the overprotective look that had taken residence upon his face.

"I just don't know if he's the right sort for you, that's all," He hedged.

"Oh really? Is that so? Well, maybe I don't really care what you think. I don't need a bodyguard, Al," I snapped, standing and heading for the dormitory.

"Nice work, cousin," I heard Dominique say cheerily behind me, "Before you came along she was actually considering calling it off."

As cliché as this will sound, there actually was more the Adrian than met the eye. Despite my expectations, the date went well, and he surprised me by wanting a second, third, and so on. Even more surprising, I wanted to get to know him just as much as he wanted to know me. He made me giddy, and that was a feeling I had yet to experience. Adrian was my first long-term relationship, my first love, and some firsts I'd care not to mention. A girl does need some privacy, after all.

Even more surprising to some than my unexpected relationship was that Scorpius and I remained cordial to each other throughout the year. There was minimal sniping back and forth, mainly just a lot of ignoring each other, but by the end of the year we had developed a sort of civil rapport. Friendly, but not friends. I would not be friends with Scorpius. I would be nice to him for Albus's sake. I would put up with his presence. I would not be friends with him.

Although, I also said I wasn't going to ever be nice to him, either.

The entirety of my schooling culminated in the one year that truly changed everything. It forced me to once again reconsider preconceived notions, and to discover a lot about myself I hadn't fully understood before. It was my final year at Hogwarts, the final year before the rest of my life began and, though I wouldn't admit it to anyone, I was terrified. I knew what was expected of me, as the eldest child of Hermione and Ronald Weasley, but I also knew what the reality of the situation was: I had no idea what I actually wanted to do with my life. My parents expected me to go into some branch of the Ministry or an equally respectable profession, of course, but did I really want that? My one desire in life was to be happy and to do that I needed to live up to my potential, but what did that mean, exactly?

I'd spent a long summer alone, considering all of my possible options. Nothing Dom or Emily tried could get me out of my funk. That kind of thing happens when your boyfriend dumps you under the pretense of a need to re-evaluate over the summer break. I, being Rose Weasley, didn't let it affect me. Instead, I threw myself into as much career research as possible. Trying to determine what one wanted to do with the rest of their lives at 17 was a daunting task, to say the least. I had no idea how everyone else had it all figured out. Albus was going to be an Auror, just like Uncle Harry, Dominique was going to open a boutique in Diagon Alley designing her own clothes. Even James and Fred had decided to take on internships under Dad and Uncle George in Weasley's Wizard Wheezes straight after Hogwarts. The eventual goal was to have James and Fred run the Hogsmede location Uncle George had opened a few years back. Everyone had it all figured out, except for me. Strange that I was the one everyone assumed had it all together, and yet I was the only one with pieces of my puzzle missing. The only thing I wanted to have figured out was the one thing I couldn't decide upon. I desperately wanted someone to tell me what to do, but I knew that wouldn't solve my problem. Instead, after a long month of trying to sort it all out, I finally decided to take a break and head over to Albus's. It was the night of Uncle Harry's family birthday dinner, and it was tradition that I make an appearance at Potter Manor beforehand. It would be good for me to engage in some normalcy.

This year I was 17, and as such, I could apparate outside the front door instead of using Floo powder. I much preferred apparition over Flooing.

"Hey, Rosie!" A loud pop caused me to jump about a foot in the air. Instead of answering the door like a normal person, Albus chose to apparate outside it after I knocked. He was more like his brother than he cared to admit.

"I swear to Merlin, if you don't quit that-" My threat was cut off mid-sentence by another 'pop' signalling Albus's disappearance. Angered, I turned the doorknob and entered the house. Stupid idiot complained about his brother doing it and then what does he do all bloody summer?

I expected to see my cousin just inside the door, but of course, that would be too easy. Instead, I was left to climb the stairs to his room and knock on the bedroom door. Albus and I had learned at a young age that knocking was essential.

The door started to swing open, and I prepared a look of annoyance on my features. Until the person on the other side of it was revealed, that is.

It wasn't Albus. It was Scorpius Malfoy, and he was shirtless.

A/N: Ok, so this was originally completely different, but I felt like starting in sixth year would waste far too much time, and it would be better to just go over the highlights instead.