Sorry for the long wait, guys, but here it is, chapter 12, enjoy! ;)

The next evening, as the Rose finished off her dinner with Molly and Tracey, ready for Quidditch afterwards, Molly brought up a topic of conversation that Rose was surprised she'd managed to suppress for so long: "So, I think we all saw you in Potions yesterday morning with your new buddy," Molly smirked, "It was shockingly cringe-worthy, you know."
"I don't know what you mean," Rose replied, stirring the custard that she hadn't eaten around in her dish.
"Don't play dumb, Rosie, you specifically refused to yesterday morning when I said it'd get you a boyfriend. Although now I see why- you already have one!" Molly joked, no nastiness in her voice, only friendly amusement.
Rose raised her eyebrows, unimpressed. "Scorpius is not my boyfriend, despite whatever you think-"
"Oh, it's not just me- the whole class were gossiping about it. Even Tracey agrees, don't you, Trace?"
"Well, he certainly seemed interested in you, although I doubted that you were together, as I thought you'd have told us." This reminded Rose of the date with Nathan that she was yet to confess to. She pushed that thought aside.
"What do you mean 'The whole class were gossiping'? There was nothing to gossip about!"
"No, nothing at all, apart from how he caught you when you tripped, like something from a really bad Disney film, and then you looked into each other's eyes, and had a really romantic moment-"
"It was not a 'romantic moment'!" Rose interrupted, "Yes, I tripped, and yes, he caught me, but it wasn't romantic at all! I was too busy worrying about the embarrassment of falling to 'look into his eyes'!"
Molly and Tracey exchanged amused glances, "Yes, Rose, whatever you say. But even you'll admit that he did catch you, which is the sort of thing that happens all the time in cliché rom-coms, and I heard him offer to walk you to your next class with my own ears!"
"Yeah, fine, that's all true, but it doesn't mean anything! Scorpius only offered to walk with me as a friendly gesture and him stopping me falling flat on my face was only kindness!"
"You're so blind sometimes, Rose!" Tracey exclaimed, "Even me, and I know nothing about boys at all, can see that he likes you!"
"She's right, Rose," Molly told her, smirking at Rose's shocked expression. "He likes you. He might not say anything because of your family history and stuff, but it's blatantly obvious. So you'll have to hint at him that you don't care that you're from opposite houses, and that your family's hate each other, and he'll ask you out!"
"Molly, thanks for the advice and everything, but I don't want him to ask me out,"
"You mean you don't like him? But he's so hot! I know he's always been a bastard to me, and all your cousins, but he isn't like that when he's around you. And if he really likes you, which I think he does, then he'll start treating all of us with respect too."
"No, it's not that, it's-"
"It's because of your families, isn't it?" Tracey interrupted, "But they'll all come round to the idea of you being with a Malfoy if he acts civil to them,"
"No, it's not that either, it's..."
"What?" Molly and Tracey asked simultaneously.
"It's because I'm already with someone. Well, not with them, in fact, I barely know him, but I'm going on a date, to Hogsmeade, with him, so I've no interest in Scorpius at the moment."
"No way!" Molly exclaimed, "My little Rosie's got herself a date! Who is it? Please don't say it's anyone creepy, otherwise I'll be worried for you-"
Molly may have gone on for longer, but Rose decided that it was time to admit it. "It's Nathan." She said, "Nathan Williams. The Ravenclaw in your team, Mol,"
Molly went slightly pale, "Yes, I'm perfectly aware of who Nathan is, thanks, Rose," She said briskly, all giddiness gone.
"You're ok with that, aren't you Mol?" she checked, not wanting to upset her best friend.
"Yes, perfectly fine. Excuse me; I've got a Quidditch practise to go to." Molly stood up and left, ignoring Rose who pointed out that they had half an hour before practise.

Molly left the Great Hall in a speed, walk, which broke into a jog, and then a sprint, as she charged up to her dorm. She collapsed on her bed, and tried to get her thoughts straight. So Nathan had asked Rose out. Ok. She could cope with that. It didn't mean anything, he was just interested in getting a girlfriend, and Rose was a nice girl, so he'd asked her out. It didn't mean that Nathan liked Rose or anything. But it also meant that he didn't like Molly, either. When Molly had first realised that she liked Nathan, she told herself that he hadn't asked her out because he was worried that she didn't feel the same. But it clearly wasn't that. He was very comfortable with asking girls out without fear of rejection, especially if what Al said go by. Apparently Rose was the ultimate challenge, as far as asking someone out went.
So Molly came to the only logical assumption: Nathan had no interest in her beyond friendship. She bit her lip and blinked back tears; she wasn't going to start weeping over some boy. Instead she thought about Rose. Admittedly Molly hadn't made it obvious to Rose that she had feelings for Nathan, in fact, it was quite logical for her to believe that Molly still liked James, but he was more of a childhood crush. Since the beginning of the year she had stopped seeing him as a potential boyfriend, and just her Quidditch Captain, who happened to be Rose's cousin, and her friend. So why had she carried on flirting with him? Force of habit? Just for fun? So no-one would now she liked Nathan? Maybe all three. Molly sighed and lay flat on her back, wondering what to do. Then she realised that there was only one thing she could do: carry on as normal. Admittedly, it would be hard if things worked out between her best friend and her crush, bu- who was she kidding, it wouldn't be hard, it would be awful! She couldn't watch Rose and Nathan go all couple-y on her, it wouldn't be fair! Rose wasn't ready to have a boyfriend; she was too innocent, too naive! But she didn't want to break them up, that'd see both of them upset, and that as the last thing she wanted... What to do...
Well, going to Quidditch practise would be a start, said a voice inside her head. Molly glanced at the grandfather clock on the wall- she had precisely 1 minute before she was late and got yelled at by James. Time to run.

*

"It's not like Molly to be late," Fred pointed out to Roxanne, who nodded in agreement, the wind whipping through her braided hair.
Rose felt a twist of worry- last time she'd seen her best friend, Molly hadn't quite seemed herself. "I'll go and find her," Rose decided, turning around to head inside, but she hadn't taken a step before a whirlwind of red and gold appeared next to her.
"Sorry I'm late," Molly said, trying to catch her breath, "I lost track of time, it won't happen again,"
"Don't worry about it, at least you're -" James began, but then seemed to realise that he was being too nice, "I mean, stay at the end Molly, we need to talk anyway,"
"But, James!" she exclaimed, not sure whether to continue her flirty act or not, "You just said 'not to worry'!"
"Look, we need to practise. I only need to speak to you for a few minutes anyway, Mol, and it's not about Quidditch, or being late," he gestured for everyone to disperse and take flight, before grinning at Molly as though they were sharing a secret.
What was that about? She wondered. He called me 'Mol'! He never does that!
She shook the though from her mind and took flight, glad to have Quidditch to distract herself from Rose and Nathan. Sweeping into the sky, the wind pushed Molly's hair off her face, which she hadn't had time to tie up. It was a fantastic feeling, air rippling through her Quidditch robes and making her feel elated as she watched the school shrink below her, feeling free and giddy with adrenaline.
"Ok, everyone, split into two groups of three and just practise throwing the Quaffle to each other first, but don't let the other team touch it!"
"Oh, c'mon, James! We're not first years!" Roxanne called, clearly unimpressed.
"I just want to make sure you haven't forgotten everything over the summer! Get on with it!" he called, but with amusement.
Reluctantly the team split in two: Rose, Al and Molly on one team, more out of habit than anything else, and Fred, Roxanne joined forces with Michael Fletcher, a broad shouldered boy, good looking in Fred's year.
James threw the Quaffle into the air and, despite their initial negative attitudes; both Rose and Michael dove to catch it. Rose succeeded, (being of smaller stature made her an excellent Seeker), and threw it to Al over her shoulder. Al had already been playing Chaser for two years, and had Quidditch in his genes, so had no trouble dodging Roxanne and throwing the Quaffle to Molly, who wasn't quite ready. She too was a Chaser, with a years experience under her belt, but whilst she had been stationary her mind had wandered from Quidditch and back to Nathan. Consequently, when Al threw her the Quaffle, she fumbled, dropped it, dove to catch it, but was beaten by Fred, who turned his broom and threw the ball back to his sister. The pair of them were Beaters, and had been since their Roxanne's third year. Fred had tried out for the team the year before, but hadn't shown aptitude for any position other than Beater, and he didn't seem to work well with anyone who had also tried out for that position. This meant that he didn't make the team until his fourth year, when he asked Roxy to try out for Beater with him. The two of them were extremely close, despite the year gap, and could almost predict the other's movements. This meant that although neither were natural Chaser's, and a game like this was designed for that position, as they could practically predict what the other was going to do, they made a lethal team.
Roxanne caught the Quaffle deftly, and sped off down the pitch, leaving the other five flying after her, James monitoring the game from a distance. With barely a split seconds notice, she turned her broomstick and dived, so she could fly underneath the opposing team who had managed to catch her up due to the fact that two of them were seasoned Chasers. Fred was already ahead of Roxanne, ready to receive the Quaffle off her when Molly, Al and Rose closed in on her. However, Al had predicted this, so simply flew around to the front of Roxanne, blocking her path with his body. She changed direction as quickly as possible, but had lost the momentum she was carrying, so had no option but to throw the Quaffle to Michael, who caught it easily, despite the awkward angle she threw it at, as he was an excellent Keeper. However, as he was so bulky, he couldn't move very deftly, so tried to throw the Quaffle to Fred as quickly as possible. Suddenly James appeared out of nowhere, and intercepted Michael's throw. Catching the Quaffle, he descended into a dive, and landed neatly, followed by his windswept, out-of-breath, now rosy-cheeked team.
"Well done guys; that was pretty good," he told them as they dismounted, "Just a few pointers: Molly, you and Al need to watch each other constantly, just so you're ready to catch the Quaffle if the other throws it. Similarly, don't throw it if the Quaffle if the other isn't ready. The same goes for me as well, but in a minute the three of us can practise working together. Fred and Roxy: excellent teamwork, but be aware of that trick Al pulled on you, it's a beginners error. Rose, I appreciate that the Quaffle isn't your strong point, that's the reason you're the Seeker, but you did manage to maintain your speed and quick turning throughout this exercise: Well done," Rose nodded slightly at these few words of praise, unsure how to react, as this was her first practise, and therefore first compliments on her Quidditch from an authoritative figure.
Whoa, when did she start thinking of James as 'authoritative'? James was her cousin, maybe he was slightly on the arrogant side, but he was her friend, and he was certainly not 'authoritative'. That would be weird.
"Michael, we need to work on your speed- no, don't look at me like that, it is big factor as a Keeper, otherwise how are you going to get from one goal to another if a Chaser tricks you and aims for one you're not expecting? But that was a great catch you did before." James paused, before addressing the entire team, "Ok everyone, today we're going to be working on speed and quick turnings, as they're vital in Quidditch, but not at their best at the moment. Everyone in the air, and race the length of the pitch- go!" Immediately 7 brooms rose into the air, and were off down the other end of the pitch before you could say 'Quidditch'. Rose got there first, closely followed by James, then Al and Molly, with Fred and Roxanne next and Michael bringing up the rear. James gave everyone advice on how to maintain their speed, and they tried it again, and again, and again. Eventually the team moved onto their turnings, which again Rose was excellent at. Michael was pretty good too, and the others weren't half bad.
The team were so engaged with their practise that they didn't notice how dark it had got. Seven wind-swept and bedraggled, but rosy cheeked and happy teenagers descended at James' command, "Well done today, everyone, I'll let you know about the next practise as soon as I can. You didn't do badly at all, though, so congrats," the team nodded and headed to the changing rooms, joking and laughing. "Wait!" James called. He sounded nervous, but his face was still calm and confident, "Molly, can I talk to you a sec?"
"Of course!" she exclaimed, deciding to keep up the 'I-like-James' act for Rose's benefit, until she thought up a better plan, anyway. "Don't wait for me Rose," Rose nodded, and ran after Al into the warmth of the changing rooms.

*

"Are you going to yell at me for being late?"
"Erm...no..." James mumbled whilst pacing back and forth, running a hand through his hair.
"Then what have you kept me back for?" Molly asked, slightly irritated.
"It's because... I want to... I mean, I can't-" he was blushing furiously now, unable to form the words he was trying to say.
"James, what are you doing?" she exclaimed angrily, grabbing hold of his arm to stop him pacing. He looked down to where Molly was holding him, and back up at her, "Just tell me, will you, it's getting a bit cold out here!"
He took a deep breath, bearing in mind what Rose had said: 'Molly has been going on and on about how dreamy you are since first year, begging me to ask you about her... Of course she likes you back, go and ask her out!'He summoned all the Gryffindor in him, and began to speak"I just wanted to tell you that I... I like you Molly, I mean, I like like you, as more than a friend. I don't know when I realised, but Rose told me that you felt the same way. Don't be angry with her, Mol, because that knowledge gave me the courage to ask you out now, so, do you want to go out with me?" he finished, grinning.
Molly just stood there, all types of emotions running through her head that she couldn't process quickly enough. Was she angry with Rose; had her best friend purposely told James that Molly liked him so then Molly and James could get together and Rose could have Nathan? Or did Rose honestly think that Molly liked James and was trying to do a nice thing?
But what should she say to him? She didn't like him anymore, did she? And she couldn't lead him on. But it might make Nathan jealous... no, that'd be cruel to them all. Still, maybe she's start to like James again if she became his girlfriend... What should she do?

So, thanks for reading, what did you think? As always, feel free to review or PM me with anything you'd like to see in future chapters, as I struggle with ones in between challenges. And thank you to everyone who has favourite/followed me or this fic, it really means a lot! And to those loyal readers who review every chapter, I think it's about time that I said: 'You're AWESOME!'
Lucy x