Hey guys! Thanks so so so so so much for all your reviews on the last chapter, it meant a lot to me! I've got the next chapter here for you, I hope you like it! I do, I think it's cute, but I'll let you decide. Anyways, Happy 2013 to everybody! Personally, I've got a great year ahead, especially a great summer. Hope everything's going well for all of you, and enjoy!

Disclaimer: Yeah, it's not mine. Neither is the song that's the title of this chapter.

Chapter 12: Start of Something New

"Come on, Rose! Filch'll have our hide if we're late!"

"Oh for Merlin's sake, Molly, I'm coming!"

Rose Weasley sighed, tossed her book aside reluctantly, and tromped down the girl's staircase.

"Finally," Albus sighed dramatically. "We were wondering if you were ever coming down. Reading, again?"

"Yes," Rose replied shortly. "Where's James?"

"Taking his own sweet time," Lily said grumpily. "Nose game."

Every member of the Weasley-Potter family slapped their hands on their nose, then looked around at the rest of them.

"Rose," Fred decided.

"Whatever."

Rose stomped up the stairs to the boys' dormitories and pounded on the seventh-year dorm.

"JAMES SIRIUS POTTER GET YOUR LAZY ARSE OUT HERE!" she yelled.

"I'm COMING!" he yelled back, and the door swung open. Rose's jaw dropped.

"James, you - you - you look...nice!" she gasped. And it was true. James' normally unruly hair had been carefully gelled down, his Gryffindor tie was straight, and for once, his trousers were at the proper level instead of hanging down. The smirk on his face, however, was the same as it had always been.

"Surprised?" he asked.

"Yes," she admitted. "Why did you dress up for detention, of all things?"

"No reason," he replied, flushing. Rose smirked back.

"Dom'll figure it out. You know she will."

"Whatever," James muttered, pushing past her and going down the stairs. When Rose and James had joined the Weasley-Potter group in the common room, they all headed out of the portrait hole and to the Great Hall, where Dominique and Louis, Filch, Scorpius, and all his friends were waiting for them. Surprisingly, Alice Longbottom was there, too. James turned bright red when he saw her, and all of a sudden, the reason for his dressing up became apparent to Rose.

"Partner up," Filch said nastily once they'd all arrived. Everyone moved to stand with their partners: Dominique with James, Louis with Lucy, Molly with Fred, Roxanne with Albus, Hugo with Lily, Dan Thomas with his sister Elizabeth, Roger Corner with Michael Davis, Gregory Goldstein with Samantha MacMillian, and Rose with Scorpius.

"Alright. Here are your assignments." Filch proceeded to read out a long list of tortures, and each pair of partners rolled their eyes as he handed down their sentence for that evening.

"And you two," he finally growled, turning to Rose and Scorpius, "will be making a potion that Professor Slughorn needs brewed. Off you go, now."

Everyone left for their designated locations. Rose and Scorpius headed to the dungeons.

"Wonder why he wants a potion brewed?" Scorpius wondered.

"He was out sick today," Rose answered. "Didn't you notice?"

"No, I only have potions on Thursday," he replied.

"Oh."

That was it for conversation as they entered the dungeon passages. When they entered the classroom they knew so well, there was only a book, laying open to page 394, and a cauldron.

"I guess this is the one we need to brew," Scorpius said uncertainly, peering at the page. It was very complex and would likely take them several hours. He winced as he noticed that there was a period where they would be forced to wait two hours for the potion to be ready.

He turned around and found Rose already at the cupboard, pulling out ingredients they'd need.

"It's the one we did in class today," she explained. "It's actually not that hard, but the timing has to be impeccable."

"Alright," Scorpius replied, and they set to work. For a long time, silence filled the room, with the occasional "pass me the armadillo bile" or "where are the beetle eyes?". Finally, they reached the two hour waiting period.

"And now we wait," Rose sighed, slumping onto a stool next to the cauldron.

"Guess so," Scorpius replied. Rose pretended not to hear him, and he didn't speak again, leaving her to ponder in silence.

What was going on with her and Scorpius right now? They were barely speaking, and yet they hadn't had an argument in almost a week. Ever since she'd seen him get hit on the Quidditch field, there had been a new feeling awakened in Rose - she almost felt like she cared about him. But that couldn't be right. He was her enemy, and they had been that way for four years prior to this one. Things couldn't change that fast...could they?

The silence stretched on, and the minute hand on the clock refused to move any faster. It had been almost a half hour before Rose decided that she couldn't stand the quiet anymore.

"Scorpius, say something," she begged, startling him out of his thoughts. For a moment he stared at her, then he spoke.

"It really sucks to be doing detention on my birthday," he said.

"It's your birthday?" Rose asked, surprised. Scorpius nodded. "Well, happy birthday, then."

"Thanks."

More silence.

"Please, Scorpius," Rose sighed. "Keep talking. I can't stand just...just sitting here!"

"What do you want me to say?" he asked.

"I don't know," Rose replied. "How about...anything. Your life story, your favorite color, I don't care what you tell me, so long as it's something!"

"My life story, huh?" he asked, giving her his trademark smirk.

"Sure," she replied, turning to face him.

"Well, I was born September 20, 2005 to Draco and Astoria Malfoy-"

"So you're sixteen today?" Rose asked, surprised. Scorpius couldn't restrain himself from rolling his eyes.

"Yes, I am."

"I'll be sixteen in a month," she admitted.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Silence.

"Please continue," Rose requested.

"I went to a private Muggle school for years until I started at Hogwarts." He shuddered. "I hated it there. I never had any friends, because I was 'different' even then. I was the bookish kid. This school was for snotty kids of really rich people. I wasn't stuck up and I didn't enjoy teasing others, so I was an outcast. When I started to get my magic, it was even worse."

Rose's blue eyes were huge. She had no idea that Scorpius's childhood had been so horrible.

"The only good part of my life was my baby brother," he said, his voice becoming ragged. "Charlie. He...he looked just like my mum, he had her blue eyes and everything. But...he got cancer, when he was about three. He fought it for nearly a year, but..." Scorpius broke off and turned away.

"Oh, Scorpius," Rose gasped, tears on her cheeks. "I - I can't imagine-"

"No one can," he replied, his voice rough. She saw him swiping at his cheeks and knew that he, too, had succumbed to tears. She wiped her eyes, too, as he turned back to her.

"Scorp-"

"Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to make you cry."

"How could I not cry?" she asked in a whisper, her tears spilling over again. "That's such a sad story. If I imagine losing Hugo-" it was her turn to break off and look away. When she had regained her composure, she turned back to him and he continued.

"Well, Dad never was the same after that. Charlie was the light in all of our eyes. So there was a rough patch for a few years. Finally, Mum got so sick of everyone sniping at each other and then crying ourselves to sleep each night that she hauled us all off to visit her cousin, who was a therapist. It's really thanks to her that we're still a family. They won't admit it, but I know they were close to a divorce. Anyways, that was the year before I started at Hogwarts. We're much better now, really. More of a family."

"Why did you tell me this?" Rose asked in a whisper, tears still glistening on her cheeks.

Scorpius looked her straight in the eye. "I don't know."

Silence fell again. Rose, wiping her eyes again, reflected that she'd never heard silence quite this loud.

"So what about you?" Scorpius asked. "Had a fairy tale life, have you?"

"No," Rose replied sharply, "but it's not as bad as yours."

"Well, tell me."

"Fine. I was born October 22nd, 2005, to Ron and Hermione Weasley. I was the fifth Weasley-Potter born. Victoire, Dominique, Louis, and James came before me. I had ready-made playmates from the time I could walk," she reflected, laughing. "Yes, I was fairly happy most of the time, and since I was the firstborn, I got a lot of attention in my house. I loved the Weasley get-togethers - actually, I still do. They're loads of fun, so warm, colorful, and bright," she sighed, her eyes a million miles away in a memory.

"And?" Scorpius asked, to bring her back down.

"Well, obviously not everything is perfect," Rose sighed. "My life changed a lot when Hugo was born. All of a sudden, he was the center of attention. And he had some medical problems when he was younger, too, so he got loads more attention than I did. One night, I heard Mum and Dad getting ready to take him to St. Mungo's. I got up to say goodbye and I watched them Floo away. There was a babysitter in the house - I don't remember who it was - but I watched how they Flooed, and I copied them. I went to Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny's. Scared them half to death, too. They called the babysitter to tell them I was safe, and then they kept me overnight. The next morning, Mum came for me in tears. She spent a long time talking to me and telling me she loved me, and that she was so sorry she hadn't had time for me. Turns out, Hugo was fine, he just had a tricky form of colic. I guess that was probably the worst," Rose conceded. "Well, there was the time my cat died, but that wasn't as bad."

"That was your biggest tragedy?" Scorpius asked, disbelieving. "Your cat died?"

In an instant, Rose was on her feet, eyes flashing.

"Don't you talk that way," she growled. "It was very traumatic for me. I was three, for Merlin's sake, all I knew was that I could never hug him again when I was feeling sad, I'd never see him again...and for all that, my last memory was of him laying limp on the floor, his eyes dim. He'd lost the will to live."

"Right," Scorpius snapped back, "because losing a cat is totally worse than losing a brother."

"I never said that nor will I ever say it," Rose retorted. "I feel terrible for you and your family. But you can't just downplay my sufferings because yours are so much greater."

"He was a cat, Rose," Scorpius sighed.

"I happen to love animals, Malfoy!" Rose yelled, tears falling freely. "It was horrible for me, because I used to seek comfort in him while I was feeling so unloved after Hugo's birth!"

Scorpius glared at her, a retort on the tip of his tongue. However, at that moment, Rose reached up and swiped at her eyes again. Something stirred in Scorpius, and his retort died.

"I'm sorry," he said.

Rose stared at him. "I beg your pardon?"

"I'm sorry," he repeated.

She was so flabbergasted she had to sit down. "You...you never apologize to me!"

"Well, I am now," he said wearily. "We shouldn't be fighting over death."

"You're right," she admitted. "I'm sorry, too."

It was his turn to be amazed. "Well...thanks."

"You're welcome," she replied.

For a long time, no one said anything. The silences between them really were getting old, Rose decided. So she took a piece of advice from her long-time idol and spoke up.

"What's your favorite color?"

Scorpius stared at her like she'd just grown another head. "Um, blue, I guess."

"Favorite animal?"

"Dog."

"Favorite place to be?"

"A forest."

"Favorite movie?"

"Wizard of Oz," he replied. Rose's jaw dropped.

"Wait, you know what a movie is?"

"My mother's a Muggle-born, too," he replied, smirking again. "We have Movie Night Fridays during the summer. The therapist suggested it."

"Oh." She considered this. "That's cool, I guess. I love the old ones...but I think my favorite is Pride and Prejudice."

"Have you read the book?" he asked.

She gave him a withering look. "What kind of question is that?"

"Apparently a stupid one."

"Of course I did. And Sense and Sensibility, and Emma, and Mansfield Park. I love Jane Austen, and so did my mum. As a matter of fact, my name was almost Jane, but Mum decided that was too plain. She wanted something more vibrant. When my dad came home that night, he'd brought her a bunch of roses. That's how they decided on my name."

Scorpius stared at her. "That's cool. I was just named after a constellation, like my dad. I guess it's a family thing or something."

"Right," Rose replied, staring hard at the floor. She didn't know what had caused her to open up to Scorpius like that, but she sensed that somehow, their walls were coming down.

"Alright, your turn," Scorpius decided after another tense five minutes of silence. "Favorite color?"

"Purple."

"Favorite animal?"

"Dolphin."

"Favorite place to be?"

"The Burrow," Rose replied wistfully. "At Christmas. It's just wonderful."

"Favorite flower?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Roses," she sighed, blushing. "I've always had a preference for them. Dad brought them home to Mum all the time, as a reminder of how they got my name."

"My parents like to stargaze," Scorpius said. "It's very soothing to them, apparently."

"That's sweet," Rose replied dreamily. "I like stargazing, too."

"What's your favorite constellation?" Scorpius asked.

"Andromeda. I love the story behind it, too," Rose replied. "I suppose yours is Scorpius?"

"Well, yeah," he admitted. "Though I like Draco, too. So strong and powerful, and big. Not just 'cause it's my dad's name."

Rose just smiled at him, but somehow, he knew she understood.

They talked for a little longer until the timer on the cauldron went off. Then it was back to work, not speaking much, as normal, but somehow, the silence was more comfortable this time. When they finally finished the potion, Rose sat back in her chair, a smile on her face.

"That was actually not as bad as I thought it was going to be," she admitted. "Thank heavens!"

"Yeah, Slughorn'll be happy," Scorpius replied, a small smile on his face. No need to mention how happy the evening had made him, as well. "Hey, Weasley, want to hear a vegetable joke?"

Rose raised her eyebrows. "Sure?"

"It's really corny," he replied, grinning at her. For a second, she just stared at him, not getting it. And then, once it clicked, she burst out laughing.

"Scorpion," she choked as she got up to leave, "that is the single most pathetic joke I have ever heard!"

"Glad you liked it," he replied.

"Hey," she said softly, and he looked up at her. "Good luck tomorrow. Try not to get, I don't know, killed or anything, OK?"

Scorpius just nodded. Rose smiled and left. Scorpius sat there in the dungeon for a little longer, thinking how nice it was that Rose Weasley cared.

Heehee, fluff...gotta love it. And I hope you did! Please leave a review, you know I love hearing from you!

Lovelovelove -D-