"I'm sorry, James, but Rose was lying. I don't feel the same way about you."
James just stared at her, blinking slowly, as if unable to comprehend what he'd just heard. As the son of the Harry Potter, James had spent the past 4 years at Hogwarts having girls throw themselves at him, and a handful of boys too. At first it had been fun, amusing, even, but after a while having people asking for his autograph in between classes got quite annoying. That's why he was almost relieved when Al started the next year, so they could split the fans between them. But James had always relied on the possibility of being able to play the 'I'm Harry Potter's son' card, and the thought of it not working now, when he needed it the most, had shaken him. "But... you always flirt with me... and Rose said that you liked me too!"
Molly sighed, "I flirt with everyone. And that was probably Rose's only evidence of me liking you; that I flirted. I'm really sorry, James."
James cursed Rose under his breath, as well as himself. How could he have been so big-headed, and landed himself in this situation?
"Well, I'd better be-"
"Is there someone else?" James blurted, cutting Molly off, "I mean, do you like someone else?"
Molly sighed again, before returning to her 'might as well tell it like it is' policy. "Yes."
"Can I ask who?"
"You can, but that doesn't mean I'll tell you?"
James grinned slightly at that, "Will you, though?"
"Alright, as long as you promise not to beat him up, or tell anyone."
"I promise."
"It's Nathan Williams, the Ravenclaw in my team for the Inter-House Challenge."
James nodded slightly, "I'll just pretend I know who he is."
"Well, I'm sure you'll meet him soon. He asked Rose out."
"I'm sorry, Mol," James said sympathetically, sticking his hands in his pockets.
"Don't say that. People say it all the time, even about something that isn't their fault. It makes the words empty, it makes them pointless."
He smiled, "Sor- I mean, that makes two of us pissed with Rose anyway. We should make a 'Down with Weasley' club."
Molly grinned, "There are way too many Weasley's in the school, it'd get confusing.
James laughed in agreement, "You're right. Anyway, we'd better go. See you around, Molly."
"See you."
And they went their separate ways.
*
After Molly had headed towards the changing rooms, James ran up to the Gryffindor Common Room, with his Quidditch robes billowing out behind him, and saw who he was looking for descending from the Girls Dorm. Rose.
"Rose can I have a word?" he asked, none too politely.
"Yeah... sure," she responded, confusion evident in her voice alone.
James led the way to a corner of the room, but not even considering sitting down. Instead he got straight to business. "Why did you tell me that Molly liked me when she doesn't?"
"What? But she does! - Doesn't she?"
"So you didn't even believe that she liked me? Rose, you've no idea how humiliating that was for me! I'm not used to rejection-"
"Well maybe you should be!" Rose flared, her voice rising. She hated being talked down to, and had a very short fuse. "I'm sorry that Molly doesn't reciprocate your feelings, and I didn't purposely land you in this situation, but maybe it's for the best that you are!"
"And what do you mean by that?"
"I mean that I'm sick of your big-headedness, thinking you're above everyone else, just because you're Harry Potter's son! Well guess what? My parents played a huge part in Voldemort's downfall, arguably as much as your Dad, and definitely more than your mum! But do they get any of the attention? Nope, they get a measly Chocolate Frog card each! Maybe suffering rejection for a change will make a positive difference to you!"
"Oh so this is what it's about!" James yelled, grabbing the attention of the entire Gryffindor population, "You're jealous!"
"I am not! Why would I be jealous of an arrogant sod like you, James?"
"Ooh!" gasped the Gryffindor's. Rose threw them a death stare, but was too involved in the argument to properly yell at them too.
"Well, if I'm arrogant, then you must be a geeky, know-it-all, full of herself bitc-"
"Don't you dare insult my best friend like that!" exclaimed a voice familiar to both Rose and James. Their heads simultaneously swivelled to the door, where Molly was stood, her cheeks flaming in shock and anger. "I thought you were a decent boy, James, but anyone who talks to my best friend like that- even if I am slightly annoyed with her at the moment too- doesn't deserve to be called her cousin. C'mon, Rose."
Rose and Molly walked towards the girls dorms, the former throwing a smug glance at James over her shoulder.
"Thanks, Molly." Rose said flinging herself down on her bed.
"Don't worry about it." Molly replied through gritted teeth, as this was their first real conversation since she'd found out about Rose and Nathan. She wasn't sure why she'd defended Rose, especially when Molly and James had similar feelings towards Rose at the moment.
"So, I take it James asked you out, from the outburst he just had," Rose asked, trying not to sound too upset by her argument with James, which had shaken her more than she was letting on.
"Yeah..." Molly replied.
"And you said no?"
"Yeah..."
"Why?"
"Because... I don't know, I just did."
"But you flirt with him all the time!"
"Don't say that, it's exactly what he said."
"You're ignoring the question."
"Fine. I said no, because I don't like him. All the flirting was just a joke, a bit of fun, and it's better this way so I'm not leading him on."
"But you did lead him on! With all the flirting!" Rose pointed out.
"Oh, c'mon Rose! If I'd known he thought I was serious, I wouldn't have done it!"
"Oh well that makes it alright then!" she exclaimed, sitting up, "You hurt my cousin, Mol, and I'm very grateful for you stepping in when he was insulting me, but James had reason to be angry, and that reason was you!"
"Don't turn this on me Rose! I can't help who I have feelings for, and I'm not going to lie about them out of pity! If you're going to keep up the 'oh, I honestly thought you were in love with my cousin, and wanted to make little babies with him,' act, then you're gonna need some drama lessons!"
"I wasn't lying, Molly! I honestly thought you liked him! I don't want either of you to be upset of hurt, so why would I pretend I believed it if I didn't?"
"Who knows? Maybe because that way you and Nathan can get your 'happily ever after'!"
"First of all, will you stop using that baby-voice on me, and second, what are you insinuating?"
"Oh, for God's sake, Rose, you're such a naive idiot, despite your know-it-all act!"
"I'm not going to accept that comment, Molly. I may be naive, but I'm certainly not an idiot." Rose snarled; her voice dangerously quiet. "The one thing I'm secure about is my brains, and I refuse to let you take that away from me."
"Oh, well, that's me put in my place!" Molly retorted sarcastically. "Now, if you don't mind leaving, I'd be much obliged. Your innocence pains me."
Rose was about to point out that this was her dorm as much as it was Molly's, but decided that maybe it would be better if she had some time alone. "Fine." She snapped, before storming out.
*
Rose's feet carried her automatically down to her favourite tree in the grounds, the one on the opposite side of the school, away from the view of the Gryffindor Common Room. She sat herself down beneath the branches, wrapping her cloak around her shoulders, as the wind was blowing quite fiercely, and buried her head in her knees and cried. Well done, Rose, she thought, that's two of your best friends angry with you in the space of an hour, and both over something ridiculously petty. Molly and Rose had stuck together through thick and thin, with only minor disagreements before today, and Rose had always thought that if they ever argued properly, it wouldn't be because of a boy! She still didn't understand why Molly was so angry with her; all she did was get James to ask her out! Why had that affected her so badly?
"Is this seat taken?" asked a voice. Rose hurriedly wiped away her tears and looked up to see Nathan stood next to her, the wind blowing his caramel hair all over his face.
"No." Rose replied, attempting a smile.
"Then you won't mind if I take it?"
"Of course not." He sat down on the roots of the tree, next to Rose. The pair sat in silence for a moment, before Nathan spoke again: "So, what's wrong?"
Rose sighed, before deciding she might as well be honest with him:"Me, being the social butterfly that I am, have managed to get into an argument with both Molly and James, and I don't think either of them like me very much anymore." She cringed at how childish she sounded. However, Nathan didn't seem to notice.
"What happened?"
"I'm not really sure... James was annoyed with me because I led him to believe that Molly liked him, and he asked her out as a result, but she said no. So he thinks it's my fault that he looked stupid, because I told him she liked him and everything. I honestly believed she did! But James thinks I was making it up so he'd look daft, but why would I do that?"
"Oh dear." Was all Nathan said.
"What?"
"I don't know, that's just what you say in this sort of situation."
Rose laughed a little. "I guess it is."
"And Molly? Why did you two argue?"
"I wish I knew. She was acting all weird, and then I tried to explain why I believed that she liked him... James, that is, and then it just kind of... escalated..."
"Doesn't sound good." Was Nathan's comforting response.
"It's not."
"Never mind," he said, cautiously putting an arm around her shoulders, "you've still got me, and your cousins, and that friend of yours- what's her name- the small one?"
"Tracey?"
"Yeah, that's her. You've still got all of us, so don't worry about it."
"But Molly's my best friend, Nathan! I've never fallen out with her before! And James and I usually get along so well! How can I play on a team with people who hate me? Wait- what if James kicks me off the team?" Rose's eyes stung with tears, but she refused to act any more dramatic than she already was being.
"Listen, Rose. You will sort out whatever the problem is with Molly; you two have been friends so long, that something as minor as this won't ruin it. The same goes for James. If he has a decent bone in his body- which I'm pretty sure he does, he will see that you made an honest mistake. And as for the Quidditch team? I think that James, and the Gryffindor's in general, would prefer to win the House Cup with you on the team, than lose with you off it. So don't worry, ok? It'll all sort itself out, in time."
Rose looked at Nathan, and smiled slightly. "Thanks," she whispered, "You're quite good at listening to me moan tactfully."
"What can I say- I'm just gifted." Rose laughed, before moving closer to him and resting her head on his shoulder. Nathan readjusted his arm around her, and the two of them sat there under the tree for a while, in a comfortable silence.
So, thanks for reading!
I hope you liked it, and sorry that there was no Scorpius in this chapter, I was too busy making Rose mess everything up. ;)
Also, I know it was short, but I just thought this was a comfortable place to finish the chapter.
As always, feel free to review/favourite/follow, because it really means a lot, and thank you to everyone who regularly reviews, or has already favourited/followed me and this fic ;)
Lucy x