„Scorp! Hey! Wait for me!" Rose hurried up to catch her friend just outside the Potion's classroom. "Guess what!"

"What?" He sighed softly. Rose and he haven't been on good terms the last few months. Neither of them knew why. It had just developed over the time. Maybe because Scorpius had a girlfriend and she wasn't very keen on Rose. So Scorpius tried to manage his time but he was not good in it at all. There had to be time for Melina, time for Rose and Albus, time for school, time for Quidditch, and time for himself. How did all the popular kids manage to time their days so perfectly?

"You should guess!" She pouted and stroke one of her auburn curls behind her ear. It was really amazing how good her hair looked! Redheads were not Scorpius' type, he usually looked at brunettes. Rose' hair was sort of brunette-ish. It was not completely red, it was auburn. Rose taught him the name of her haircolour. Her dad was ginger, her mum had chocolate-brown hair, her brother's hair was ginger as well and hers was auburn. Her eyes were hazel. He knew that for sure, because Rose had told him several times whenever he had called them brown. Yes, Rose was really accurate about colours.

"Okay. Let me try… You and Albus got a parcel by Fred?"

"Nope. Try again! But the direction is correct!"

"So you got a parcel?"

"Indeed I did."

"By… oh, I know that smile on your face, Pumpkin Pie! A parcel by Dimitri."

"Yes! Come! I need to show you! Lily and Albus are already there!"

"Where?"

"Shrieking Shack. Because I need to show it to all of you!"

Rose took her friend's hand and nearly dragged him to their desired destination. Albus and Lily were already waiting inside. Lily was inspecting the parcel which was lying on the table in the middle of the room. The Shack was really comfortable by now, Rose' cousins and Ted Lupin – especially Ted – had put a lot of effort into it. The rooms were bright, the bathroom was a real wellness oasis and there were flowers and plants everywhere. Scorpius really liked it in there. When he had been to the Room of Requirement after the first time in the Shack, his room looked exactly like the living room he was in now. Scorp greeted his friends and placed himself next to Albus on the sofa.

"You're not with Melina today?"

"Rose kidnapped me before I could even think of informing Melina. But we do not have a fixed appointment for this afternoon, so it is fine. And you know, just because I have a girlfriend does not mean I cannot meet up with you guys."

"But you rarely did in the last few weeks."

"I know and I am sorry, Al. Look, I am just really tired and I have no idea how to deal with all of this. Friends, training, girlfriend, family… oh! Rose, you will not believe it! Mum wrote me this morning. She is two months pregnant!"

"She is? Oh, that is wonderful! I need to write her and tell her how great it is! When is her due date?"

"I have no idea but I suppose in June since she is two months pregnant, like I said. She wrote that after talking to you about it last summer, she talked to Dad and they agreed that a second child would be perfect."

"I am so happy for her! I need to write her as soon as we are out of here! But first the parcel." Rose smiled at the three of them, "so, Dimitri sent it to me. He is coming for our Winter Ball. And he sent me a dress he would love me to wear."

Under the critical eyes of her friends she took out the dress.
"Isn't it just lovely? I can totally imagine dancing with Dimitri in it."

"I can totally imagine him staring at your cleavage all the time", muttered Scorpius, "and I can totally imagine him ripping it off of you and shagging you all night long because that is why a guy would send you a dress like that."

"It is not that slutty", Albus told him quietly.

"Look at it", the blonde said softly, "it does not even cover her knees and she better does not bend over or everyone will see her undies."

"I think you are a bit jealous." Albus sighed and made sure that Rose was still busy with showing Lily the dress and talking about Dimitri before he continued talking. "I know, you've got a girlfriend and all but it's Rose and you're so protective of her. And you don't like Dimi. Well, to be exact, you hate him."

"So what? That is not the reason. I just do not like the dress. It does not suit Rose at all!"

"Yeah, sure." Albus rolled his eyes.

Scorpius was quite happy that the ball was not coming up until two weeks later. It was their first ball, because only the sixth and seventh years were allowed to go. The blonde was only there because Rose asked him to. She had asked him with those big hazel eyes of hers. He just could not resist them. But it was worth it. Rose looked fabulous! Although the dress really was way too short for this sort of occasion. It fit her perfectly. Actually, it did not. It did not fit her at all and still, it was perfect.

"She looks great, doesn't she?", Albus grinned as he nudged Scorpius, "My cousin, I mean. Not my girlfriend. Well, my girlfriend of course but Rose looks fabulous."

"No. She looks like a slut. This is not the right occasion to wear a dress like this. It is sexy and Rose is not sexy."

"Don't let her hear that. So wants to be sexy, like every girl does."

"But she is not sexy."

Scorpius sighed. Of course was Rose sexy. But not in that kind of way. Not in a way such a short dress would make her sexy or stress her sexiness. Rose was flowery, she was light and free. She was a thinker as well as a feeler. She was so different, so exclusive. A slutty dress in pale pink did not capture all of that. It just screamed: Look at how little this bloke knows me and my style. Scorpius could have picked out tons of dresses which would have fit her much much better. But no. She chose Dimitri instead. At least she was happy. He could see it from the way her perfectly hazel eyes sparkled, from the way she smiled and the way she walked. When she was extremely happy, Rose had a little wiggle to her walk. She was happy because she was with Dimitri. The young Slytherin could only guess that this ball was definitely going to be very long and very exhausting. Maybe, if Dimitri behaved badly, Rose would finally see how much of an arrogant show-off he was. Maybe then he and Rose would stop fancying each other. Maybe Scorpius himself could help her and their friendship would start to grow again. He really hated it this was. Always something between them but no-one really knew what exactly the problem was.

"Just look at her. She really looks slutty."

"Melina, shut it", Albus hissed at her, "you are Scorpius' girlfriend, you should be supportive of his friends."

"She is a slut. You can tell me whatever you want, she is. Getting a boy who graduated to come to our Yule Ball? He didn't even go here! She wants to get laid, I tell you. She's gonna get laid."

"Melina, enough. She is my best friend, she is Al's cousin, do not speak about her in that kind of way. Not with her friends and family around you."

"If you would be her friend, my love, she would've talked to you the last weeks. She hardly did. And you know that."

"I have had it." Scorpius stood up and sighed. "Melina, I am breaking up with you. I cannot take it anymore. You hate Rose, I get it. But I… she is my best friend in the world. No offense, Al, but Rose really is everything for me. If you cannot stand her and if you keep talking badly about her, I have no other option than to break up."

"You.. you're breaking up with me on the fucking Yule Ball? Scorpius Malfoy, you are disgusting! First you fuck me, then you break up with me? Because of a fucking Weasley? One who isn't even remotely interested in you?" By now, Melina was shouting, she didn't even notice the people starring at them. She didn't care. Everyone should know what an arse Scorpius was. "You fuck me and you dump me and why? Because I tell the truth! Because I know what a slut your little friend is! You are a true Malfoy."

The second Melina spit in front of Scorpius' feet, the second she was slapped hard in the face.

"You don't talk to Scorpius like that. Did you hear me? You don't talk to my best friend like some crazy bitch. And you don't talk about me like that!" Rose stared at her, furiously, until she gripped Scorpius' arm and dragged him out of the Great Hall, away from the crowd, away from the stares and the nasty comments.