Chapter 7

The second day of classes went just as well as the first. The same speeches were repeated once again, and we suffered through them in bored silence. Yesterday, we'd been a bit more anxious, but it kind of lost that quality after it was repeated more than three times. Al, Emily, Scorpius, and I had double potions after lunch, and Professor Derrick didn't disappoint us.

"This year will be a test: a test of your knowledge, a test of your skills. You will face challenges in this class that will push the boundaries of your capabilities. Those of you wishing to be Aurors will find out if you truly have what it takes. I will be testing you under pressure at least once a month to see how well you handle it. I will also be constantly changing up the groups this year. You need to be used to working with anyone and everyone, because the real world doesn't let you pick your partners. To begin you may work with the person you are sitting beside. We will be brewing…"

I tuned out the rest of what Professor Derrick was saying as I flipped to the correct page in my book. This year was definitely going to be intense. I looked over at Al sitting beside Scorpius and wondered vaguely how he would do working with other classmates. For the past six years Al and Scorpius had only been partners with each other. By this point, they knew each other so well I wasn't sure if they would be able to perform as well with anyone else. At least this would prepare Al for Auror training a bit. As far as I knew, Scorpius had no intentions of becoming an Auror. I really didn't know what he planned to do, but I'm sure it didn't involve the Ministry of Magic in any way. As my dad always said, everyone would think the Ministry was mad the day it employed a Malfoy again.

My meeting with Professor Longbottom was a week after classes started. I was already so bogged down by homework that I hadn't even considered what I was going to say to the Head of Gryffindor House. I had no idea what I wanted to do. I knew what interested me, but there was no way I could make a career out of it. Best to just leave it be.

"So, Miss Weasley, how is your term coming along so far?" Professor Longbottom asked, smiling warmly as I sat.

"So far so good. A lot of work, though," I replied, laughing a bit.

"Ah, yes. I remember my seventh year. It was a tad different than all the others," he told me, referring to its interruption by the War, "But once I went back to finish it up, the workload was definitely taller than a giant."

I liked Professor Longbottom's approachability, and I knew it was a big factor in his popularity among the students. It still felt like he understood what we were going through and could relate to us.

"So, have you given any thought to what you'd like to do after graduation? When we spoke in fifth year you mentioned, er, now where did I put that…?" He trailed off, sifting through the papers in the folder. He was a bit disorganized. "Right. Here we are. You mentioned going into the Ministry after school. The, er, Muggle Relations department, correct?"

"Yes." Before I knew it I was spewing lies. I told him that I was still interested in Muggle Relations, and smiled as he gave me the brochure and checked my schedule to make sure I was on track. I kept the charade up right until I walked out the door, sighing in relief as it closed behind me. Thank Merlin that was over. I headed back to the dorm, dropping the brochure on the table as I walked through the common area. I retrieved my Potions book from my trunk and brought it back out to the table only to find Scorpius already there, brochure in hand.

"Muggle Relations? Really, Weasley?" He asked, frowning.

"Yes. What's wrong with that?" I snapped, snatching the brochure from him.

"Nothing," he said, holding his hands up in defence, "I just didn't peg you as one who would be happy dealing with Muggles for the rest of her life."

"There's nothing wrong with Muggles. My grandparents are Muggles."

"That's different. They're your grandparents. They love you. You'd likely be dealing with Muggles who know about magic, but either don't like it, fear it, or are just generally annoying. You'd work with the Muggle Prime Minister a lot to spin press releases on magical incidents to make them suitable for the general Muggle population, and make sure we don't end up getting exposed and hunted down. Doesn't really seem like your thing."

"How do you know all of this?" I asked.

Scorpius shrugged, "My grandmother on my mother's side was in Muggle Relations for a while. Quit after about five years, saying they drove her batty."

"Oh. Well, I'm not decided on it yet. It's just an option."

He studied me shrewdly. "An option or a distraction to get people off your back about it?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Sure you don't."

He didn't give me a chance to reply before turning and heading to his room.

I met up with Adrian that night to do homework, though not much homework actually got done. The next few weeks proceeded in much the same manner. I knew no one could really understand why Adrian and I had gotten back together so quickly, and naturally rumors circulated that we'd just taken a break over the summer so we could see other people. I tried my best to ignore them, but Dominique made it a tad difficult when she repeated every single one of them back to me over dinner. She was very much against the reconciliation and was not shy about it. At least Al had the decency to stew in silence. I couldn't really understand why she was so opposed to it. I was happy, and that was all she claimed to want. Apparently that didn't extend to my being happy with Adrian.

One thing Dom was whole-heartedly supportive of, however, was my budding friendship with Scorpius. Despite our dislike of each other the last six years, sharing a dormitory had at least forced us to interact on a daily basis. Over the past few weeks, I would say that the animosity between us had almost disappeared. I was pretty sure I'd faked it for long enough that I'd almost made it. I couldn't put the tip of my wand on the exact moment it happened, but Scorpius's sense of humour was suddenly funny to me, instead of insulting. Maybe it was because I'd finally made the honest effort Albus was looking for, or maybe it was just because of our sudden close proximity making it a necessity. Either way, the two of us were actually getting along. The smug part of me was glad. If we could keep this up until the end of the year, everyone would lose the bet.

After some digging, I'd found out who'd chosen which month. Ben had February, Dominique took December, Em was January, Gage showed the least optimism in choosing October, James even put in for November. Albus showed the most faith in his two best friends, taking June. He claimed that if he could like both of us equally, then we should be able to get along with each other, though he acknowledged that we both kind of went off the wall around finals time, so we could very well manage to kill each other in a stress-induced frenzy. Of course, they didn't actually think we would kill each other in the literal sense, but perhaps a few well-aimed hexes.

Despite their months beginning to pass by and eliminating them from the betting pool, everyone seemed glad we were managing to get along. It was much easier on everyone when the two of us weren't at each other's throats all the time. The one person who wasn't happy about our developing friendship was Adrian. He took every opportunity to make sure I knew that, too. In truth, it was getting a bit irritating. It wasn't like there was anything going on between Scorpius and I. Adrian had no reason to be so jealous and possessive. He hardly left my side anymore. At first I was ok with it, considering it had been two months since we'd seen each other, but now I was starting to feel suffocated. If we weren't in class he insisted we meet in the library, or I would bring him back to the dorm with me. Scorpius would usually appear during those times, and Adrian would get all possessive and hostile, which usually ended in me suggesting we go to the library instead. I loved Adrian, really, but no matter how many times I said he didn't need to worry, he still made a big deal out of Scorpius. His inability to be mature about it was shocking to me. I'd hoped that he'd get over it as time went on and he saw that my sharing living space with another guy didn't mean I was going to cheat on him.

Alex wasn't helping matters any. Scorpius and I shared pretty much the same schedule, with only two different courses from each other. Of course, we were in Arithmancy and Ancient Runes together, and luckily for everyone, Alex was also in Arithmancy. She wasted no time in telling Adrian all about our interactions in each class afterward. It wasn't like we did anything inappropriate. We were sort of friends, if that. Adrian had a lot of friends who were girls and I wasn't a territorial witch about it.

"So how was class?' Adrian asked, kissing my cheek as he sat down beside me in the library.

"Good," I replied vaguely. I knew he was fishing for an account of my classes which included all interactions with Scorpius. I was not in the mood for this today. Was it too much to ask to just enjoy an afternoon with my boyfriend? Was it too much to ask that he trust me?

To his credit, Adrian seemed to pick up on my irritation. "So, the first Hogsmeade weekend is coming up next week. Want to go for the afternoon?"

I smiled. "Sure. I have to meet my parents in the morning, but want to meet in the Three Broomsticks at one o'clock?"

Adrian smiled. "Sounds perfect."

My homework load didn't improve over the week. In fact, by the time the Hogsmeade weekend rolled around, I was almost drowning in it. I had three feet of parchment and two diagrams due in Herbology, a chapter to read in Alchemy, two and a half feet of parchment in Potions, and a two-foot translation in Ancient Runes all due on Monday. I also needed to read two chapters of Muggle Studies, practise silent Vanishing, Levitation, and defensive spells, as well as finish the next patrol schedule for Tuesday. That wasn't even considering my homework for the rest of the week.

Which was why I woke myself at eight in the morning on the Saturday of the Hogsmeade trip in the hopes of getting at least one thing done before I spent the majority of the day with my parents and Adrian. I was much more awake than I thought I would be as I tied my hair up into a ponytail, not bothering to shower or change out of my pyjamas. It wasn't like I expected Scorpius to be awake. After all, it was eight on a Saturday. I selected the schoolwork I wanted to get done based on that assumption, and headed out into the common area so I wouldn't be tempted to go back to bed.

Imagine my surprise to find him seated on the couch by the fireplace. Before I could turn around and retreat, he looked up and spotted me.

"I should have figured you'd be up," he said.

"I, er, needed to get some work done before my date with Adrian this afternoon. Why are you up this early, Malfoy?"

"Same as you," he replied, and then amended, "Except I don't have a date with Davies. He's not really my type."

I laughed. A few weeks ago I would have found that offensive, but now I wasn't sure what was offensive about it. "I think that puts the female population of this school at ease."

I made to turn around to my bedroom, but he stopped me, saying that I could stay. I debated internally for a couple of seconds before taking a seat in one of the armchairs awkwardly and opening my book quickly, hoping he wouldn't catch the title.

"Alchemy?" He asked. My heart dropped.

"Er, yeah," I replied, dropping my head to study my book.

"I didn't know you were in Alchemy."

"Um, yeah. I'd, er, appreciate it if you didn't mention it to anyone, not even Al," I mumbled, feeling my cheeks heat up. I'd managed to keep my enrollment in the class a secret all through last year.

"Wait, no one knows you're in it? How is that even possible?"

"Probably in the same way it's possible for no one to know you're in Magical Law," I retorted, eyeing his book. There was no other class it could possibly be assigned for, given the legal jargon that covered the page it was opened to. Alchemy and Magical Law were just a couple of optional classes that opened in availability starting in sixth year.

"How do you know no one else knows about it?" He asked.

"Al never mentioned it in his numerous defences of your character. It seems like the sort of thing he would use to your advantage."

"True. So same goes for you, Weasley. This stays between us."

I nodded in agreement. Wouldn't Al be proud? We were keeping each other's secrets now.

I headed down to breakfast at around nine-thirty, squeezed in a bit more homework, and then it was off to Hogsmeade to meet my parents at eleven.

"Rosie!" Dad greeted me, smiling widely. Mum hugged me quickly, more reserved than Dad, as always. We ordered Butterbeers and waited for Hugo to join us. He ambled in at half past eleven, late as always. The hugs were issued, a fourth Butterbeer was brought to the table, and lunch was ordered.

As we ate, Al and Scorpius came into the Three Broomsticks. I smiled and beckoned them over. Scorpius smiled back briefly, said something to Al, slapped him on the shoulder, and headed off in search of a table while Al made his way over to us. I watched Scorpius circle the tables on the other side, finally admitting defeat and heading in our direction. I smothered a snicker and Al turned from answering Dad's question to see what the source of my amusement was.

"Nothing over there?" He asked as Scorpius approached.

He shook his blonde head, shoving his hands in his pockets as he greeted my parents, "Good afternoon, Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, sir."

I could feel the situation becoming increasingly awkward as Dad tried to look at anything except the Malfoy standing in front of him. Mum smiled kindly as she returned his greeting and Dad mumbled something incoherent. I knew it had to be hard, looking at someone who reminded you so much of an old enemy, but I wished Dad could at least pretend. Wow. Did I just express irritation at the judgement of Scorpius Malfoy?

After a few more moments of conversation about the Quidditch season, Albus excused himself.

"I'll see you later, Rose?" He asked.

"Sure thing. See you guys," I replied, smiling again. They shot me identical grins as they headed off toward the corner.

I turned back to the table, taking in Dad's frown.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"Did you just- I must be mistaken, I thought you just smiled at Scorpius Malfoy."

"That would be because I did, Dad." I crossed my arms over my chest. "Is there some law against it?"

"Rosie, you promised me-"

"That I wouldn't let him step a toe out of line, and he hasn't, Dad," I interrupted, "Not that it's any of your concern, but we have been getting on very well."

I watched as he sputtered for a moment before yelping. I expect Mum kicked him under the table.

Nothing else was mentioned on the subject of Scorpius as we finished our food. I didn't quite escape my parents quickly enough, and we ran into Adrian as he was coming to meet me. After a few awkward moments in which my Dad tried to intimidate Adrian, I firmly said goodbye and rushed him in the opposite direction.

"Sorry about that," I sighed once we were out of earshot.

Adrian grinned easily, taking my hand. "No worries. It's a father's job to protect his daughter."

'Especially after what I pulled' was unspoken, but I knew we were both thinking it. In an effort to fight the sudden tension, I smiled and squeezed his hand, leading him to Zonko's. I had never been one of those girly girls who wanted to go to Madam Puddifoot's.

It seemed like luck wasn't on my side today, though, because I opened the door and spotted Albus and Scorpius across the shop. Adrian stiffened slightly at the sight of them and I bit my lip to stop myself from commenting. Today was supposed to be fun. It was supposed to bring us closer and diffuse the tension that had been growing over the past month. I couldn't explain it, but something didn't feel quite the same about us. Hopefully today would fix that.

"Hey guys," I said, mostly to be polite. I was trying to avoid more awkward situations, but I couldn't very well ignore them.

"Hey, Rose," Al returned, his eyes flicking to Adrian briefly as he muttered, "Davies."

"Potter," Adrian replied, his face stony.

I pushed through the tension, turning my eyes to Scorpius as Adrian looped his arm around my waist. I suppressed a grimace at the obvious gesture of possession. I was not anyone's property. "Hey, look, I'm sorry about my dad earlier. He just… He holds onto grudges."

Scorpius made a dismissive gesture. "It's ok. I'm used to it."

I frowned. "You shouldn't be."

He shrugged, "It is what it is."

For some reason, it bothered me more than it normally would have. I wasn't sure what was going on. Last year, I was perfectly content to ignore Scorpius, and the years before that, I was one of the most outspoken advocates of how awful he was. In truth, few people really held anything against Socrpius anymore. Once it became clear that he and Albus were on their way to an epic bromance, the school seemed to accept him. Whether Albus liked it or not, he held sway because of his last name. The other first years, and some of the second years, took their cues from him. Now, with James gone, he was the one everyone looked up to. I knew he hated it, but he'd learned to deal with it.

"Hey, let's go check out the Shrieking Shack," Adrian interrupted my reply, pulling me toward the exit. I barely had time to wave before he had the door closed behind us.

"What's up with you?" I asked him, frowning.

"Nothing," he replied shortly.

I remained silent until we got to the Shack, and then turned on him. "Something's bothering you."

"I just don't think stopping to talk to Malfoy while on a date is really necessary. If you'd rather be out with him-"

"Are you kidding me right now?" I asked, incredulously. "I'm going out with you, and the suggestion that I would rather be out with Scorpius is so far out of line."

"Glad to see you guys are on a first name basis now," he snapped. I paused, running over my last sentence in my head and realizing he was right. I'd done it unintentionally, but it was the first time I'd called him by his first name out loud.

"So what if we are?" I snapped back. "We do share a common room! We're bound to get along better living in such close proximity!"

"What happened to you?" He asked, staring at me like he'd never seen me before. "The Rose I know would never be calling him Scorpius or defending him."

I was silent for a moment, pondering his question. Was it true? Was I different? "Maybe I'm just finally seeing how unfair I've been."

"Unfair?"

"Yes, Adrian. I've spent all these years judging him on his last name, just like so many others, but I'm one of the last ones hanging onto it. Maybe I'm finally seeing how unfair I've been to him. I've never actually gotten to know him as Scorpius. He's always been Malfoy."

"Yes, because he is a Malfoy!"

"I think I'm starting to realize he's more than just a Malfoy. He's not his father any more than I am my mother."

"Where is this coming from? It isn't like you."

"I don't know, maybe I'm finally understanding what Albus kept going on about all these years."

"Because of all that time you guys spend alone?" He sneered.

My temper had reached the boiling point. "Yes, Adrian, because of all the time we spend alone in the common room. We've barely had five conversations."

This only seemed to make him angrier. "Wow, well if you can come around after all of five conversations, maybe I should just bow out now to save you the trouble of tossing me once your next five lead you into his bed."

Smack!

I gasped, throwing the hand that had just connected with Adrian's cheek over my mouth.

"Adrian, I-" I started in a whisper. I couldn't believe I had actually slapped him. What he'd said was offensive, but I'd never hit anyone before in my life.

He gingerly touched his cheek and squared his jaw. Without a word, he turned and headed back in the direction we'd come, leaving me alone in front of the Shrieking Shack.

I made my way back up to the castle slowly, turning the situation over in my mind again and again. As I considered it, my earlier anger returned. Adrian had deserved it, suggesting that I would jump into bed with Scorpius. It was ridiculous. By the time I got up to the dormitory, I was fuming again.

"How was your date?" Scorpius asked in an almost teasing tone.

His question put me in such a foul mood that I ignored him and stalked past, heading for my room and slamming the door behind me.

I threw my shoe at the wall as I heard his distant, "That good, huh?"

I emerged for dinner, thankful Scorpius was already gone. I couldn't deal with him right now.

Dom eyed me as I sat down beside her. "What happened?"

I tried to look innocent. "Nothing."

"Al told me he and Scorpius ran into you and Adrian in Zonko's."

"So?"

"He said he sensed tension when Adrian pulled you away from talking to Scorpius."

"It was nothing. Just Adrian being stupid."

"I saw him going back up to the castle. He looked angry."

"Yeah, well, we had a row, okay? No big deal."

"What were you-" Dominique cut off as Emily shot her a look.

My reprieve was short-lived, however, as it was the first thing Al asked about as he sat down.

"Yes, Adrian and I had a disagreement, and yes that's why I was upset when I came back to the common room, as I'm sure Scorpius told you."

Albus frowned. "Scor didn't mention anything about it."

Dom, perceptive as always, stared at me in shock. "What did you just say?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, cursing myself for slipping up twice in one day. At this rate, I might as well just keep it up.

"You know what I mean. You just called him Scorpius."

"Ok, so I called him Scorpius. Is it that big of a deal?" I asked, stabbing a carrot.

A chorus of "Yes" came in reply. I have such good friends.

"Wait, is that why you and Adrian went at it? Because of Scorpius?" Emily asked.

There was no point denying it any longer, so I launched into an explanation. I hesitated before divulging the last bit about me slapping him.

"You seriously slapped him?!" Dom asked, in her typically high, excited voice. She seemed way too happy about this.

"Well the git did suggest she'd jump into bed with Scor!" Al answered the question for me, sounding extremely offended on my behalf. "Don't worry about it, Rosie. You're better off without him."

"Yeah, I'm glad you're through with him," Dom agreed.

"Uh, I never said we were through," I corrected in a small voice. The explosion I expected came through loud and clear. Eventually, the three of them subsided in their attack when I loudly asked Emily how her date with James had gone today. Al busied himself with his treacle tart while Dom and I listened to her account.

"Well, I'm glad one of us had a good date," I told her when she finished. Before anyone could comment again, I excused myself to hopefully get a bit more work done before bed.

I found Scorpius already in the common room when I returned from grabbing my books.

"Is it alright if I join you?" I asked tentatively. He nodded, so I sat in one of the armchairs, pulling out my Potions book. After a few minutes of silence, I looked up again. "I'm, uh, sorry about earlier. Adrian and I had a row and I guess I was still a little worked up."

"No worries, Weasley."

For some reason, I felt the need to keep talking. "And I'm sorry Adrian was so rude in Zonko's."

He shrugged, still looking at his book. "He didn't even talk to me."

"No, but he was still a prat."

Finally, he looked up, his eyes piercing mine. "What is it that you really want to say, Weasley?"

"I, er, I don't know what you mean," I replied, bewildered.

"You're dancing around something. What are you trying to say?"

"I just- well- I realized today that I may have been wrong to treat you like I have all these years, and it may not have been fair."

"Is that supposed to be an apology?" He asked, sounding half amused and half disgusted.

"Er, yes?" I replied, unsure of why I was even saying any of this.

He snorted, turning back to his book. "Not that I need your apology, but usually they involve the word 'sorry'. You really need to work on that."

I wasn't sure what to say, so I said nothing, instead changing the subject. "Why didn't you tell Al that I came in here all upset?"

"Didn't seem like my business."

"Oh. Well, uh, thanks."

"Don't mention it, Weasley."

We continued to work in silence for a while before he spoke up. "I take it Davies didn't like your change of heart?"

I shook my head. "Not really. He didn't understand how I could start defending you all of the sudden. He said I was different. And, of course, me calling you 'Scorpius' really set him off, and then I had to go and slap him…"

I didn't know where it all came from and I could tell he wasn't sure either.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine. You slapped him?"

I blushed slightly. "Er, yeah. He was upset that we were 'on a first name basis' and basically told me he figured I was going to hop into bed with you because of it. So I, er, slapped him."

"Wow," was all he said for a while, and then added, confused, "We aren't really on a first name basis."

I blushed even more, before having a sudden rush of boldness. I'm not sure what made me say it, but before I could consider the consequences, I blurted out, "Maybe we should be."

His face was unreadable for a full minute. I held my breath until his lips twitched in a small smile. "Ok then… Rose."

It was strange, hearing my first name coming from him. I decided I liked it. "Alright… Scorpius."

A/N: Ok, that was a long one. Very lackluster ending, I know, but I had nothing else to make it any better. No worries, Adrian will soon be vanishing!