HERE WE GO
"Rose, wake up!" My eyes fluttered open to find Alex trying, unsuccessfully to pull her socks on her feet. "We've got potions!" This was followed by a loud thump and Alex was suddenly sprawled on the floor amongst various items of clothing.
"What?!" I shot up from the mountain of pillows I had created during sleep and looked around the room, which was undeniably vacant except for Alex's squirming form on the floor.
"I can't believe Miranda didn't wake us up." She yelled and added, mumbling, "Stupid cow." Rolling her eyes, she stood up and yanked her jumper over her head angrily. Storming over to her bed, she hauled out her trunk from underneath, which moved with a screech and a hiss. The latter sound came from a sleek black form, which darted across the space between our beds and landed neatly in front of me. Jinx curled up in a ball. It was all right for him, he could sleep all day and no one would know any different.
"Alex." I groaned, wiping my hands over my face and collapsing back into the soft, warm covers. If only I could sleep the day away.
"Trust me, that was a much less vulgar version of what I was going to say." Her voice was muffled through the soft pillows around me, although her annoyance was still prominent. I remembered what had happened the day before and groaned as I thought of Malfoy, of the humiliation and dread of having to speak to him during our next potions lesson, which just so happened to be in five minutes time. I guess I had to get it over with sometime.
"Rose, get UP!" Alex appeared above me all of a sudden and the covers flew off me into a heap on the floor, exposing my body to the cold. I squirmed and curled myself into a ball to fight off the freezing air. Honestly, she was only handy with spells when she wanted to be.
"Okay, okay!" I said eventually after her relentless attempts at pushing me off the bed, and stumbled out to get dressed.
"Miss Weasley, Miss Wood. Late." Professor Slughorn bellowed from across the murky classroom. We managed to be out of the dorm in just fifteen minutes, darted down to the dungeons and here we were, panting and out of breath in front of the dreary eyes of twenty unenthusiastic potions students. "I trust you won't make a habit out of it." Tearing out a small slip of paper, he wrote down, on what I expected to be a detention note, both of our names. Alex and I simultaneously groaned.
"You will be paired together as I have had to make other arrangements with your previous partners due to your own tardiness." He scolded as I felt my face heating with embarrassment. I was Rose Weasley; I never got detention, how would I ever fix my flawless reputation now?
I spotted Malfoy from across the room in our usual seat, partnered with Albus. I knew I had to speak to him but had no idea what I would say or even how to approach him. Nevertheless, the lesson continued as usual. We were set, yet again, another tedious task of potion making. I couldn't recall the name of the particular brew, all I knew was that I was struggling with an especially slimy piece of bat's spleen, while Alex stirred the cauldron though synchronously falling asleep into her hand. What a great team we turned out to be.
Once I had finished tearing the pieces of spleen apart from one very unfortunate bat, I tossed a slice into the cauldron with a plop as the liquid splashed over the rim, sizzling on the wood of the table as well as Alex's hand.
All of a sudden, Alex flung her arms around her face and almost fell off her wobbling stall. After recovering she said, "Sorry. Habit from being paired with Al."
Just then, a low-pitched rumble came from the back of the classroom. The sound got louder until it became an unusual bubbling and gurgling clamour from behind us. I dared to turn towards the sound and saw Al and Malfoy's faces both filled with trepidation as they flinched away from their cauldron, which was noticeably vibrating and rattling. The explosion was significantly less destructive than the last lesson but still; it irked Professor Slughorn until he was almost in tears.
The murky smoke lifted and my vision cleared, letting me see once again, the look of amusement on Alex's face, the other panicked students in the classroom and lastly, the reddening face of Professor Slughorn. "ALBUS POTTER!" Half of the class shrunk away from the thundering voice. "THAT IS THE SECOND TIME IN A SINGLE MONTH!"
To sum up what happened next, Al and Malfoy both landed a detention, worse yet, with both Alex and me. What fun.
As we were dismissed from the class, a light blonde head caught my eye at the back of the dim classroom and I scurried around my numerous classmates over to where he stood next to Al in amiable conversation. From where I stood, Malfoy seemed initially oblivious to my presence. I felt the need to thank Malfoy for what he did, regardless of my pride and dignity and despite the fact that I had no idea how to say it.
"Oh, hey, Rose." He addressed me in a surprised tone, but it carried hints of his usual arrogance.
Him and Al were both slowly clearing away their equipment as the last few students bustled out of the classroom.
"Can I talk to you?" I said to Malfoy across the desk.
Al almost dropped the books he was putting away and glanced at me in surprise, to which I ignored, he carried on towards the store cupboard at the back of the classroom.
"Sure." Malloy shrugged, pursing his lips.
"I just wanted to say thank you." I said.
"For what?" He didn't hide the tone of surprise.
"For...you know." I implied. I didn't want to spell it out for him, I was embarrassed enough as it was. I glanced to back of the classroom to see that Al hadn't yet emerged.
"What? Saving your life?" He questioned and shrugged nonchalantly. "No big deal," Except it was a big deal and he bloody knew it.
I gritted my teeth. "You did not save my life."
"Oh, and I suppose fainting was all apart of your master plan?" He tilted his head down towards me as if I was a child. I hated to admit it but he really knew how to push my buttons.
I could feel the beginnings of my anger brewing. "I could have produced a Patronus if I really wanted to." I seethed.
"Oh really?" He challenged, raising his eyebrows.
"Oh, and I suppose you can then?" I shot back, levelling up to him and narrowing my eyes.
"How else do you think I got those Dementors to leave?" He said, the answer being completely obvious yet I desperately didn't want to face up to it.
The spell was one of the trickiest charms I had come across as of yet and I still hadn't been able to master it. I found it hard to believe that Malfoy could do it, and successfully at that.
"Right! Time to go!" Said Al, bounding out from the storeroom and practically yanking Malfoy by the arm out of the door.
"See you in detention, Rose." Malfoy winked and all of a sudden I felt extremely self-conscious. There it was again; the awful pang that echoed through me when he said my name.
That night, as detention we had been assigned the dubious task of book stacking and filing. However, that wasn't the worst part; Professor Slughorn felt that we all needed reminding of how to behave civilly towards our potions partners and so were forced to work in our previously designated pair. Alex and Al were sent off to stack books towards the entrance of the library, while Malfoy and I took some particularly dusty looking books and started stacking. We were told that we wouldn't be allowed out until all the books were on shelves, so there was no point in avoiding the mass of leather bound parchment that crowded the library table.
At some point during that outrageously boring assignment, I felt the need to talk to Malfoy, which turned out to be one of my worst ideas.
Being in the darkened library also brought the smell of wood and old parchment, which was comforting and familiar as I spent quite a lot of free time in this room. However, that didn't stop the feeling of dread and anxiety flutter in my stomach.
Malfoy seemed content in stacking books at the far end of the shelf when I decided to initiate conversation.
"Malfoy-" I started but was rudely interrupted.
"Aren't we passed that, Rose?" He spoke confidently. There was a peculiar spark that went right through me when he said my name again, but I decided I had enough self-control to ignore it.
"Right." I tried sounding nonchalant. "What was your first name again?" I joked, trying to diffuse the tension. Or at least the tension I felt all over my body.
He chuckled, having picked up a single book, he was now facing me and leaning up against the bookshelf. "I'm through with all of this second-name crap. I mean, we know each other well enough, right?"
Right.
The book he was currently placing onto the top shelf distracted me from his rambling. As I stared at it, I noticed it glinted in the specks of moonlight that filtered through the gaps in the floating library drapes and reflected a circular shape onto the cover that stuck out from all the others.
"Wait!" I gasped, reaching for Malfoy's arm for him to pass me the book. He helpfully obliged, however, his expression told me he only did this because he thought, due to my sudden outburst, the book was going to spontaneously combust or something of the sort.
Grasping the book, I strode over to the nearest table, already flipping through the pages after having glanced at the title; Magical Heirlooms and Where to Find Them. The circular form on the book face appeared to be a ring of eerily similar configuration to the one I found in my trunk at the start of the year. It had the same emerald stone, lined with gold, and gave off a spectral glow, even on the leather body of the book. Unlike all the other book covers, this one was devoid of dust and dirt as if it repelled all that came into contact with it.
When I placed it down on the desk with a thud, the book fluttered open to a page titled, Lost Heirlooms. The same picture was displayed over this page as the book face. The parchment was frayed and torn all over but I managed to make out a few sentences;
"This powerful yet enchanting ornament contains some of the most formidable magic in the history of wizardry. Although it has been lost for many years, some claim to have seen it destroyed; it has caused considerable controversy in the Wizarding world. The ring is rumoured to enhance a wizard or witch's magical ability, consequently creating sinister and traumatising thoughts in the handler. It is most commonly known for being an heirloom for the Malfoy family, until it was lost in the 1800s."
An eerie weight dawned on me. How in Merlin's name had the Malfoy family ring found its way into my trunk?
"What does it say?" He leant over my shoulder making my jump.
"You mean you've never seen this ring before?" I asked, pointing towards the picture.
His eyebrows furrowed. "Should I have?" He questioned confusedly.
"Well it is your family's ring."
He pursed his lips. "I've never seen it in my life. What made you pick it up?" He gestured towards the book.
"Err," I looked away, struggling for words. "History of Magic homework! I was doing an essay for extra credit on magical heirlooms and stumbled across this. I just wondered if you knew anything about it...for my essay!" I added abruptly. He seemed to be convinced.
"I honestly don't know how you keep up in that class let alone do extra credit." He shook his head and turned back towards the bookcase. Exhaling in relief, I closed the heavy pages and added it to one of the shelves within reach, hoping to forget about the evermore mysterious ring that was buried in my trunk back at the dorms.
A few moments passed, devoid of conversation.
"So, um," He cleared his throat. "How's Quidditch going?"
"You're asking me how Quidditch is going?" I raised my eyebrows at him.
"I'm making polite conversation!" He exclaimed in defence.
I laughed halfheartedly. "It's weird!" I squirmed. "Plus, you're probably only wanting to steal some of our tactics for the next game."
"Is that really how lowly you think of me, Rose?" He feigned upset.
"Why do you keep calling me that?" I huffed in annoyance, changing the subject.
"It is your name, isn't it?" He said slowly.
"Well, yes but it's just..." I trailed off.
"Weird?" He laughed as I rolled my eyes. "Weird is just another word for different, and what's wrong with that?" He shrugged.
I hesitated, considering his statement for a few seconds. "Nothing." There was absolutely nothing wrong with me talking to him. Him being a Malfoy and Malfoys being the one family that a lot of people had reason to hate, especially my family.
Suddenly, I remembered. The reason why Alex was behaving the way she was towards Malfoy. I had to ask him.
"Well, if we're actually having a conversation," I cleared my throat. "What about all that stuff in the Daily Prophet?"
He stopped and stared at the book he was holding, his eyes hard and unreadable. "What about it?"
I reconsidered, seeing the muscles in his jaw tense. "Never mind."
"My mother and my grandfather are missing." He confirmed sternly. "That's it."
I disregarded the bookshelf and turned to him in question. "That's it? Your grandfather broke out of Azkaban, aren't you the slightest bit concerned? And your mother- she just disappears, aren't you worried?"
"I'm not talking about this." He exhaled rapidly.
"Why not?"
"Because," He didn't look me in the eye. "Everyone else is."
I sighed, blowing up dust from the tattered shelf. "I know it's none of my business but I want to help you with... whatever this is." I made a vague gesture with my hand.
"I don't need anyone's help."
"How very Gryffindor of you." I remarked. "I'm just saying, you come up all arrogant and devil-may-care but it can't be easy."
"I guess it never is being a Malfoy but you get used to it." He crouched down for another stack of books. "Hey, you're a Weasley."
"Well spotted."
"You must find it difficult; living up to your family's expectations?"
"It's not always my family," I glanced at the floor. "It's everyone else. I'm supposed to be smart and funny," I hesitated. "And kill the most powerful wizard of all time." I stopped and stared at the black book in my hand.
"Hey," Malfoy's hand clapped onto my shoulder, making me start. "You're doing pretty well." His grey eyes riddled into mine as he stared. The place where his hand touched me felt hot and cold at the same time.
"You too." Giving in, I glanced away. "You're not exactly a death eater just yet." I joked.
"You have no idea." He sighed. Why did I always have to put my foot in it?
Early that Saturday morning, James had seemed to be pretty focussed on what the Slytherin Quidditch team was up to. Considering it was exactly what our team did every Sunday morning, I wouldn't have expected him to be so intrigued. Following his gaze, my eyes travelled over the empty stands and onto the pitch. Most of the team were whirling around in attempt to catch the Quaffle. However, a green-clad girl lingered in the air away from the rest of the team. Her white blonde hair stood out against the dim light of that frosty morning as the breeze brushed through it. That girl also happened to be Carina Malfoy. I scoffed at the irony of the situation.
"Um, James?" I waved my hand in front of his face to get his attention, all the while trying not to smirk.
"Huh? What?" He shook his head and turned to me, disoriented.
"Are we snooping on Quidditch tryouts or ogling on the female members of the Slytherin team?" And more specifically, a certain fifth year. I smirked.
James went redder than I had ever seen him, he almost matched the Gryffindor scarf wrapped around his neck. I laughed forthrightly, it wasn't frequent that James got embarrassed.
He cleared his throat and said through his teeth. "Just sit down, will you?"
I could a seat at the top of the stands close to the middle of the pitch, giving a clear view of the Slytherin team as they practised.
James had bought a quill and ink bottle along with him so he could jot down any ideas he had for Gryffindor's team or just anything he found interesting. If James was committed to anything, it was Quidditch.
I watched Lily as she played around with the Quaffle, zooming down the pitch with some of her teammates before practise started. Dodging Albus by a few inches, she threw the ball through the left hoop.
"Go Lily!" I cheered as she dove for the Quaffle once again.
"Oi," I felt something nudge my stomach. "You're supposed to be putting them off, not cheering them on." Said James.
"That happens to be your sister." I remarked, prodding him back with my elbow.
He scoffed. "Not when it comes to Quidditch," He crossed his arms loosely. "Right now we're practically enemies."
I groaned. "How can our family be so obsessed with Quidditch?"
James laughed knowingly.
Glancing back towards the pitch, I saw yet another blonde haired Slytherin. He dove headfirst towards the ground- perfecting his Wronski Feint for the next game, I presumed. I noted his posture was a little off but it was definitely believable.
"What was it you said about ogling?" James grinned. I jumped out of my daze and turned to my cousin, hitting him playfully across his middle.
"Whatever." I rolled my eyes.
"I see you've been spending a lot of time with him lately." He glanced at me sideways.
"What do you mean by that?" I frowned, not wanting to admit that I had noticed too.
"I just mean... you should be careful."
"Because he's a Malfoy?"
"Because he's a guy." He said plainly. "And he has a reputation."
I gave him a withering look. "Are you really giving me guy advice?"
"I'm trying to." He winked at me.
"Well then, I suggest you quit while you're ahead because I'm not at all interested in what you're implying." I focussed my attention back on the pitch cluttered with students.
James hummed in unconvinced agreement.
Slytherin's practice soon came to an end. James had made sufficient mental notes for the next game whilst I had nothing. I couldn't quite work out why my attention was distracted today; usually I was so focussed when it came to Quidditch. James' remarks about a certain Slytherin member made me worry more than I cared to admit. If he had noticed, then who else had? Just as this thought echoed in my mind, the tall blonde glided back to the ground, bumping into Al on the way. I studied his buoyant demeanour as the animated expressions on his face suggested flippant and carefree conversation. The pair seemed to be as close as ever. The most recent events described in the Daily Prophet hadn't phased their friendship at all.
Damn you, Scorpius.
Thanks for reading! :))