Chapter 20: The Plan
(Rose's pov)
On the train ride back to Hogwarts after the Christmas holidays, Albus, Scorpius, and I were in good spirits. It felt good to be around Scorpius, because I always felt warm and comfortable when his arm was wrapped around me. Over the Christmas holiday, we were able to do our Christmas shopping for each other, and so we decided to open them on the train. Scorpius had given Al a Quidditch statistic book on all of the current professional Quidditch teams. When I opened my gift, a silver locket fell into my hand. The words Trust Me were inscribed on the outside, and on the inside was a picture of Scorpius and I curled up on a couch in the common room in front of the crackling fire. I was resting my head on Scorpius's chest, and every so often he would stroke my hair and give me a light kiss on the forehead. "It's to show you that you can trust me with anything." Scorpius explained softly. "I'll always keep the promises I make, I'll protect you forever and makes sure no harm ever comes to you, and I won't let anything get in the way of our love, as long as we have that trust. I just want you to know that."
Suddenly I felt a pang of guilt in my heart. I knew Scorpius trusted me, and I had already betrayed that trust by lying to him. However, I didn't have the heart to tell him that now, so I leaned over and kissed him instead. "Thank you." I whispered. "I love it."
When we pulled away, I handed Scorpius his gift. He eagerly tore open the paper to reveal a photo album containing pictures of us. "It's not finished, but I thought we could add more pictures as time progresses." I explained.
"This looks great already, Rose." Scorpius exclaimed, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek. "It's perfect.
Just then, there was a knock on the compartment door, and I looked up to see Alana standing outside. Reluctantly, I stood up and opened the door to let her in. She sat down next to Albus, who gave her a weak smile. "Okay," Alana sighed, "this is going to sound really cheesy and primary school-ish, but I want to be friends again, Rose. I miss you, and I realize that you were right all along, but I just don't know what-"
"Hey, there you are!" a voice exclaimed from outside the compartment. It was Luke. Albus quickly pretended to look out the window and avoided eye contact with anyone. "I was looking all over for you. I brought your Christmas present." Luke said.
"Oh… thanks, Luke." Alana said. "But I accidently left you present in my compartment with Sahara."
Luke shrugged and handed Alana her gift, and she opened it to reveal a bottle of expensive perfume. Only, Alana couldn't stand the smell of perfume, and therefore, she never wore it. Sahara and I both knew that, and as her boyfriend, Luke should have too. However, Alana did a good job of hiding her disappointment as she kissed her boyfriend on the cheek and said a polite "Thank you." Then, Luke pulled her to her feet and started to head out of the compartment. "Wait!" Alana called, and Luke stopped.
"So, I'm really sorry, Rose. Can you forgive me?" Alana asked me.
I nodded. "We'll talk later, alright."
"Alright," Alana said with a smile and she and Luke disappeared to a different compartment.
"Git." Albus said as soon as Luke and Alana were out of earshot. "He didn't even know that Alana despises perfume. What a horrible Christmas present."
"How did you know that?" I asked curiously.
"I pay attention." Al muttered. "And besides, I'd be able to think of a better gift for Alana in less than two minutes than that prat did in two months."
"Albus there's no need to get all worked up about this." I replied.
"I'm not getting worked up." Albus protested. He then glared at the trees outside of the train window and didn't speak to us for the rest of the ride. Scorpius and I just looked at each other and choose to ignore this new attitude of Albus's. One thing was for sure; this could not go on much longer.
(Scorpius's pov)
"Attention class!" Professor Flint called to the class on day in early February. "Today we will be participating in a friendly completion. Whoever brews the best Draught of Living Dead potion will be considered the winner. This is an individual contest and you will only have you textbook to aid you. Your prize will be this little vial of Felix Felicis. Now, who would care to remind us what Felix Felicis does?"
Rose, of course quickly raised her hand, and Flint called on her. "Felix Felicis makes the drinker lucky for a period of time, depending on how much is taken, during which everything they attempt will be successful. However, it should be taken cautiously because it causes giddiness, reck-"
"That's enough, Ms. Weasley, thank you." Flint interrupted. "I think this potion is more than enough incentive for you. You have until the last ten minutes of class. When you are finished, please wait quietly. You may begin."
I gathered my ingredients and began to work quickly, yet cautiously. When I was done, I quietly studied my notes from some of my other classes. About fifteen minutes later, Flint came around to examine our potions. When he stopped at mine, I could see him nod in approval out of the corner of my eye. A few minutes later, he announced, "We have a winner! Congratulations, Mr. Malfoy!" Flint handed me a small vial of Felix Felicis and said, "Be sure to use it wisely."
I nodded. I would definitely use it wisely, that was for sure.
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The weekend after Valentine's Day was a Hogsmeade weekend, so I took Rose to Madam Puddifoot's for a date. Not surprisingly, it was crowded there, but Rose and I managed to find a table near the front window and the door. About ten minutes after we sat down, the bell by the door jingled, signaling another customer, and an annoyed-looking Alana came in. She angrily stamped her boots on the mat by the door to free them of snow before taking a seat next to Rose. "I cannot believe it!" Alana said bitterly.
"What?" Rose asked curiously.
"This is the worst Hogsmeade weekend ever." Alana said moodily. "I wanted to go on a romantic date with Luke, but all he and Ben want to do is do non-romantic stuff together. Sometimes I really wish I was dating -" Alana stopped midsentence. Clearly, she didn't want to finish that thought in front of me.
"Alana," Rose said softly, "Why don't you just break up with Luke? I can tell you're not happy with him."
Alana sighed, "I can't. I don't want to hurt his feelings. Besides, I'm scared."
"Then, I don't know what to tell you." Rose said, and then paused. I could tell she was getting a bit annoyed with Alana's presence, and to tell the truth, I was too. Before Alana came, we were enjoying a nice, quiet date alone. "Hey, Alana, um, please don't take this the wrong way, but we were kind of having a private date, and we would like to… well, be alone."
Alana blushed. "Oh, I'm sorry." She said quickly.
"It's alright. It's just we were kind of hoping for some… privacy." Rose said.
Alana blushed again. "It's alright, I should have thought of that. I can go."
"Thanks, Alana." Rose replied. "I'll talk to you later though, I promise."
"Alright," Alana said with a smile, and then disappeared into the snow.
"Okay, this is getting ridiculous." Rose said after Alana had left, clearly frustrated. "We need to get Albus and Alana together."
I pondered that thought for a moment. Suddenly, an idea flew in my ear and landed on my brain. "I've got a plan." I said, smiling deviously. "Want to help me with it?"
Rose smiled back. "Absolutely."
Leaning forward, I whispered my plan in Rose's ear. When I was finished, she couldn't help but giggle with delight. "That sounds excellent." She said with a smile.
That night, I emptied my Felix Felicis into another container when no one else was in the dorm. Smiling to myself, I put the now empty vial under my pillow for safe keeping until it was needed again. If everything went according to plan, this would turn out perfectly.
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The following morning, Albus, Rose, and I were the first of our friends at breakfast. When the morning owls flew in I suddenly exclaimed, "Hey, Al, isn't that your dad's owl?" When he turned to look, I quickly took out the empty Felix Felicis vial, which was previously hidden in my robes, and opened it, making it appear that I had poured the potion in Albus's pumpkin juice. I winked at Rose's to cue her on.
"Scorpius!" Rose exclaimed accusingly. "How could you!"
Albus spun around immediately. "Wha-" he began, but stopped himself when he saw my empty vial. "Did you pour your –"
"Yep." I said with a smile.
Albus smiled widely and his eyes lit up. "That's it. I'm telling Alana about my feelings for her. Today."
Oh, cliffhanger! Yay! Sorry, no preview for you today. I think this cliffhanger is enough to get me reviews. :) And by the way, I forgot to mention this before, but Professor Flint is not the same as Marcus Flint. Just thought you'd like to know. :)