"I don't want to", Rose complained and pouted. "I really don't wanna do this anymore."
"Well, you have to. I stuck with you when you gave me advice on how I could become better with the animals and now you have to stuck with me during my lecture of spells."
"But Al… it is so boring! Why do I have to learn all of them? When the bloody hell will I ever need a spell to turn a door knob into a door handle?"
"You never know, my dearest cousin! But don't worry, Scorp will join us as soon as he is finished with Quidditch practice."
"But we have practice afterwards. Did you forget?"
"Oh damn, you're right!" Albus sighed and run his fingers through his hair. "Lucky you. It means we're done with practicing spells for our final exams in two days!"
"Well, I already have all my O.W.L.s in the classes I want to take. I just need to pass my N.E.W.T.s in seventh year. And I don't plan on succeeding in anything but Care Of Magical Creatures and Muggle Studies and D.A.D.A and maybe Transfiguration and Divination and Astrology and…"
"Yes, I get it, Rosie. You will be awesome in all of them. As always. But if you don't practice in spells and in Herbology, and especially if you don't improve in Potions, you will have worse N.E.W.T.s than Scorp. You really want that?"
"No… I want to be just as good as he is. What I lack in Potions, I make up for in Care of Magical Creatures and vice versa. But come on, we really need to hurry up to get changed and ready for practice."
"We still have plenty of time."
"But… no." Rose shook her head. "I wanna see Scorp practicing before we start! So I can talk a bit with him after his practice and we can arrange a time to meet in the evening. You're coming, too, right? Our first exam is tomorrow and after that we have exams nearly every day the next two weeks and then we are done with our sixth year! Merlin's beard, Albus! Can you believe we've been in Hogwarts for that long? It seems to me like we only started yesterday."
"I know what you mean. It seems like we are still the nervous eleven-year-olds who were so afraid of not living up to the expectations. You, as the first child of war-hero Ron Weasley and war-heroine Hermione Granger, you had nearly the same pressure as James had when he first started school. Though you did much better than him."
"Well, I am my mother's daughter, ain't I? Though I can be as troublesome as my dad."
"Oh, you proved that plenty of times. And I am glad I could join most of these adventures."
"We're talking as if it would be the end of everything!"
"Yeah, don't know why. Maybe we just got a bit nostalgic over everything. So, no sad feelings, my lovely cousin. Let's go and watch Scorp. And let's make silly faces!"
"Oh yes! Silly faces are the best! He will have such a hard time concentrating on everything when we're sitting down there, sticking out our tongs and rolling our eyes."
A few moments later, the pair of them sat on the top seats, watching their friend flying by. As soon as Scorpius noticed them, they began pulling faces. It was kind of hard to see them from way up in the air, but Scorpius knew by the way Rose was waving her hands what she was doing. He knew her inside out. Sometimes it took him by surprise how close they were. Especially for that short amount of time they knew each other properly. He knew by the way how she raised her eyebrows whether she was interested in a topic or completely bored. He knew by the way her eyes were shining if her day started the way she loved it. He knew all her favourites. Favourite book, favourite band, favourite movie, favourite spell, favourite animal, everything. He never asked about stuff like that. He just happened to know like Rose happed to know everything about him. They didn't even know when it has happened. It just had happened at some point in time.
As soon as Scorp's feet touched the ground, Rose sprinted down the stairs to hug him.
"You were quick", he smiled and hugged her back, "real quick! How come you are here? I thought you and Al had to learn a bit. He told me he wanted to ask you a few things about Magical Beasts."
"Yeah... he wanted to but I wanted to see you play! You are awesome and I'm a bit worried about our match on Saturday. It's gonna be so damn hard to play against you and your team. I've gotta score many many goals so we'll win even if you catch the Snitch!"
Scorpius laughed and hugged her again. "Sure. Try to score about twenty goals and you might be set. The team really is nice to me. It is a bit unusual for me. You know how mean they were."
"But they are gone and Zabini didn't do anything bad to you or me or any of your other friends. You will be fine. They appreciate your talent and they know you've saved their arses so many times. The team has won so many matches just because of you."
"Well, not that many... I have not played that many matches."
"But you will! Next year! So, do we meet after my practice?"
"Sure we do. I go and take a shower and study some Herbology with your lovely cousin Albus Severus' notes."
"Oh, come on, Scorpius Hyperion." Al made a grimace. "Not my full name. I just hate it... Albus Severus Potter. Named after two glorious headmasters. Yeah, thanks dad, for giving me such a ridiculous name. I know why and I know how well they meant it but really? If I could choose, I'd change my name. To something less expecting. If your damn name is Albus Severus, you do have to live up to some expectations. I'd change my name to something like Tom or Paul."
"Tom?" Scorpius raised an eyebrow. "As in Tom Riddle?"
"Oh... yeah, you are right. Well, then Paul."
"Paul Potter?" Rose had to giggle. "Sounds awesome! You're gonna be Paul Potter, James will be names Peter Potter and Lily changes her name to Patty Potter. And I'll be Wilma Weasley with my brother Wim Weasley. So Scorp has to be... hm. Mark Malfoy. And his baby-sister's name is going to be Mila Malfoy."
"Rose, I do hope your husband is very very strong and has fun arguing with you. Otherwise your children will be named even stranger than we are named." Scorp kissed her cheek and ruffled her hair a bit. "I will be gone. And you two have fun on the broom."
"We will! Have fun in the shower. All alone." Rose winked at him and blew him a kiss.
"I will have a lot of fun all by myself in the hot and steamy shower."
"Oh, you two are awful!" Albus sighed. "Really! Full of sexual innuendos. I so hope you shag before your graduation. Maybe all of this will stop then."
"You really think so? I think you do not know Rose and me too well. Anyway, we just meet at 8 pm in front of the kitchen. I know Rose will be hungry after Quidditch practice."
"Sounds great! And yes, I'll be freaking hungry afterwards! After my hot and steamy shower all by myself", grinned Rose.
"Have fun with that." Scorp grinned and hugged the two good-bye.
After practice and a bit of chatting with James and Lily, Albus, his girlfriend and Rose made their way towards the kitchen. Halfway, Albus decided that he and Izobel needed some time for themselves, so they set off to the Shack. It was alright for Rose and Scorpius. They both knew how stressful the time before the exams was and they both knew how little time Al had spent with Izobel lately. In addition, the two were perfectly happy spending the evening with each other and only each other.
"So... you wanna wish a room?"
"I would love to." Scorpius smiled at her and seconds later he opened the door. "You like it? I thought something relaxing and cuddling might be good. Seeing as we have our first exam tomorrow we really need some rest and peace and quiet-time."
"I like it. It is very... very us. Very Rose and Scorpius." She took his hand and dragged him into the room. "A bed is always good! I just hope we don't fall asleep. You know, we never fell asleep together. We never slept in the same bed. Weird, isn't it?"
"Not really. Why should we sleep in the same bed? It is nothing one usually does. Not with a pure platonic female friend, at least."
"I'd love to sleep in a bed with you! And cuddle and tease and hug you!"
"The tease-one is why I do not want it." Scorp smiled at her and took off his shoes. "Did Mum send you a letter? She told me she wanted to write you."
"She has indeed written me! But she just told me she'd like to meet up with you and me next time we go to Hogsmeade. Well, next time we're allowed to go there. So in three weeks time!" Rose beamed at him and took off her shoes as well before crawling into the huge bed.
Scorpius followed her quickly, snuggling into the duvet.
"Nice and cosy, am I right?"
"You are always right, Pumpkin Pie." He grinned and hugged her. "So, you want something to eat? Some tea?"
"Always." Rose thanked him and was overall quite happy and content with the situation. It was warm, she had food, she had Scorp and everything was back to normal. She just didn't like thinking about the upcoming exams. But being in bed with her best friend, drinking tea and chatting was definitely her favourite way of preparing for the tests.