If Rose was a bit more fidgety than normal in the week leading up to the Quidditch game, Scorpius obliged her by ignoring it, for which she was greatly relieved. Guilt at not telling him about what had happened between her and Cooper was eating at her, but she just wasn't ready to let go of Scorpius, not yet.

Soon, she told herself, after the match today.

"We are going to watch a Quidditch game this morning, right? What kind of face is that? You love Quidditch."

Rose looked up at the speaker, it was Albus.

"Sorry, I just have some stuff on my mind." She smiled and fell in step with him. "I can't wait to see those Hufflepuffs get the snot beat out of them."

"And root for Slytherin?" Albus joked, "No thanks."

"Hey, I know all about you and Scorpius being secret friends, so don't try that act with me" she said playfully.

"'Secret friends?' Is that what he said?" Albus laughed.

"No, but you know what I mean."

"I guess I do. He's actually a pretty nice guy. Speaking of, though, is everything okay with you and him? You can talk to me you know, I wouldn't say. I'm just a bit concerned about you."

Rose thought about this for a moment and was touched. She and Albus had always been close, being the same age; and beyond the fact that they were cousins, their parents were also friends.

"Thanks Albus, but I'm fine. Really." She hesitated a moment, but then continued. "Actually, and DON'T tell him I said this, I'm surprisingly happy with him. He likes to joke, but there's a real person under all that, you know?"

Albus looked at his cousin thoughtfully, his expression hard to discern. "Well, I guess that changes a few things."

"Huh?"

"Let's try and get good seats. I see Roxanne over there."

Rose focused on her surroundings and realized they were already at the pitch. She followed Albus to their other cousin and settled in.

She looked out at the field, where the players were already gathering, trying to find Scorpius. His pale head made him easy to distinguish, and she followed him with her eyes. His lithe form was perfect for a Seeker. She caught herself admiring the shape of him, and remembering how he had looked jogging with his shirt off the year before. She felt herself blushing.

His eyes scanned the crowd, but if he saw her, she couldn't tell.

Then the game began, and Rose lost her thoughts in the excitement, cheering and booing opposite Albus.

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

Slytherin had scored their sixth goal, to Hufflepuff's four, when Scorpius suddenly dived.

Rose's eyes darted in front of him, but saw no flash of gold. The Hufflepuff Seeker, a fellow fifth year girl named Arlene, dove after him. Scorpius pulled up and Arlene stopped short, just missing a bludger flying by and getting a bit off balance. Scorpius started flying in lazy circles once again.

Rose wondered if he'd seen the snitch at all, or had just been faking. Then she realized she could simply ask him after the game and smiled to herself.

The Hufflepuff chasers managed to tie the score seventy to seventy and Rose was getting concerned. The Slytherin Keeper seemed a bit off his game, and she knew it would be up to Scorpius to catch the snitch before they lost too many more goals.

She focused her attention back on him, and saw his brow furrowed in concentration. He easily wove in and out of the action, darting past chasers and dodging the odd bludger.

What's he doing? Rose wondered when he fell in behind a Chaser on his team.

The Chaser had possession of the quaffle, and was speeding toward the Hufflepuff goals. He sent the quaffle flying through the right goal moments before Scorpius dove through the left. The Hufflepuff Keeper, momentarily confused by which side to protect, had stayed in the center.

"TEN POINTS TO SLYTHERIN, BRINGING THE TOTAL SCORE TO SLYTHERIN 80, HUFFLEPUFF 70. NO! WAIT! MALFOY'S HOLDING UP HIS ARM, HE'S GOT THE SNITCH! THAT'S 150 POINTS TO SLYTHERIN AND THE END OF THE GAME FOLKS! FINAL SCORE: SLYTHERIN 230, HUFFLEPUFF 70. SLYTHERIN WINS!" the announcer blasted from the booth.

Rose was jumping up and down, cheering. He'd done it, he'd gotten the snitch! It must have been hiding just behind the Hufflepuff goal, and he had managed to help their team get an extra ten points right at the end by distracting the Hufflepuff Keeper.

Slytherin supporters were swarming the field, cheering, as the team came in to land. Scorpius had been lifted off his feet by his team's Beaters to be propped up on their shoulders, arm raised and still clutching the golden snitch.

Rose had been hanging on to Albus as she jumped and cheered, and now she dragged him over to the pitch with her to congratulate Scorpius in person.

"You did it!" she called up at him.

His head turned to her at the sound of her voice. They locked eyes and he grinned. It was just so Scorpius that Rose found herself grinning back. For the first time in a week she wasn't feeling awkward or guilty, she was just happy and excited.

Scorpius hopped off the shoulders of his teammates, handing the snitch to one of the Beaters, and rushed over to her. Before she knew what was happening his hands were around her waist and she felt herself being lifted up into the air. Scorpius spun her around and around.

Rose was laughing. "Stop, stop! You're making me dizzy!"

"More so than usual?" he teased. But he stopped spinning.

He was still holding her up and she smiled down at him. The grin suddenly froze on Scorpius' face as he looked up at her. He looked hesitant; as if he'd caught himself doing something he wasn't supposed to do.

Rose realized this was the most contact they'd had since Halloween, and knew his hesitation must be related to their "friends" conversation.

Still, he didn't let her go. They locked eyes in a weird sort of limbo, and Scorpius leaned his head closer to hers by just a fraction of inch before he stopped again.

Rose didn't think, she just leaned down the rest of the way and kissed him.

For a fraction of a second he was still, and then he returned the kiss. Rose felt the satisfaction rising up inside of her. She decided, like she had on Halloween, to let the worrying and complications be for later. Kissing Scorpius felt right, somehow, so she let herself enjoy it.

He spun her around one more time before setting her down all the way and breaking their kiss. The beginnings of a genuine smile were tugging at his lips when his teammates pulled him away.

"Common mate, not all of us are in relationships, so quit rubbing it in. Snog your girlfriend later, we won! Let's go celebrate!"

Rose gave a half laugh as he was literally carried away from her, his face one of shock and concern. She turned and found Albus still there.

"Well, I guess he can't hang out right now," she said, looping her arm through her cousin's. "Let's get some lunch, I'm starved!"

If Rose noticed that Albus was a bit quieter than normal on their way back, she didn't comment on it; and if Albus was thinking about something in particular, he kept his thoughts to himself.