Chapter 23: Distractions
(Rose's pov)
I stayed in the room of requirements for several hours. When I finally did come out, I went straight to my dorm and refused to talk to anyone, not even Alana or Sahara. For weeks, I was miserable. I hardly ate anything, rarely spoke, and in classes I wasn't totally there. Albus eventually managed to get the story out of me, but I didn't say a word about it to anyone else, although I'm sure Albus told Alana and Sahara what had happened. I avoided Scorpius whenever possible, which was achievable the majority of the time, as I'm sure he was doing the same. Albus didn't seem to know what to do though, as he had to go back to dividing his time between us as he used to. I knew it was hard for him, but worrying about my own pain took all of my energy. Even when the Easter holiday came around, my heart was still beating, but I wasn't truly alive. Even back home I was in a depressed mood, and unfortunately, Mum noticed.
I was in my room working on an essay for Transfiguration when there was a quiet knock on the door. "May I come in?" The soft voice of my mother called.
"Yes," I replied, and the door opened. Mum came in and softly shut the door again behind her.
"Is everything alright, Rosie?" she asked softly. "You haven't been yourself ever since you've been home."
I sighed. Like Albus, Mum always knew exactly how I was feeling, and I could keep nothing from her. I know I'm lucky to have such an open relationship with my Mum, but sometimes, in situations such as this, I wish we went as close. "I got into a row with… one of my friends." I replied.
Mum frowned. "Not Alana or Sahara, is it?" she asked. Mum knew that other than Al, those two were my best friends.
"No," I sighed. "Someone else."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Mum asked quietly.
Unable to speak, I just shook my head.
It was Mum's turn to sigh. "Well, if you do want to talk, remember that I'm always here for you, alright?"
I nodded, and Mum quietly slipped out of the room. Another thing I loved about my mother was that she didn't pry, which was important because the last thing I needed right now was a nosy, prying mother forcing me to talk about something that caused me pain.
The rest of my holiday wasn't much better, and when I went back to Hogwarts, things were even worse than before. I thought the pain from my break-up with Scorpius would eventually go away, but when I arrived back at Hogwarts, it was still there. To make matters worse, Violet Brown-Johnson, was now taking advantage of the break-up and was constantly flirting with Scorpius, which was extremely painful to watch. I told myself not to care and to get over Scorpius, but I just couldn't convince myself. This avoiding Scorpius went on for another month or so, and soon it was time for the Gryffindor/Ravenclaw Quidditch match.
The Quidditch match was set for the fourth weekend in May, and it was important to the team because this match was the deciding factor in whether or not Gryffindor would be able to compete for the Quidditch House Cup. My cousin, James, who was a seventh year and captain of the Gryffindor team, wanted this more than anything, and the team wanted to do whatever it took to make him proud. However, when the day finally arrived, I had no concentration. Even when the match began, I found myself catching quick glances at Scorpius, only to find he wasn't doing well. He wasn't blocking goals like he usually did, and received frequent glares of anger from James. Meanwhile, I wasn't doing any better. Lily and Roxanne called my name multiple times in attempt to pass me the quaffle, but I missed their passes constantly. Even when I did catch the quaffle, I only scored once or twice. Before long, the score was 70 to 180. If we didn't do something soon, we were going to lose to Ravenclaw.
(Scorpius's pov)
I regretted everything. Everything from blowing up at Rose to breaking-up with her. I wanted to apologize, but I knew there was no way Rose would take me back after the way I treated her. Yes, she lied to me, but that wasn't any reason for me to treat her the way I did. Now, I have most likely lost her forever. It took me four years to gain her trust the first time, and I doubt I could gain it again. So, I was miserable. I avoided Rose at all costs, and spent most of my time alone.
Because of my depression, I was really out of it, in my own little world. This really showed during the quidditch match, in which nearly every shot the Ravenclaw chasers took soared right past my head and into the goal. Rose and the other chasers weren't doing much better than I was. In the end, Albus eventually caught the snitch, but it was no use. The score still ended up being 250 to 240, in favor of Ravenclaw. This had definitely been a horrible past couple of months, and it was only going to get worse before it got better.
(Rose's pov)
We lost. Needless to say, James was extremely disappointed. After the match, he called us to the corner of the Quidditch pitch to call a team meeting. "Rose, Malfoy, what the bloody hell were you two doing out there?" James yelled once we had all gathered around him.
"I'm sorry, James." I muttered, looking towards the ground. "I guess I wasn't thinking clearly. I'll do better next time, I promise."
"For me, there is no next time." James said, and he stormed off back towards the castle.
"Don't worry about James." Al said softly as we walked back together. "He just had his heart set on winning the Quidditch cup, this being his last year at Hogwarts and all. You know how he is. Don't take it too personally."
"I know." I sighed. "But I still feel bad for contributing to our loss."
"Rose, it's not your fault." Albus said. "But I am wondering where your mind was today. You're not yourself."
I didn't answer. Finally Albus asked softly, "Does this have to do with Scorpius."
Before I could answer, I was saved by Matthew Corner, a Ravenclaw who had been asking me out since third year, interrupted us.
"Hey, Rose." He said, completely ignoring Albus all together.
"Hello, Matthew." I replied politely.
"Good job at the Quidditch match today. I know you tried your best."
I frowned. "No, Matthew, actually, I didn't."
"Oh." Matthew said, looking embarrassed. We walked in awkward silence for a few minutes before he spoke again. "I… uh… heard you and Malfoy broke up."
"I don't want to talk about that." I muttered, while Albus glared at him.
"I understand that, and I don't want to force you into talking about it, but I was thinking that maybe since you are available now, you could go out with me." Matthew replied.
I was never particularly attracted to Matthew, but from what I knew of him, he certainly seemed nice enough. And maybe he could help me keep my mind of Scorpius. I quickly glanced at Albus, who gave me an I-wouldn't-but-who-am-I-to-stop-you kind of look. Taking a deep breath, I said, "Okay."
Matthew smiled. "Great." No, not really. But if I could only just get over Scorpius, I would do anything.
Author's note: Sorry for the short, boring, not-so-good (in my opinion) chapter. The next one will be better, I promise.