Hello to all my readers! I would firstly like to apologize for this horrendously long wait, but I've been having a lot of emotional issues all through January and February, plus my classes got harder and I had more homework and then I failed a test, got yelled at, and basically had a breakdown, but I'm back on my feet now and doing much better. I've had this finished for awhile, but I got major writer's block on chapter 15 and I didn't want to publish this until I found a way to continue the story. But anyways, here's chapter 13, and there's a BIG BIG BIG Scorose (is that the ship name?) event at the end, so I hope it marginally makes up for the long wait.

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Also, I'd like to thank everybody who read that author's note, cause it was really long :)

Chapter 13: Everything Has Changed

Nothing noteworthy happened the rest of the week, and so it was Saturday morning that found Scorpius laying in his bed, staring up at the canopy. It was around 5:00 am, and Scorpius was rather nervous about his second Quidditch game against Hufflepuff. Though the Ravenclaw team's practice last night had been seamless, Scorpius was still worried. He didn't fancy winding up in the hospital wing again with his skull cracked. Plus, he'd promised Rose he'd be careful...at their last detention...where everything had changed.

Groaning to himself, Scorpius got out of bed. He'd tried to keep his thoughts away from Rose and their latest detention, because those thoughts tended to distract him. It had been the first time they'd ever been civil to each other...and Scorpius had found that she actually was the engaging, funny, delightful person all his friends found her to be. And it didn't help that she was drop-dead gorgeous, either.

But he'd spend four years arguing with her. Four years. Surely that had to count for something, right? But what was it Mum always said? Something about getting to know the real person? Oh, yes, that was it: "It's what's inside that counts." Which was true. But which was the real Rose? The funny, smart, beautiful girl who'd been in detention with him? Or the one who'd cussed him out in front of the entire school not even a month ago? And that sent his thoughts right back in circles again.

Scorpius got out of bed and peeked out the window. The sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon, and it looked to be perfect Quidditch conditions: Not a cloud in the sky. He dressed quickly and went down to the Common Room. Despite the earliness of the hour, there were at least twelve Ravenclaws down there, working feverishly on projects, reading, or writing, their quills scratching all over the parchment. Scorpius approached one of the many bookshelves on the walls, and looked through them. It was the Muggle Classics section, and Scorpius found himself looking at an array of Jane Austen's works.

"...but I think my favorite is 'Pride and Prejudice'...of course I [read the book]! And 'Sense and Sensibility, and 'Emma', and 'Mansfield Park'. I love Jane Austen..."

Rose's words from last night came back to him as he stared at the gold-embossed titles on the shelves. On a whim, he pulled down 'Emma' from the shelf and stared at it. Should he...? No, he was being stupid. This was a girl's book. Why was he even thinking of reading it? Simply because Rose had?

That was the last straw. Scorpius slammed the book back on the shelf and stomped back upstairs to the dormitories. He really was going insane. How was it that his arch enemy for the past four years suddenly had him considering reading Jane Austen? No girl had ever had that effect on him before. So why did Rose?

"Ready to go, Rose?" Molly Weasley II asked.

"Yeah," Rose replied, knotting her Gryffindor scarf tightly around her neck. "Let's go."

It was almost time for the Quidditch game between Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, and Rose was ridiculously nervous, considering she wasn't even playing. Scorpius was having that effect on her. She didn't want him to get hurt again, but she wasn't so sure she wanted Ravenclaw to win...that would not benefit the Gryffindor team at all.

"Do you want Ravenclaw to win?" Molly asked as the two girls made their way down the stairs. Rose sighed.

"I don't know. It would be better for Gryffindor if they lost, but that seems...mean, to want them to lose just so we can do well."

"Tell that to James," Molly snorted.

"Good point."

"HEY, cousins!" Fred exclaimed as he spotted Rose and Molly. "Want to take a bet? Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff? Lily and Lucy are hoping for Ravenclaw to win, and James wants-"

"Ravenclaw to lose," Rose finished. "Of course. And no, Fred, I'm not betting."

"Aw, come on!" he complained. "Everyone else did!"

"Don't try that on her, Fred, you know it doesn't work," Molly replied. "I'll say...two Galleons on Ravenclaw. They're better at strategy."

"Cheers, Molly!" Fred said as he wrote her name down. Rose rolled her eyes.

"Come on, you two, we've got to get some breakfast before the match," she said, tugging each of them by their elbows. They agreed, and the three hurried to breakfast, where James was boring Lily and Roxanne out of their minds with talk of tactics. Albus and Hugo, however, were listening intently.

"It'd really be best for us if Ravenclaw loses, we won against them once, thanks to Rose's great Seeking, but I don't want to have to beat them again...they're really good this year. So hopefully one of their players, like, trips coming down the stairs or something and we won't have to worry, they can just forfeit. If something happens to Malfoy again, chances are he's out for the season-"

"JAMES!" Rose gasped, shocked. "How can you say that?"

"Say what?" he asked, looking perfectly innocent.

"Say that you want Malfoy to get hurt just so we can win the season!"

"Well, it would be best for the team-" James stopped abruptly at the look on Rose's face.

"You are completely despicable," Rose growled. James' mouth hung open, as did the rest of the tables.

"Since when have you stood up for him?" Hugo asked. He was perfectly used to his sister's death stares; he got them twice a week at home.

"I'm not standing up for him, I just think it's horrid to wish ill on another player," Rose replied, still glaring at James. Hugo smirked.

"I seem to recall you wishing plenty of ill to him at the beginning of the year," he informed her snarkily. Rose turned her full-blast death glare on him.

"Shut up, Hugo."

"That's enough," Molly interjected. "Rose, sit down and eat something, we don't have long before the match starts. Hugo, follow your sister's advice."

Rose did as she was told, though she flat-out refused to speak to anyone for the rest of breakfast, and (to Molly's relief), Hugo listened as well.

It was a rather subdued Weasley-Potter group that made their way to the Quidditch pitch after breakfast, but they didn't stay that way long. Rose's bad mood had passed, and the feeling in the air was contagious. Soon she was laughing and joking along with all her cousins, even James, their argument forgotten.

"You guys all supporting Ravenclaw?" Louis asked, appearing quite suddenly and scaring Lucy half to death.

"Of course," Rose, Roxanne, Lily, Albus, Hugo, Molly, Lucy, and Fred all answered at once. James just pursed his lips and looked away. Luckily, Louis didn't notice, for at that moment, the teams walked out into the field.

The crowd went wild. Completely wild. Rose didn't remember a match where the crowd hadn't gone wild, but everyone seemed especially loud today. Madam Hooch made the two captains shake hands, and then they were off!

"And it's Ravenclaw with the Quaffle, Ravenclaw Seeker Davies shooting down the field there, zooming towards the Hufflepuff goalposts-oh! He's stopped by a Bludger and the Hufflepuffs take the Quaffle, going back down the field..."

Lee Jordan II was again commentating, throwing in a snide remark here and there. Rose wasn't really listening, she was more focused on the game, screaming her head off with Louis, Dominique, and the rest of her cousins (save James) as Gregory Goldstein beat the Keeper and scored the first goal for Ravenclaw.

The game continued, the Hufflepuffs holding the Ravenclaws off as best they could, but it still wasn't enough. Twice more they were scored on, until finally one of the Chasers (Rose couldn't tell who) grabbed the Quaffle and flew so quickly up the field that no one saw her until she scored. The Hufflepuffs in the stands went wild (and so did James). Dominique glared pointedly at him until he got the hint and shut up.

"Come on, mate!" Louis said. "Would it kill you to support us?"

"No, but it might kill the team!" James replied. Rose rolled her eyes and went back to watching the game.

It had been almost a half an hour of solid screaming, and Rose's voice was getting hoarse. She stopped yelling as loud, dancing up and down on her seat instead. The game was tied, 70-70, and tension was high.

"I hope he catches the Snitch soon," Dominique said to Rose, squinting at Scorpius Malfoy, who was gliding high above the game. "I have homework to do."

"Snitch hasn't shown up all game," Rose replied. "Could be awhile."

Twenty more minutes passed until, suddenly-

"LOOK AT SCORPIUS!" Rose screamed. He had gone into a dive, a dive so steep it seemed as though he would smash into the ground. The Hufflepuff Seeker tore after him, but it was too late-Scorpius was already rising, his fist held high, gold glinting through his fingers.

The stadium exploded with so much noise that no one could hear Lee's commentary. The Ravenclaw supporters were pouring onto the field, and Rose found herself shunted along with them, down onto the field, towards the team, who were all punching the air in triumph. Somehow, Scorpius saw her. If possible, his smile grew wider, and he began to fight his way toward her through the crowd.

"WE DID IT! WE DID IT!" he yelled. Rose smiled hugely, and had just opened her mouth to congratulate him when he threw his arms around her.

She froze. What was he doing? She was suddenly aware of everything around her - Molly watching them, her eyes round as Galleons, the smell of sweaty bodies, how warm Scorpius was, the way his arms felt around her.

Scorpius obviously felt the tension in her body, for he let go rather quickly. She could see in his eyes that he was as shocked as she was - and a little hurt, too.

"R-Rose?" he asked weakly, but she turned and shoved her way through the crowd, wanting nothing more than to escape - escape the much-too-crowded field, escape the eyes she could feel on the back of her head, and to escape the thoughts that were running through her own head.

Well, you know what they say...the road to romance is never easy. Especially with these two. As soon as I finish chapter 15, I'll upload the next one. Chiao for Niao!

Lovelovelove -D-