Hello to all my lovely readers, reviewers, subscribers! My sincerest apologies for not uploading sooner, but I had a surprise family vacation and finals. Yay. Anyways, I hope you all like this chapter, it's one of my personal favorites. Also, a quick thing: I've been considering upping the rating due to swearing. Thoughts? Tell me in a review :)
Disclaimer: Characters and setting aren't mine, they're J.K. Rowling's. The only thing I own is the not-so-original plot. Seriously, I can find a ton of stories where they fight if I look hard enough :)
Chapter 4: Don't Get Mad; Get Even
Rose ran all the way to Gryffindor Tower, still crying. She couldn't believe how mean Scorpius was to her. What the hell had she ever done to deserve this? Well...she did argue with him 24/7, but she had never cried in front of him before. What was wrong with her?
"Unexpected!" she yelled at the Fat Lady, who jumped and then swung forward.
"Rose!" Molly gushed, meeting her at the door. "I heard you got Seeker, that's wond...Rose, what's wrong?" Rose only cried harder, mopping at her eyes.
"S-Scorpius," she admitted. Molly's mouth dropped open.
"He did this to you?" she asked. Rose nodded, her tears overflowing again. "But Rose...what could he possibly have said to make you cry?" Rose barely restrained a sob.
"H-He told me I was terrible at Quidditch, and that I had no talent for it. He said that our team should be a pushover this year if I was his opposition," she replied, a fresh wave of tears overwhelming her.
"Rose! Congrat-what's wrong? Holy shit, Rosie, what happened to you?" Fred asked, fighting his way over to her and Molly.
"Fred! Don't use that-Rose!" Roxanne gasped, following her brother.
"What's up?" Albus asked, appearing at Molly's elbow. "What's the matter with her?" he asked accusingly, stepping forward and wrapping an arm around Rose's shoulders.
"Scorpius," Molly whispered in reply. Albus's green eyes became slits.
"What'd he do?" he asked tightly.
"H-He told me I was awful at Quidditch and that we would be a pushover this season because I was on the team," Rose answered, burying her face in Albus's shirt. She felt his arm tighten around her.
"Why that little-"
"Do you really want to finish that sentence, dear brother? I'm sure Mother wouldn't-oh my Merlin, Rose!" Lily shrieked, arriving on the scene. "Go sit her down, Albus, I'll be right back with some tea!" She dashed right back out the portrait hole. Albus did as Lily had instructed, and the entire clan of Weasleys and Potters clustered around her.
"Hey, what's-Rose, what happened? Who did this to my sister?" Hugo demanded, glaring at them all. Roxanne shot him a look.
"Do you even need to ask that question?" she asked scathingly. Hugo looked bewildered.
"Since when has Rose ever cried?" he asked. The entire family fell silent, Albus rubbing Rose's back. No one could think of any times. "See? She hides a lot. What happened, Rosie?" Hugo asked gently, kneeling in front of his sister. Rose shook her head, not wanting to relive the hurtful words. Molly bent down and whispered in his ear. Hugo's eyes widened.
"He didn't," he growled. "I'm going to go murder him," he declared, leaping to his feet and storming towards the portrait hole.
"No!" James said, grabbing his arm and pulling him back. "I'll not have my favorite cousin arrested for murder." Everyone chuckled at this, except Rose, who had quieted some.
"It's alright, Rose," Fred said in a voice no one had heard him use before. It was gentle, sweet, and understanding. "You're an amazing Seeker. Best one that tried out, actually. You know that's not true, Rosie, don't cry. A prat like that isn't worth your tears," he added, taking her hand and squeezing it as Lily came back through the portrait hole with a cup of tea.
"Here, Rose," she said kindly, offering it to her cousin, who accepted.
"Take small drinks," Albus coached, watching as Rose took several shaky drinks of her favorite tea. She didn't voice it aloud, but Lily had forgotten she took her tea with lemon. It was the only way it was tolerable for her. After a few drinks, she set the cup down again.
"You alright, Rose?" James asked seriously. She nodded.
"Yeah," she replied, and her voice cracked. "I...I don't know why I lost it like that. I guess he just took it one step too far this time."
"I wondered," Hugo muttered. "You always come back pissed after you argue with him. I figured this would happen. But he had no right to say those things to you," he finished fiercely, reaching out and giving Rose an unexpected hug.
"Hey, all, what's up?" came a cheery voice through the portrait hole. Everyone turned to find Louis (the only one of Uncle Bill and Aunt Fleur's children with red hair) coming through the portrait hole. Even though he was a Ravenclaw, not one Gryffindor was surprised to see him here. What with half of the student body of Hogwarts being related, passwords were always being shared and it really wasn't all that uncommon to see members of another House in a different Common Room.
"Rose and Scorpius were arguing again," Lily summarized. Louis shook his head, about to laugh, then saw Rose's tear streaked face.
"What's wrong, Rosie?" he asked, hurrying over to her immediately.
"He was just mean," she replied, taking another sip of her tea to avoid answering. She regretted this instantly, as the tea just didn't taste right without lemon. Louis frowned, and Molly explained quickly. When she finished, Louis's mouth was hanging open.
"Oh, no way," he finally choked out. "We aren't letting him get away with this one, Rosie."
"What do you mean?" Rose hedged, wondering if Louis had finally gone crazy(they all knew it was going to happen).
"I mean, we're going to get even," he replied simply.
"You mean...prank them or something?" James asked, his eyes lighting up.
"Damn straight," Louis replied.
"Watch your mouth," Molly and Rose muttered at the same time, but both leaned forward to listen all the same.
"Right," Louis began, his blue eyes sparkling. "Here's what we're gonna do..."
Two days later, just before the plan was about to be put into action, Molly still wasn't convinced this was a good idea. She argued with everyone in the family all the way up to Ravenclaw Tower.
"Where is your conscious?" she hissed at them. "What made you think this was a good idea? It's so cowardly, and ridiculous, and we'll get in so much trouble-"
"You sound like Mum," Hugo muttered, rolling his eyes. Rose couldn't help but agree.
"Listen, Molly," Albus sighed as the redhead opened her mouth once more, hazel eyes furious. "If you really don't like what we're doing, then just go back to Gryffindor Tower, for Merlin's sake!"
"I would never!" Molly gasped, outraged.
"Then shush up, we're nearly there," James said, and his cousin heeded him, though she kept glaring darkly at Louis the whole way there.
When the nine of them came to a halt outside Ravenclaw Tower, Louis reached out his hand and knocked upon the door. At once, the cool female voice rang out.
"For some I go fast, for others I'm slow. To most people, I'm an obsession. Relying on me is a well-practiced lesson. What am I?" Louis paused, his brow furrowed, but Rose stepped forward.
"Time," she whispered.
"Correct," the knocker replied, and the door swung forward to admit them. Rose followed Albus into the Common Room, sighing, as she always did, at the beauty of the tower. Though Rose did quite love being a Gryffindor, there were some days she came up here to spend time with Dominique, simply because the rest of Ravenclaw House didn't mind that she was bookish and intelligent. They all were, too.
"You made it alright, then?" Dominique whispered from the shadows, stepping forward in a sapphire dressing gown. Rose nodded.
"Well, Molly didn't want to come," Fred whispered back, "but we convinced her in the end." Molly opened her mouth to argue, but Dominique put a finger to her lips.
"Shh. I understand, Molly. This plan truly is inadvisable, but who am I to stop our feisty cousins?" Molly smiled in relief, and she and Dominique went to sit on the couch.
"Go on, you lot," Molly whispered, and James and Fred pulled a box from the corner of the room. Albus and Hugo grabbed another, while Rose and Roxanne found the balls of string hidden amongst the room. As Molly grabbed the last item from underneath the deep blue couch and handed it to Rose, Lily dashed up the stairs to the boys' dorms to check that the coast was clear. When a shiny Galleon rolled to the floor at Rose's feet, she scooped it up and beckoned to her cousins, who all followed her.
Lily was waiting at the top of the stairs, right outside the boys' dorm. When she saw them, she waved frantically, hopping up and down.
"Shh!" Roxanne hissed. "Don't move! It's the middle of the night, for crying out loud!" Lily froze immediately, and they could tell she hadn't thought about that. Lily tended to get slightly over excited.
The eight cousins hoisted all their materials to the landing and then pressed their ears to the door. After several minutes of nothing but snoring, Albus reached out and pushed the door open, very tentatively. No one inside the dorm moved, and he gestured for the others to grab the materials and follow him. They did as they were told.
"OK," James whispered, after casting the Muffliato charm (something he claimed to have learned from his father) over the room. "You know what to do."
And they did. Water balloons were hung, string strung, and a single flower placed very strategically. The plan had been quintuple checked, by Dominique, Louis, Rose, James, and then by Fred, so it was guaranteed to work. After all, if the smartest of the Weasleys and the two best pranksters Hogwarts had seen in years approved of it, how bad could it be?
Sure enough, the plan was fully in place at around two A.M. in the morning. The Weasleys and Potters crept slowly back down the stairs, where they found Molly and Dominique both curled up with a book and fast asleep. Rose shook Molly awake, and then the family bid Louis goodnight as they left for Gryffindor Tower.
"How'd it go, Rose?" Molly yawned. Rose smiled devilishly.
"Perfectly. I can't wait to see that prat's face tomorrow..."
"What exactly did you do?" Molly inquired, rolling over, sounding slightly more alert.
"Well, James and Fred rigged this really elaborate string contraption over his bed, and it's designed to activate the moment he gets out of bed. We strung up water balloons all over the dormitory's ceiling, so no matter where he tries to get away, they're all going to hit him. Then Roxanne did this motion-activated charm that tells when to start the domino effect, dropping all the balloons. And when he opens his door, sputtering and soaking wet, the first thing he's going to see is a rose, hanging right in front of his face. Lily rigged that one," she added with a laugh. "Just wish I could be there to see the prat's face when he realizes what we did."
She and Molly both giggle, then fall silent and finally asleep, each eagerly anticipating the next day.
"Rose! Get up! Now!"
Rose awoke to her cousin Molly shaking her and looking excited.
"What? What? Did the prank go off?" she asked, sitting up quickly and rubbing her eyes.
"It's about to. Louis sent an owl and said he could hear the lot of them waking up. We need to get to Ravenclaw Tower, now!"
"On it!" Rose jumped out of bed and pulled on her skirt and blouse quickly, making sure they were neat. She tied her Gryffindor tie around her neck, then pulled on her shoes and socks and headed for the door.
"What about your robes?" Molly asked, following her down the dormitory stairs.
"I'll come back for them!" Rose called over her shoulder. They met Roxanne, Fred, James, Albus, Lily, Hugo, and Lucy at the foot of the stairs.
"Why are you all just standing here? Let's go!" Rose shrieked, and the nine cousins streaked off to Ravenclaw Tower. When they arrived, red-faced and out of breath, Lucy reached out and knocked the eagle head three times.
"What occurs once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years?" asked the eagle knocker. The cousins were stunned temporarily stunned before Lily stepped forward.
"The letter m," she replied.
"Well reasoned," replied the knocker, and the door opened. At that exact second, there came a huge roar from upstairs.
"WHAT THE BLOODY-WHO-WHY-GAH!"
Rose barely made it through the door before she fell over laughing. Dominique and Louis, who were both waiting inside, were clutching the backs of chairs. Lily was still outside in the hallway, doubled over, and all of the male Weasleys(and Potters) were howling.
"Damn," Molly muttered, peering up the staircase. "You did good."
"I know," Albus panted, dragging himself upright again. A sudden explosion hit the floor, and Fred and James took one look at each other before busting up again.
"What was that?" Lily asked, finally entering the Common Room and peering up the staircase with Molly.
"I have no idea," Roxanne answered. "But I think Idiots One and Two over there have an idea."
"What did you two do?" Lucy demanded, looking worriedly at the staircase.
"Fireworks," Fred panted. "We hid them when we knew you all weren't looking. If the balloon fell at just the right angle, and it did, then Scorp and his friends were in for a steamy start. If not, it would've gone off in the middle of the night tonight."
"I think you could give Grandpa James a run for his money," Dominique muttered. "That was genius!"
The Weasley/Potters had never actually met Grandpa James or Grandma Lily. All they knew were the stories Harry would tell sometimes, stories Sirius and Remus had told him. On occasion, Andromeda Tonks would also have a story about one or the other.
"DAMN IT!" Scorpius screamed at the top of his lungs. The family jumped, then laughed again. They heard the door being wrenched open and everyone froze.
"ROSE WEASLEY!" he screamed, and that did it. All but Rose laughed so hard they couldn't stand. Rose, cool as you please, walked over to the staircase.
"Yes?" she called up. There was a great thumping, and Scorpius Malfoy stormed into the Common Room, soaking wet and livid.
"WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING?" he asked, getting right in her face. Louis, Fred, James, Hugo, and Albus all jumped to their feet, but Rose held her own.
"I was thinking about what an arse you were after Quidditch tryouts!" she retorted. Scorpius jerked back as though slapped. "And how much you annoy the hell out of me every single day!"
"So you decided to do this?" Scorpius demanded, waving his arms above his head and sending a spray of water through the room.
"Actually, it was Louis's idea. I simply agreed to it."
"I DON'T GIVE A DAMN WHOSE IDEA IT WAS! YOU GOT ME SOAKING WET!" he screamed.
"I noticed," she replied coolly.
"You're so terrible, Weasley!" he snapped. Her eyes flashed.
"Give me one example before this," she snarled.
"You're always picking a fight with me, and-"
"Yeah, right," Molly snorted. "If I remember correctly, it was you who bothered her in Transfiguration on Monday." Scorpius ignored her.
"And then there was that time when-er, when-um..." he trailed off. The truth was, that although Rose could annoy him to no end, the things they bickered about were mostly ridiculous things. This was honestly the worst thing she'd ever done to him, and it really wasn't that bad. His pride was just hurt, but no Malfoy would ever take something like this lying down.
"See? You can't even think of one thing I've done to you! Whereas I can name several!" Rose yelled.
"Oh yeah? Go ahead then!" Scorpius retorted.
"Well, you called me a 'Mudblood's Daughter' for the first two weeks I was at this school, and then you bullied me in second year, and you argued with me all through third and fourth year, and in the one week we've been here, you've insulted my friends, made a fool of me in Charms yesterday, bothered me in Transfiguration simply to 'win an argument' and made me cry two days ago!" Rose snapped. "How's that, Malfoy?"
"Well, you're just so annoying I can't help it!"
"That is the lamest excuse I've ever heard, Scorpius Malfoy."
They stood glaring at each other, arms crossed, in the middle of the room. Albus remembered his father telling him a story about coming back from a ball in his fourth year to find Ron and Hermione arguing in the middle of the Gryffindor Common Room. If only his dad could see Rose and Scorpius now, Albus thought. They really were just like Ron and Hermione.
"Well, I can tell you this, Weaselbee. It's on!" Scorpius declared, glaring at the Weasleys and Potters in the room.
"Bring it," James retorted. Scorpius made a rude hand gesture and then stomped back up the stairs.
"Charming, isn't he?" Roxanne muttered, rolling her eyes in disgust. The whole family laughed.
"Come on, guys," Lucy finally said. "We've got to get out of here. Classes start in a half hour, but we've got to eat, James, Fred, Albus, Hugo, Louis, and Dominique need to get dressed, Molly and Rose both need their robes on, Lily's hair looks like a rat's nest, and Roxanne, I'm pretty sure you forgot to put makeup on half of your face." Every single member of her family blushed, with the exception of Dominique, and they all made their way to Gryffindor Tower (excluding Louis and Dominique, who went to their respective dormitories) to ready themselves for the coming day. They all knew it was going to be a big one.
And they were right. By the end of the day, Rose and Scorpius had fought two more times (once in the middle of the Great Hall and once in Transfiguration), James had his third girlfriend, the Weasleys and Potters had been bothered so much for information that they were regretting the prank, and Ravenclaw and Gryffindor were in a full-out prank war. Let the games begin!
Hee hee. What do you guys think? Things aren't going well for Rose and ol' Scorp...but the road to romance is never easy! Please leave a review, if not just to say that the rating should be upped for swearing.
Lovelovelove -D-