A/N: Hello there, my silent readers (assuming that I actually have readers)! I am really sorry that I have been pretty bad at updating. I know that it's what everybody says when they don't update. But I swear I had a good reason for being so tardy. I moved! To Birmingham, AL! And I love it here! But still it's a little disorienting. Okay. I guess I am doing that TMI thing again. Anyhoo. I am back. And I intend to update very regularly. And also, I just read my writing and saw that I have a lot of errors in it. A lot of typos. I am sorry about that. I am actually your garden variety grammar Nazi. But apparently I am not completely infallible. How unfair. But yeah. Sorry about that.

One more thing. This chapter may feel like a filler, but it is how it was meant to be. You can consider it as part 2 of Chapter 6.

Alright. I will be shutting up for good now. Thank you for reading my story! You people are lovely! Please drop me a review!

Rose was speechless. That was quickly turning into a routine with Scorpius Malfoy. He rendered her speechless quite often. She wasn't sure how to respond to that abrupt declaration. Rose had grown up hearing her parents' stories from their Hogwarts days. So Draco Malfoy was to her what a historical character would be to a person: vaguely familiar. She had seen him at the King's Cross a few times. He was a stern looking man with an uptight manner. She remembered her dad muttering "stick up his arse" or something along those lines about the senior Malfoy. But she had never pegged him for a bad father. But who was she to say anything on the subject anyway?

Meanwhile, Scorpius was mentally scolding himself for spilling out his guts to Rose Weasley. This was not supposed to happen. He wasn't supposed to talk about his sister to anyone. That was the rule. His rule. He had enough problems right now with his mother's illness. He had still not replied to the letter his father had sent. And despite of his best efforts, worry was starting to creep up to him. Worry about his mother, his sister, about everything. He had barely kept his calm façade during the patrol, compartmentalizing everything in his head. But he was slipping. The fact that he told this much about Ira to non other than Rose Weasley was a solid proof of just how much he was slipping. But before he could say anything, Louis appeared out of nowhere, accompanied by the charming Apple Skeeter.

"I want you to know, Louis Weasley, that I don't appreciate you mocking me in front of the Headmistress. I don't appreciate it one bit," she seethed, unaware of the fact that she now had an audience consisting of two bewildered prefects.

"I wouldn't call it mocking." Louis huffed. "I was gently nudging her to see things my way. I have nothing but utmost respect for you, my dear. But honestly, if you think that I am going to let you convince McGonagall of some of your ideas for the- Oh! Fancy seeing you here, Rosie, luv! And Scorpius! My, my. Isn't this a happy accident."

"You should know that this isn't an "accident" of any kind, Louie. You know exactly why Malfoy and I are out here at this hour." Rose rolled her eyes and turned to Apple with a kind smile, "I like your earrings, Skeeter."

Taken aback by the unexpected compliment, Apple simply bobbed her head in Rose's direction and turned her blazing eyes to Scorpius, "I am glad I found you here, Malfoy. There are things happening in Hogwarts right at this moment, which everyone should know about," Apple said conspirationally, "And you and I both know that I am better than you at gathering that kind of intel."

Scorpius sighed. "You sure are, Apple."

"But not here. Meet me tomorrow after your match in the office. We can discuss things then." Apple said, throwing suspicious glances in Rose's way.

"Oh, stop being so mysterious, Skeeter. Just tell the boy. They are going to find out soon enough." Louis drawled.

"Fine," Apple folded her arms in defiance. "We are having a Christmas Ball this year. But that is all I'll say at the moment. And Louis, contrary to what you believe, Herald business is strictly confidential. I'd rather not discuss it in front of others. Good bye, Rose. It was nice seeing you." And with that, she stormed off, leaving Louis with a wide cheeky grin.

Louis knew that he irritated Apple to no end. They had a complicated history, Apple and Louis.

"Wow, Lou. You sure know how to get on her nerves." Rose raised her eyebrow.

"Oh, please," Louis flashed another dazzling smile. "She acts like a dragon lady, but from the inside, she is nothing but a furry little kitten."

"With pointy claws and a perpetual need to scratch people with them." Scorpius said with a horrified look in his eyes.

Rose rolled her eyes at the two boys. "Don't do that. She isn't that bad. She's just a bit too…passionate about things. You can't blame her for that. What? Why are you looking at me like that, Malfoy?"

Scorpius' skeptical expression remained unaltered as he said, "Has anybody ever told you, Weasley, that there is a very high chance of you having a multiple personality disorder?"

"What in the world-"

"No. Let me finish." Scorpius said with his hand held up. "I can perfectly recall, when not long ago you literally attacked me about having Skeeter as one of my Herald writers, quite passionately, if I am correct. And now you're defending her?"

"I'm not! I'm just- you're just- ugh! You know what? Fudge it! I thought we were having a civil patch in our "rocky little ceasefire". But I can see that I was wrong. I still think you're an arsehole." Rose snarled.

Louis seemed slightly worried now. "Alright, Rosie. That's-"

"Shut up, Lou," Rose said. "And you know what else I think, Malfoy?" Rose took a long breath.

"I'm sure you're about to tell me just that, Rose. Don't let me stop you." Scorpius said dryly.

They were both almost nose to nose now. And it was quite startling from a third person perspective, because it could be only one of the two scenarios: two enemies ready to jump at each other's throats, or two extremely oblivious lovers about to tear at each other's clothes. It was also a study in contrast, Louis thought. The pair of them. Everything about Rose spoke "loud": her hair, her red face, her voice, her demeanor, her anger. And everything about Scorpius said "calm": his voice, his manner, his eyes, the way his hands were tightly fisted at his sides, as if trying desperately to stay in control. Yes, Louis Weasley didn't miss much, especially when it was something of a potentially romantic nature. And whether these two idiots knew it or not, there was a lot of potential there.

"I think that it's you who has a multiple personality disorder. I am so done with this truce."

"Oh yeah?" Scorpius said, deadly serious.

"Hell, yeah." Rose whispered.

"Okaaay, you two. Break it up." Louis said.

"So am I," Scorpius completely ignored Louis as he went on with a deadly quiet voice. "And you know what else, Weasley? I have never actively tried to beat you in anything before. I have never needed to. But now I want to. You thought I was better than you in everything? Well, now you will see just how better I can be. I bet that will make your Dad real proud of you."

Rose was beyond angry now. She grabbed Scorpius' collar as she said, "Do your worst, you arsehole."

"Oh, I will." Scorpius smirked.

"That's it. Detention!" Louis exclaimed as he rushed to separate the two. "Malfoy, Rose, quit it."

"Det- you can't do that!" Rose exclaimed.

"Watch me, Rosie." Louis glared at the now deeply breathing Rose. Then he turned towards Scorpius, and said, "Just because we're friends doesn't mean that I will let this slide. I don't know what issues you two have. But they better not affect your duties. I will speak with Professor Longbottom and Professor Provost about this. So expect to hear from them soon. Now go."

Both the prefects left the arena, looking a little defeated, leaving Louis standing there smiling like the cat who had got the cream. Not that they didn't completely deserve that detention, but he was happy with the possible side effects of throwing them together.

It was just a little bit of fun for Louis Weasley then. But even he was oblivious to the fact what a huge favour he had done to the pair at that moment.

Scorpius was fuming as he entered his dormitory. He was not sure what got into him. He was an idiot.

"You're an idiot," Albus was sitting on his bed, looking tired and sleepy. "Do you know what time it is? Two in the morning."

Scorpius threw himself on his bed and sighed deeply, "Not in the mood, Al."

Albus chose to ignore that. "And do you know what that means? We have only six hours to get you enough sleep till the match. Why on earth did you think to have your little rendezvous tonight?"

"What are you on about? I was patrolling."

"Till two? I may not be a prefect, Scorpius, but even I know patrolling hours."

Scorpius sighed for the thousandth time that night as he began, "I got caught up with something, alright? I am sorry. I'm just in a lot of stress right now. I will be careful next time. And don't worry about that match tomorrow, Al. You know we'll be fine."

Albus didn't say anything as he stared at his friend blankly. He knew that Scorpius had received a letter from his father today. Those always brought on this dark cloud around his friend. But this time he looked defeated.

"Just when do I ever have a "rendezvous", anyway? How did you come to that conclusion?" Scorpius said, changing the subject.

Albus smiled at his friend warmly and there was that to the matter. As Scorpius buried his head in his blanket, he heard Albus mumbling through his blankets, "Are you alright, Scorp?"

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Good night, Albus."

"Good night."

And with that, both boys pretended to be asleep, knowing for fact that the other was still awake. Neither of them were in a confrontational mood tonight, which was usually the case when it came to their friendship. Albus knew that Scorpius had secrets he wasn't ready to talk about. And Scorpius knew that behind Albus' quiet façade there was a storm brewing, slowly and consistently. But they rarely ever spoke of their troubles to each other. And they liked it that way. They trusted each other enough to know that they will talk when they were ready to talk.

Albus was musing over the night's events.

"Who wants to kill you, Loralei?"

As if it were even possible, Loralei shirked further into the pillows.

"Hey, hey. Don't be afraid. I am not trying to hurt you." Albus said in a soothing voice as he went a little closer to her.

Lola took a deep breath. "I know that. I am not afraid of you, Albus Potter." She said with a brave voice. "I am actually a bit annoyed. Do you make a habit of eavesdropping in other people's conversations?"

"What- no! Of course not." But Albus knew that his body language screamed guilty. "Look, I am not a creeper, okay? I was- I followed you." He said hesitantly.

Lola just squinted at him in confusion.

"I followed you and Roman. The way you two left the Great Hall…something wasn't right there. And I got worried. I was right, wasn't I?"

Lola stayed quiet for a bit. Then she began quietly. "I am fine. Roman was not trying to hurt me. He has been protecting me. Look, I-" She hesitated for a bit. "I can't tell you everything. I am not supposed to. When you found me there in the corridor, I really needed a…a friend, I suppose. And you were there. And I appreciate it. A lot. But you need to stay out of this, Albus Potter. For your own good."

Albus wanted to run after her so badly. He didn't know why he felt so compelled to be around her, why he wanted to unravel all of her secrets and share his with her. He wasn't lonely like her. He had friends, and a huge family. But still he could see a sort of something in Lola's eyes that was making him act like this.

This isn't the time, Albus. He thought. You have a match to play tomorrow.

The next morning brought Lily Potter yet another bout of foul feelings towards all living things and everything else existing under the endless sky. There was a bustle of people moving around with anticipation of the match. Her friend Viola Obst had already created a cloud of some floral perfume in order to attract the older boys during match.

Lily sneezed violently as that abominable perfume reached her nose. "Ugh, Viola. What is that? It's awful." Lily mumbled through the hand clamped around her mouth.

"Oh, Lily darling. You're awake. I was afraid you won't get up on time to tame that wild hair of yours. It's in quite a state, honestly." Viola gushed.

Viola Obst was a girl perpetually stuck in an old Audrey Hepburn movie. Born to a wealthy banker from London and a socialite mother who spent much of her time attending charity galas with a glass of white wine in her hand at all times, Viola had spent many a nights sitting alone in her room, watching classic Hepburn films over and over, until one day she had decided that she wanted to be Audrey Hepburn. All those dreams however had to be put aside when eight years old Viola set her mother's wine on fire one night at a party in presence of about a hundred people from Muggle London's elite, and her magical abilities had come to light. It was quite a mess too at the ministry's hands. But the thing was, even after five years in Hogwarts, Viola had still not given up on her dream of becoming Audrey Hepburn. And that showed in her manner of speaking, her hair and her clothes. Viola was shallow and cruel at times, but for some reason, she had remained Lily's friend after all this time. Perhaps the reason why they got along so well was that Lily could also be equally vindictive and selfish at times. And both the girls understood that about each other. It was more of a symbiotic relationship.

"I am not coming to the match." Lily said dejectedly as she slumped back in bed.

"Oh, come on, now. Don't be a sourpuss. Don't you want to see how absolutely beautiful the view is from the stands?"

Viola's saucy tone made Lily roll her eyes. She knew exactly what "view" Viola was referring to. "Eww, no. Not Albus, Viola!"

"Did I say I was talking about your brother?" Viola said nonchalantly.

But Lily knew better. While most of Hogwarts' male population fawned over Viola, her only object of affection (read:obsession) had been Albus for years now. It had been the case ever since Albus had given her his scarf once during her first year at Hogwarts in winter and Viola was sneezing violently. She had seen that as a grand romantic gesture for some reason. What Viola didn't know, however, was that it wasn't unusual of Albus to give out scarves to people he didn't know very well. And she had formed an idea somewhere in her mind that Albus was The One for her. And she didn't shy away from talking about them in front of Lily, either, which made Lily often want to strangle her brother for being nice to people.

Lily decided that she didn't want anything to do with Viola or Quidditch today. She wanted to stay as far from everything as possible. She changed into a pair of ratty jeans and a t-shirt that said "Hungarian Horntail Is My Spirit Animal", piled her hair into a top knot, grabbed her books into a bag and left for the Library.

Meanwhile, Rose was prepping herself up as if she were going on a war. She wasn't sure what had crawled up Malfoy's arse last night, but he was going to pay for it in this match. Rose gulped down her banana with a huge sip of pumpkin juice as she glared daggers at Scorpius looking shiny in his Quidditch gear, eating what looked like something yellow and red from distance, and sulking quietly beside a tired looking Albus.

Scorpius, as if feeling Rose's eyes on him, looked up from his plate towards her with an undecipherable expression and then suddenly got out of his seat and took off towards the Entrance Hall.

Strange boy. His strange behaviour was firming Rose's belief that he probably suffered from split personality disorder. But she chose to ignore the thought. Why waste time on thinking about such a foul person when you had a chance to beat them in near future?

PS: Replying to the mysterious guest reader who reviewed on Chapter 6:

I am sorry. I have not figured out how to reply on guest reviews. I am new to this. And my tech skills are not that good. But you know who you are so I am just going to say my part here in case you decide to drop by this story again. I hope you do. I love reviews. So yeah. The reason why I am going way off what we have read in The Cursed Child character wise is that I didn't like some of them. I was really not a fan of book Rose. So I made changes. About the whole Ireland Malfoy situation, you will find out soon enough that things are not quite as they seem. Wow. I always wanted to say that. Thank you for your kind words again! Cheers!