Rose felt herself being tugged to the side as soon as she entered the Ranvenclaw common room after her "date". It was Dominique, pulling her over to a private corner.

"Tell me everything, and don't skip out on the details. I, along with half the school I might add, saw that little show you put on in the Three Broomsticks. Hugo was apparently thoroughly disgusted and made a big deal of leaving, so good job."

Dominique was looking expectantly at Rose, a big and devious smile on her face.

"Oh Dom, I'm so embarrassed. I don't know what came over me. I was actually having a good time with Scorpius. I forgot for a minute it was all pretend. And then he stopped kissing me and I felt like the biggest idiot in the world. Of course he only did that because Cooper was there."

"Was he? He must have been on the other side where I couldn't see, being a creeper." Dominique said, making a face.

"I don't know what came over me," Rose continued, "I just got so caught up somehow. He's actually more fun to hang out with than I thought he would be and I just-"

"Snogged his face off in front of half the school?" Dominique supplied.

"Oh, shut up."

"No way, I'm determined to turn this sham into the real deal. And if you 'forgot' you were only dating him for pretend, then that just means you want to date him for real."

"He probably wouldn't even be interested in dating me anyway," Rose said, "so there's no point thinking about it."

But Rose was thinking about it. She was thinking about the tickle of his voice whispering in her ear, the way his hands felt running through her hair, the way his lips moved over hers, and the beating of her heart when he pulled her close.

"So you say," Dominique replied, "but I know you better than that. Now, tell me what costume you ended up getting, and I'll make sure you look so good in it he won't be able to take his eyes off you the whole party next Sunday."

Dominique looked at the bag Rose was still holding that contained her newly purchased costume. "Please tell me he didn't let you buy a frumpy costume."

Rose smiled a bit, thinking about their trip to Gladrags. "No, not especially" she replied.

She handed the bag over to her cousin, who promptly looked inside. An impish grin spread over Dominique's face.

"Oh, I can definitely work with this."

Rose went to bed that night trying her best to banish the thought of Scorpius Malfoy from her brain, and utterly failing.

()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()()

In the way of things when someone is anticipating an event, Rose's week seemed to drag by. Every casual gesture from Scorpius set her brain turning, and she found herself thinking about him, and his motives, even when he wasn't around.

He was certainly putting on a good show of "going out" with her. Was he really just doing it for amusement and to kill time, like he claimed? He definitely took pleasure in teasing Rose and watching her fumbling reactions. He would casually touch her whenever he got the chance, holding her hand, or brushing her hair behind her ear, or resting his thigh lightly against hers when they sat next to each other.

He would sit with her and her friends during some meals, and pull her over to meet his own friends at other meals. In either situation, he seemed perfectly comfortable, and Rose felt a bit like a fish out of water. But his friends, mostly Slytherins though they may be, were surprisingly nice, and none of them seemed to overtly object to the presence of a "half-blood" at their table.

Perhaps, though, Scorpius had his own reasons for their charade. Rose couldn't for the life of her think of what he might be getting out of their little bargain. She had told him she would owe him, and he liked teasing her about the ways in which he might "collect" his favors (doing his homework for the rest of their time at Hogwarts, switching places with him if he ever managed to get detention, giving him a full body massage after Quidditch practice, getting him a signed picture of her uncle so he could stick it on his wall at home and see how his parents reacted, and so on). But Rose couldn't help but think she really didn't have much to offer him that he couldn't manage to get easily enough on his own.

If that were the case, then why was he playing along with her? As nice as she'd come to think Scorpius was, she thought he must have a reason other than simply the kindness of his heart. But if he did, she couldn't fathom it.

On Wednesday, Scorpius told her he would be going to Quidditch practice in the afternoon instead of with her to the Library.

"When is your first game?" she asked.

"Not until November 9th, but we're all very determined this year after last year's upset" he replied.

"Upset, ha! You mean last year's glorious victory for the Noble House of Ravenclaw." She grinned up at him.

"Yes, that" he drawled. "I didn't peg you as being very interested in Quidditch" he continued, "You don't play."

"I play sometimes with my family back home, but I'm afraid I inherited my mother's skills with a broom." Rose said. "But that doesn't mean I don't have my father's enthusiasm for the sport. We cheer and cry together every season when the Cannons get robbed of their victories."

"The Chudley Cannons? Really? Are you sure you're not secretly a Gryffindor, because that's a pretty brave choice of a favorite team" he teased.

Rose laughed. "Well it certainly drives Aunt Ginny crazy. She rolls her eyes at us whenever we show up to Sunday dinner in bright orange. She used to play for the Harpies, you know."

"1999 to 2003. She had the most assists per game in the whole league in 2002 and was the second youngest player in the last 100 years to join the Harpies after 16 year old Gillian Baines in 1923 lied and said she was of age when they signed her" Scorpius said.

Rose stared at him open mouthed.

There was a faint bit of color on Scorpius' cheeks that she was sure wasn't just a trick of the light this time.

"Well," Rose managed finally, "well, well, well. I wouldn't have pegged you as a Harpies fan."

"What?" Scorpius replied, not quite looking at her. "They wear green. It is my favorite color, you know." He held up his silver-and-green tie as if to prove his point.

Rose giggled at him and said, "Well, I think it's a safe bet to say you'd rather have my aunt's autographed picture hanging on you wall than my uncle's."

"Ha," Scorpius replied, "I don't need pictures. Once I get in all friendly-like with James and Albus at the party they'll have no choice but to invite me home over the holidays and I'll spend all my time with the real deal. I'll no longer be needing your services at that time, by the way."

He kept up his lofty tone until he finished talking, but as soon as he was done he burst out laughing and Rose couldn't help but join in.

"But," she gasped through her laughter, "you're already friends with Albus!"

"Hush," he said, getting himself under control, "stop being so smart all the time."

"Can't-" she said, still giggling "I'm a Ravenclaw!"

This set them both off again, and Rose realized she was going to miss his easy sarcasm when their—whatever they had—really did come to an end.