Rose woke up the next morning feeling fresh. After showering, she put on her robes and placed her books for her classes on her bed neatly. She went to the mirror and fixed her hair and did her makeup. She then went down into the common room, smiling when she saw Scorpius and Albus. She approached them and they didn't seem to notice her until she sat with them.

"Just ask her then- oh, hey Rosie," said Albus with a grin. Scorpius looked startled, jumping up like he had been tased before chuckling nervously.

"W-when did you get here?" asked Scorpius in a fidgety voice. He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. Albus laughed mischievously.

"Just now, stop acting so weird," said Rose. "Let's get to breakfast."

She didn't hear Albus as he whispered to Scorpius, "I know who the girl you like is."

Breakfast was fairly normal, and so were classes that day. After class, Rose had promised to go out by the lake with Ellie and Abby and do homework. She did have an essay due in a week she hadn't started yet, so she brought her supplies for that.

When Rose got to the lake, Rose and Abby started working, but Ellie started gossiping. Ellie was never one to actually do her homework when she could be gossiping.

"So you know Justin Blackman from Hufflepuff? He is so cute, one of his friends told me he might ask me out! I'd say yes of course," said Ellie excitedly. Ellie always had a crush on at least 5 different boys, and she had at least 10 different boyfriends a year.

"You guys would be so cute together," giggled Abby without looking up from her textbook.

"I know, right!" Ellie then glanced mischievously at Rose. "Hey, I just talked about who I like, Abby is dating Albus, but you haven't told us about any of your crushes yet… spill!"

"You know I don't go through boys like you do," said Rose, although her mind immediately flashed to Scorpius.

"You have to at least think someone is cute…" pleaded Ellie. Rose rolled her eyes.

"Just drop it," said Rose.

"You won't say you don't like anyone because you hate lying!" exclaimed Ellie. Rose sighed. It was true. Ellie could always tell when her friends like someone, and Rose definitely did like someone.

"I'm not giving you a name, but I do like someone and we kind of have a thing," said Rose, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Aww, that is so cute! I will find out who it is if it's the end of me," said Ellie in a serious tone.

"I'll tell you soon enough, but I need to figure out how I feel myself before I kiss and tell," said Rose, quickly realizing that was a mistake. Ellie looked like she would explode. Even Abby put her book aside.

"Did… did you kiss?" asked Abby calmly.

"Yes," breathed Rose. Ellie picked Rose up so that she was standing and hugged her while jumping up and down.

"I am so proud of you Rosie! You better spill those details soon or else," Ellie could hardly calm herself down. Even Abby giggled and joined the hug.

"I'll tell you more tomorrow," said Rose calmly. "I'm gonna go focus on my essay before I reveal more gossip to you guys. I have to get it done before dinner."

After finishing her essay, Rose walked into the common room, and Albus and Scorpius were hanging out without her again. She thought it was a bit strange because she didn't think they had gotten that close that quickly. She stood at the top of the stairs listening in on them for a minute before going to join them.

"-you really kissed her?"

"Yeah, I think she liked it. I couldn't help it."

"Why did you lie to me?"

"We don't want to start gossip, we aren't even dating."

"Yet."

"I am really not sure if I should ask her out or not."

"Are you kidding me? She kissed you back! She likes you! She offered to meet you at the lake after dinner, like, alone!"

"I guess."

"Do you like her or not?"

"I like her a lot."

"Then you should ask her out."

"Isn't it moving a bit too fast? I mean…"

"She wouldn't have kissed you back if she didn't like you, so I don't think so, no."

"I… I… I'm gonna do it then."

Rose blushed and walked back into the girls' dorm. She was almost positive she knew what was gonna happen. Scorpius was gonna ask her out after dinner. She immediately knew what she was going to say.

Dinner felt very awkward to Rose, because she knew stuff she wasn't supposed to know. She knew eavesdropping was bad, but she couldn't help it.

After dinner was over, Rose waited for everyone to leave, holding onto Scorpius's hand. They went outside by the lake and sat down. They were sitting a normal distance away from each other, trying to think of what to say or do.

"So." Scorpius's calm voice broke the silence between them. "About the owlery last night."

"Yeah," whispered Rose.

"I really like you, Rosie," Scorpius whispered to her. She liked the way his voice sounded when he whispered.

"I like you too," Rose said softly, scooting closer to him so that they were touching.

"I have to ask you something," said Scorpius, who seemed to be getting a little nervous while still using a calm tone of voice at the same time. Rose didn't know how he achieved that.

"Anything," said Rose calmly. She knew what was coming already, but she tried not to act like she already knew what he would say.

"Rosie, I'm not perfect. I have flaws, I make mistakes, and I am not the easiest person to deal with. But I know one thing, and that thing is that I really like you. And I think you might like me too. How a girl amazing as you likes someone like me? I don't know. But all of that being said… I know we haven't known each other for long, but I just feel like you're really special… so do you wanna try dating for a little while?" Scorpius's eyes glittered as he looked at Rose.

"Yes."

Rose stood up, pulling Scorpius up with her, and she kissed him. He didn't even think before kissing her back. She wrapped her arms around him, and he followed, wrapping his arms around her back. The kiss was long and passionate, and Rose didn't think she had ever felt better in her whole life.

When they finally stopped kissing, Rose felt so good.

"I liked that," whispered Rose. She was breathing heavily and looking into Scorpius's eyes. She hadn't fully let go of Scorpius, and she was still holding him.

"Then why'd we stop?" asked Scorpius, leaning in close to her face again.

"Wait," said Rose. "Are we allowed to tell people we're official?"

"I don't think I can help myself from talking the ears off of anyone who will listen to me," said Scorpius, starting to kiss Rose again immediately after he finished talking. Rose kissed him back, happy that she was now officially dating the cutest boy in Gryffindor (in her opinion).

Rose and Scorpius had hardly made it back to the common room before it was after curfew. They had been having fun and they lost track of time. Professor Snives, a female professor who was the Head of Slytherin, had almost taken house points from then when she saw them walking past. Professor Snives was a harsh woman who liked to punish students. She was even harsh to students in her own house, even though they always received the lightest punishments of any house. She had thick jet black hair that brushed her shoulders. It was very straight but also kind of wiry. She had stern-looking facial features and dark brown eyes. She was also slightly muscular, and she looked very fit. Most students outside of Slytherin were afraid of her.

However, since they had a few minutes until after curfew, she had no reason to punish them, so they had been able to make it to the common room.

"That was close," said Rose. She noticed everyone had cleared out at this point, and she giggled a little bit. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight, Rosie."

The next morning, Rose woke up and still felt great, just like yesterday. Her hair looked perfect after being brushed out, and her acne had cleared out. She felt as good as she looked. She thought she was on top of the world. She had great friends and an amazing boyfriend who really liked her. She was glad it was Saturday that day.

Rose followed her usual morning routine before heading downstairs into the common room happily. She saw Albus already sitting on a couch, so she sat down next to him and hugged him.

"Hi Rosie, what's up?" asked Albus expectantly, as if he was waiting for confirmation on something important. At first, Rose was confused, but she remembered the conversation between Scorpius and Albus she overheard.

"Oh, not much," said Rose casually, stifling laughter in the back of her mind.

"Really? Nothing exciting…?" Albus started trying to read her, obviously confused.

"Nothing big, just that me and Scorpius are dating…" said Rose with a giggle. Albus grinned as his expectation was finally met.

"Good catch," said Albus, punching her in the arm. "And if he does anything funny-"

"Al, you and I both know he isn't capable of anything like you are implying, he has such a big heart," said Rose, blushing at the thought of how caring he was towards her.

"I'm not taking any chances."

"Hey, Rosie." Rose was slightly startled but also pleasantly surprised at hearing Scorpius's voice. She got up and gave him a quick hug. They then headed to breakfast with Albus.

After breakfast, Rose went to hang out with Ellie and Abby. She told her friends about her new boyfriend, and they were super excited for her, especially Ellie.

"He is SO hot," said Ellie. "If I wasn't so busy, I would've gotten him to put the books down and talk to me. However, Justin's on my mind right now. I hope he asks me out soon, or I'll have to ask him. I have been trying to give him hints-" Rose lost track of what Ellie was chatting about because Abby had said something.

"I really like Albus as well. Even though he tried to drag me into a prank on Snives," said Abby with a giggle. "He's pretty dumb sometimes but he is so cute."

After Abby had to go to hang out with Albus and Ellie had to find Justin for spying purposes, Rose sat by the lake to study by herself. She had a couple of essays to finish, and she didn't need any distractions, so she didn't ask anyone to come with. Rose knew none of her friends would actually want to sit there and do homework, they would all just start talking to her. Not to mention she had already had so much interaction during the past couple of days that she was ready for a break. She had always been an introvert, after all.

"Hey Rosie!" Rose tried to hide her annoyance as she turned around to face Scorpius. However, when she saw his face, she couldn't help but smile.

"Hey Scorp," said Rose, turning back around and working on her essay. She hoped he wouldn't think she was ignoring him, but she had plenty of homework that she wanted to get done. She felt him sit next to her, but she didn't say anything.

"So…" Scorpius started to braid a tiny piece of Rose's hair. "What's up?"

"Just getting this essay done, it's due in 2 weeks and I haven't even started yet," murmured Rose, hardly even paying attention to what she was saying.

"You're so uptight," said Scorpius. He got no response, so he took the quill out of her hand.

"Wait!" exclaimed Rose, grabbing for the quill. "I'm never gonna get this essay done."

"You can do it this weekend, for goodness sake," said Scorpius. He didn't hand back her quill.

"I can, but I'm doing it now. Hand back the quill, please," said Rose. "Now." Scorpius sighed and handed her the quill.

"Do you ever have fun?"

"I have fun when my essay is handed in on time and I get an O on it," snapped Rose. She tried not to sound too harsh, because she didn't want to upset him, but she did want Scorpius to understand that she was serious. "Look, I promise I'll come hang out with you in the common room after I finish this."

"Fine," said Scorpius with a sigh. "Tomorrow, can I sit with you if I bring homework?"

"If you're quiet," said Rose with a sigh. "And if you won't be a distraction. I really like you, but I need some quiet homework time."

"Perfect. I will be a quiet non-distraction, then," said Scorpius. "I have all my homework done today, though, so I'll see you in the common room." Scorpius walked away, and Rose had almost liked working better when he was annoying her just then. However, she quickly got back to her essay.

When all of her current homework was done, Rose quickly headed to the owlery and grabbed a letter from her parents carried by Topper. She stuck it in her pocket and walked back to the common room. A bunch of people were hanging out, talking and laughing. Some people were even kissing their boyfriends/girlfriends.

"Excuse me?" Rose felt a light tap on her shoulder and turned to a young-looking girl with honey blonde hair and hazel eyes that were shielded by a pair of big square glasses. "You're a Prefect, right?"

"Yeah," said Rose with a warm smile. "What's up?"

"Well, I'm Mia, and I thought I should tell you about a fight going on over there," said Mia, pointing to an area of the common room where Rose could tell there was a fight.

"Thank you, Mia, for letting me know! I'll check it out," said Rose. She walked over to the fight and saw two 7th-year boys yelling at each other.

"YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE TOUCHED HER, LIAM!"

"YOU WERE DATING IN SECRET, AND I DIDN'T KNOW!"

"YOU SHOULD HAVE GUESSED!"

"GUESSED? SORRY I AM NOT OBSESSED WITH EVERY DETAIL OF YOUR LIFE ENOUGH TO FIGURE OUT YOUR SECRETS, PARKER."

"I CAN'T BELI-"

"STUPEFY!"

"Cut it out, please!" yelled Rose. She felt as if she would wet herself when Liam, a 7th year boy who was a head taller than her, turned to her angrily.

"Why should I listen to you, scrappy little girl?" asked the one boy who was apparently named Liam. Rose wondered if she should be terrified, but she felt a sudden surge of confidence. She muttered a countercurse onto Parker and then turned to Liam.

"Because I am a Prefect and I will hand out detentions. Now listen. I have no idea what you two are talking about, but if you can't resolve it like rational human beings, this poor girl you're fighting over will probably see how aggressive both of you are, and I don't know many girls that are into that," said Rose, trying to keep her voice from shaking. "Now don't let me hear about you fighting again." Liam and Parker walked away angrily, and Rose sat down on the couch with a huff.

"That was brave," said Scorpius, sitting down next to Rose.

"It's just my job," said Rose with a shrug. "What were you doing the whole time that was going on? You've been here for hours." Scorpius grinned sheepishly.

"...watching the fight," he replied embarrassedly. Rose stepped on his foot playfully.

"You could have stood up to them better than me," said Rose with an eye roll. "If they hadn't taken me seriously I would've been done for. You are tougher than me."

"I'm probably not. I didn't know you had fight in you like that," said Scorpius. "It's really cute."

"You're really cute," said Rose, kissing him on the cheek. She leaned into him and wrapped her arms around him. Her head rested on his shoulder.

"Sometimes I feel like I could just sit alone with you forever like this," said Scorpius passionately.

"It feels like nothing else exists," Rose responded. The two of them sat there like that for a while, until it was late and they had to go to bed. Rose hugged Scorpius as a goodbye and went back up to her dorm.