Rose joined Alice at the breakfast table with messy hair and a sort of dazed look on her face. She sat down without saying a word other than a mere "'Morning" and delved right into her eggs and bacon. She had almost finished most of her first serving before she noticed Alice staring at her.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Seriously? No complaining, no criticising the way a particular someone acted last night in the Forbidden Forest?"
"There's nothing to say, I just want to eat my breakfast, okay?"
"Come on, you always whine to me about him, even when you just bump into him in the corridor. Now you were actually in detention with him and you don't have a word to say?"
Rose put down her cutlery in a swift motion and looked Alice in the eyes. Holding eye contact, she uttered without hiding her annoyance: "We came to the Forest, we picked some Knotgrass, and then it was over. That's it."
"Aha," said Alice sarcastically, "sure." At least Alice stopped pushing her afterwards, thought Rose. Although the events and the brief conversation of the previous night unintentionally occupied a great portion of her thoughts that day, she felt reluctant to talk about it, even with Alice, in whom she normally confided everything. She herself was so confused about what she thought about Scorpius Malfoy following their mutual punishment that she couldn't put it into words for Alice to understand. It was an unusual feeling that overcame her; she hadn't expected him to open up to her and it surprised her to hear his innermost feelings – especially those that somewhat regarded her. She was so sure of their shared dislike for one another, their rivalry, and the ability to annoy each other, she never even really considered the fact that Scorpius doesn't do everything he does with the sole purpose of irritating her. Had she been so ego-centric to overlook the fact that he really is just another human, trying to accomplish his own separate goals, not only a mere obstacle that was put in her way to prevent her from achieving her own?
Careful to make sure Alice doesn't notice, Rose glanced at the Slytherin table. Al and Scorpius were pleasantly chatting while eating, and Rose wondered what Albus must see in him. She trusted the judgement of her cousin – so why then, had she in all these years never tried to see Malfoy the way Albus saw him?
Albus must have told a joke and they both laughed. There was just something so inherently annoying about the way his head fell back when he laughed and how his fingers then combed the strands of platinum blond. She noticed then that he had something green stuck in his front teeth and she rolled her eyes before focusing on her own meal. In a clumsy move, Alice almost spilled Rose's tea and so Rose quickly grabbed the goblet to save it from falling over. She brought it closer to have a sip, when she noticed a weird scent drift from it.
"What's that in my tea?"
"What do you mean?"
"It smells kind of weird." She gave it another sniff and felt her stomach turn. "Kind of reminds me of those disgusting saltwater taffies, like somebody melted one right into the tea."
Even Alice admitted that the tea smelled weird but didn't mention it further. Was this another prank? Did James and Fred get their revenge because she called them immature and reckless? They must think her stupid for thinking she'd actually drink this salty mess of molten taffies. As she whiffed in the smell once more, she thought about what else the cousins put in there. There was another aroma swirling in the drink, though she needed a moment to realise it reminded her of the smell wafting from the soil after rain and new parchment she usually buys at Flourish and Blotts. What in Merlin's name could the two pranksters have put in there?
She put down her goblet, still feeling a tingling sensation in her stomach. Trying to supress it and to distract her senses from the disgusting smell that kept stinging in her nostrils, she dug into her food and left the table as soon as she stuffed the last bite into her mouth.
The rest of the day Rose was too busy to give any further thought to what she thought of Scorpius. She did occasionally throw a glance in his direction during classes, but he was just writing notes in his parchment and captivatingly listening to the professors. She had another Quidditch practice in the afternoon – the penultimate one before the big game. She thought she did quite well, but James called her over after practice and scolded her for once again not having her head in the game.
"What are you talking about?"
"Something is distracting you. I know you usually play better so just… you know. Get your stuff together before the match. Seriously, I need you."
James started to leave, but before he could, she uttered: "Hey, James… Did you put something into my tea this morning?"
"Huh?" he asked, looking genuinely confused.
"I don't know, like maybe something to make me concentrate better?" She looked away before adding, "Or just something to pay me back for scolding you?"
"I don't bloody care if you nag me, you're a prefect. Though after today's practice, it might be a good idea to spike your tea with some potion for boosting focus on the big day." He smirked.
"James! That's a serious offence! How can you–"
"Hey, relax, I'm just kidding, I'd never do that. I want to win this game, but I want to win it fairly, otherwise, what's the point?"
"Okay, sorry, I just… It's been a weird day."
"You know, I think you could use some rest. I've been pushing too hard on you. You're going to do great anyway, so you can skip practice tomorrow. Just promise me you'll get enough sleep and be ready for the game Saturday."
Rose, faithful to her character, objected vehemently, but James insisted she needed rest much more than she needed practice if she wanted to do well Saturday. In the end, his arguments prevailed; after all, he was the captain and had the authority to ban her from practice. Had Rose known at the time that she wouldn't get much sleep the upcoming night, she wouldn't have protested so vigorously to rest, nor would she feel frustrated about being forced to skip what would have been very tiresome training.