Fourth Year

Rose scrunched up her nose in concentration, her quill scribbling across the parchment in a series of complicated patterns. In truth, Ancient Runes was not one of her favourite subjects. But that didn't meant she wasn't going to try and come top of the class anyway. Which she probably would, unless…

Despite herself, Rose shot a glance behind her under the ruse of adjusting her chair. Sure enough, Scorpius Malfoy was still sitting there, head buried in the same book he had been reading for hours. Rose didn't understand it; since when did Scorpius come and study alone in the library all day? Without Albus? It irritated her, and she was finding it increasingly difficult to focus on her own work. She was sure Scorpius was here studying for the upcoming Runes test. Obviously he was determined to beat her. Well, thought Rose, her tongue poking out from between her teeth as she resumed her work, she would just have to see about that.

Several hours later, Rose sat back in her chair with a satisfied grin. For the fifth time in a row, she had managed to remember every week's lesson since the start of the year, without a single mistake. She gave her red hair a satisfied rumple. If that didn't prepare her for the upcoming test, then nothing would.

A huge yawn escaped her, and her belly rumbled, reminding her that it was nearly dinner time. Rose packed up her parchment, quills and ink, returned the book she had been using to its shelf, bid the hawk-like librarian Madam Beauvoir goodbye (a sentiment the elderly witch did not return), and exited the library. If she was quick, she had just enough time to deposit her study materials back in her dorm room and straighten herself out before heading to the Great Hall for –

"Rose."

She spun around at the sound of her name. None other than Scorpius Malfoy stood behind her, his bag slung casually over one shoulder, having clearly just left the library himself. Well, he had impeccable timing.

"Malfoy," she nodded curtly in greeting, then turned to go. But to her surprise, he fell into step beside her. The nerve of the guy.

"Studying for the Runes test in there?" he asked her conversationally, as if this wasn't the first thing he had said to her in over a year; as if it was in fact completely normal for him to accost her in the corridor for casual chitchat. She nodded. Had Albus put him up to this? It was the sort of stunt her cousin would pull, Rose thought. She would have to talk to him about that later.

"You study a lot, huh?"

"Mm-hmm," she mumbled non-committedly.

"But I'll still beat you."

"Excuse me?" she rounded on him like a snarling tiger. "And what makes you think that?"

Scorpius smirked. "Only the fact that I've beaten you in every test so far this year."

"You – I – that's," she spluttered, her face beet red with indignity. Her hand itched to hex the smug look off of his face. The most damning part of it was that he was right. He had beaten her in all their Runes tests so far. Rose grit her teeth.

"It's okay, you know," he said, clearly enjoying her outrage. "To be second best. Not everyone can be as naturally brilliant as me," he looked as if he was expecting a pat on the back. "You're still pretty good, for a Weasley."

"Ugh, you insufferable pig!" she restrained herself from hitting him with an effort, and settled instead for stamping her foot petulantly. Scorpius looked a little taken aback by her anger.

"Whoa whoa whoa," he held his hands up in a gesture of surrender. She merely glared at him, huffing in irritation, and wondering why she didn't just turn around and tell him to get lost. She was late for dinner as it was. "I was only joking! No need to blow a fuse."

She sniffed haughtily. "Yes, well, I'm afraid your sense of humour is sorely misplaced."

"You going to the Yule Ball?" he asked, changing subject so abruptly Rose had to think a minute about what he was on about. Yule Ball? Well of course, she had hardly thought about it since Professor McGonagall informed them all during dinner earlier in the year. The infamous Triwizard Tournament, due to be held at Hogwarts that year, had been called off after a teacher was found murdered at Durmstrang. But the respective schools had decided to continue with the Ball, for the students' sake. Personally, Rose was more intrigued by the murder than the dance, but she couldn't really expect the rest of the school body to share that opinion, and she wasn't yet old enough to have a say. Doing a quick calculation in her head, she realised there were only three weeks left until the big night. Time sure seemed to fly at Hogwarts.

"Rose?" Scorpius raised an eyebrow at her, and she jerked herself back to the present.

"Yes," she said lamely. "Yes I'm going."

"Gotta date?" They had stopped walking, and were standing in the middle of the corridor, staring at each other. For the first time Rose noticed how much taller than her Scorpius was. He had shot up since last year.

"What?"

Scorpius gave a dramatic sigh. "Little deaf are we? I said do you have a date for the Ball?"

"I – " this had to be the strangest conversation she had had in quite some time. What was it to him? She flushed a little. "No."

"I didn't think so," he smirked again, and Rose felt her blood boil.

"What, you think I can't get a date?" Her eyes stung with his insinuation, and she wanted more than anything to prove him wrong. But it was true; no one had asked her to the ball.

His smile faltered. "No, that's not what I– "

"Is there a point to this conversation Malfoy?" she snapped acidly. "Because I have better places to be."

He took a deep breath, and seemed to square his shoulders. Was she imaging it, or was there a faint pinkness to his cheeks that hadn't been there a moment ago? "I…was wondering if you wanted to go with me?"

Rose gaped at him in the ensuing silence, positive that she had misheard him. Either that, or this had to be Albus' idea of a prank. There was no other explanation for this strange and most unexpected outburst.

There was a long, awkward silence. "You could say something, you know," Scorpius prompted quietly.

But what could she say? She still wasn't sure if he wasn't playing a game with her. "Is this a joke?" she asked him, her voice harsher than she intended. Moments ago he had been insulting her intelligence and implying she was unattractive, and now he was asking her to the Ball? It didn't make sense. "Are you having me on?"

"No," Scorpius chewed his bottom lip. "I mean, you're not the prettiest girl I could take," his eyes swept her up and down critically. "And you're a Gryffindor as well, which is unfortunate. And, well, you're quite a bossy know-it-all," he ran a hand through his messy blonde hair and shook his head with a rueful smile. "But for some reason I can't seem to stop think – " he stopped abruptly when he caught sight of her face. "What?"

Rose was speechless. She didn't know quite what was going on. But what she did know was that Scorpius Malfoy – Scorpius Malfoy – was standing in front of her, cocky and conceited, insulting her and her family as if it was nothing, and then apparently expecting her to go to a dance with him. A sudden desire to hurt him rushed through her.

Scorpius' face was wary now, as if he knew he had said too much. "So…will you go with me?"

Her eyes blazed. "Don't be ridiculous," she tossed at him angrily. "Why would I ever go to the Ball with – with someone like you? You're a – a – a Malfoy!"

The air between them plunged to freezing in a matter of seconds. There was a brief flash of shock and hurt in Scorpius' grey eyes before a deep, hard chill settled there, his face as blank as sculpted marble, all emotion wiped away. Rose felt a wave of guilt wash through her. That hadn't felt as good as she thought it might.

"I see," he said, lips twisting in a sort of grimace. He wasn't looking at her, but instead gazed at a point on the wall behind her. "How foolish of me. I'm so sorry to have bothered you." And he pushed past her roughly, his tall, proud figure stalking away up the corridor, black robes billowing behind him.

Rose took a deep breath, willing herself not to cry. She had done the right thing, she told herself. He had deserved that response, with his arrogance and his egotism. It was what her father would have wanted her to say. What he would have expected her to say. Why, then, did she feel so utterly miserable?

She almost didn't go. It was only Lorcan Scamander, her shy, quiet Ravenclaw friend, asking her two days before if she would go with him, that persuaded her to attend. And she was only doing it for him.

Rose had never been much of a fan for dressing up, and this was no exception. She sat in the dormitory as the other girls around her fussed with their hair and make-up, wearing a simple white dress, her hair down and in its normal shape. Reluctantly, she allowed her cousin Dominique to apply a little mascara and lip gloss before shooing her away. Dom had more than enough to do for herself; she was going with Calvin Davies, the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain, and so would be opening the dancing. She needed to look beautiful. Rose, had no one to impress.

She met Lorcan at the bottom of the stairs. He blushed and mumbled something when he saw her, taking her hand in his own. Rose grinned a little. She felt comfortable around Lorcan. She knew he didn't like her, didn't like any girl in fact, in such a way that would make their relationship awkward. If only she could say the same for his twin…

"Rosie!" Lysander barrelled into her on his way past, his arm looped through a giggling girl Rose didn't recognise. He already seemed tipsy. "Gonna take good care of my little brother are you?" Even though they were twins, Lysander had always referred to Lorcan as his younger brother. "You know he gets a little bit queer if he has too much to drink." With a smile that wasn't quite genuine, Lysander carried on loudly up the corridor. Rose sighed and patted Lorcan's hand, but he merely shrugged and guided her down the corridor as if nothing had happened.

They were late, intentionally, so the place was already packed when they got there. Rose paused a moment at the entrance to admire the splendour. The Hall had been decorated with its usual twelve bewitched Christmas trees and various magical decorations, including the emblems and colours of the four Houses and a flock of rather dazed looking pixies. A large stage had been erected where the teachers normally sat, and the popular band 'Owls of Ottery' were already performing loudly. Rose scanned the crowd, picking out members of her family. She could see James, dancing flirtatiously with his semi-girlfriend Tuli, a gorgeous girl with a mane of raven curls. Dominique was looking angel-like in the arms of her date, and in the middle of the floor Fred and his sister Roxy were engaged in an impromptu battle of limbo. Rose chuckled; it was strange, how much Fred had turned out like the uncle he was named after. At least, how he had been described to her. Rose had never got to meet her Uncle Fred, but if he was anything like George, she would very much have liked to.

Her eyes continued to flit around the room. Suddenly the smile froze on her lips. Against the far side of the wall, she could see two couples. Albus, chatting idly to a Hufflepuff girl named Sethie, whom Rose had never spoken to. And beside him, in dress robes of deepest black, Scorpius Malfoy, his pale blonde hair swept back from his forehead, the proud expression on his face making him look for all the world like a prince from an ancient tale.

The girl hanging on his arm was no less stunning. Rose felt an inexplicable pang in her gut as she took in the long, silky green dress and cascade of golden hair. As Rose watched, Scorpius leant in and whispered something in the girl's ear, causing her to burst into peals of laughter. Rose looked away, not sure why she felt so much anguish. After all, it had been she who said no to him. And quite rightly, too.

"I'll go get us some drinks," Lorcan said, before wandering off. Rose stood against the wall, trying not to fidget. She nodded to Professor Longbottom when he hurried past, and complimented Peoria Rallit, a Gryffindor girl in her year, on her outfit. After a while, Albus caught her eye and started walking over. His hair was as scruffy as ever, but he somehow managed to look well groomed despite it. The green of his tie matched perfectly with his eyes, and made her feel acutely aware of the clash between her own blue ones and the shock of red hair framing her face. Typical, effortless Albus.

"Hey," he said casually, throwing one arm over her shoulder and giving her a squeeze. "You look nice."

"Thanks," Rose rolled her eyes. "But I've only got Lorcan as a date, so it's all wasted."

Albus cocked his head to the side, examining her. Rose began to fidget. She wondered if Scorpius had mentioned any of their conversation to her cousin.

"It's Sethie, isn't it?" she asked. Albus nodded. "She looks nice. You should introduce me later.'

"Will do."

"Who's the – the girl with Scorpius?" she asked, trying with all her might to keep her voice neutral. But she had the sinking suspicion that Albus saw right through her.

"Arabella Yaxley. She's a fifth year Slytherin."

"Yaxley?" Rose narrowed her eyes in recognition. "Isn't that a Death Eater name?"

Albus was eyeing her warily. "Arabella's just a niece."

"Well, that explains why she came with Scorpius," Rose spat out dryly, forgetting for a moment who she was talking to. "They'll be a perfect match."

"Gosh Rose, why do you have to be such a bitch?" Rose stared at her best friend and cousin, mouth slack with shock. He had never spoken to her like that before, ever. Albus met her gaze defiantly. "Scorpius hasn't done anything to you, and neither has Arabella. Can't you look past a name for a change?" He turned and walked away.

"Al – wait!" she called after him, but he either didn't hear or chose to ignore her.

Not for the first time, Rose cursed her big mouth. She couldn't seem to open it without putting her foot straight down her throat. But honestly! It wasn't her fault that Albus chose to associate with people who had such poor family histories. She was perfectly entitled to judge, when they had the same blood running through their veins. And everyone knew what a prat Scorpius Malfoy was. Everyone except Albus, that was. Rose sighed. She had never felt so forlorn and confused in her life.

Lorcan returned a moment later with their drinks. He pushed one into her hand and gave her a sympathetic look. "Let's just have a good time tonight, you and me hey? Ignore everyone else and just have fun." He smiled at her, and she wanted to kiss him for his kindness.

"Alright," she said. Grabbing Lorcan's hand, she turned her back on Albus and Scorpius and their beautiful dates, and steered them in the other direction. Who needed them anyway?

It was a week after Yule Ball and Rose was curled up in her bed reading Witches Through the Ages by Wilpena Worsmith. Outside, Hogwarts was glowing white after a night of heavy snowfall, and the only sign of life was the smoke curling upwards from Hagrid's cabin near the Forbidden Forest. Rose was feeling none of the cold, however; she had bewitched her blanket with a heating charm and was now wrapped in warmth and comfort.

To her left Rose heard the door to the rooms swing open. Looking up, she saw the honey-brown head of curls belonging to her roommate Daisy Hopkins. The other girl threw herself onto her bed, fluffed her pillow for several minutes, then turned dramatically to Rose.

"Guess what?" she exclaimed breathlessly. Rose had to suppress the urge to roll her eyes; Daisy was a sweet, vivacious girl who spent a lot of her time gossiping about other people or daydreaming about various pin-up wizards. As the daughter of Lavender Brown, Rose supposed she shouldn't be surprised. But at the moment she really wasn't in the mood.

"What?" Rose shut her book reluctantly; she wouldn't get much reading done until Daisy was finished.

"So, I was just talking to Malachy McLaggen," Daisy began with a giggle, as if this was big news in itself. Rose wasn't particularly impressed. "And I asked him why he took that Elaine Spinner girl from Ravenclaw to the Yule Ball because, you know, he could have done so much better."

Rose was inclined to disagree. Elaine Spinner was a lovely, quiet, studious girl, and in her opinion probably deserved better than the loud-mouthed Malachy for a whole night. But she couldn't muster the energy to move her tongue, so instead she merely shrugged her eyebrows in apparent interest.

"Yeah, and he said," Daisy continued enthusiastically. "That he had wanted to take you, Rose!"

"What?" Rose stared at her friend in disbelief.

"Yep," Daisy nodded her head with such vigour her curls bounced. "Imagine, you and Malachy at the Yule Ball, it would have been too gorgeous!"

"Well, why didn't he?" asked Rose, beginning to get annoyed. It didn't make any sense at all. Malachy was nice enough, if a little up himself, but in four years of classes together he hadn't ever given the impression of liking her as more than a casual friend. So why was he suddenly keen to take her on a date? And why hadn't he asked her? "I mean, I didn't have a date up until two days before." She swallowed the uncomfortable lump in her throat. "He could have asked me at any time, no one was stopping him."

"But that's just the thing!" Daisy's voice was so high pitched it was almost painful. She flapped her hands hysterically. "Someone was!"

Rose stared in confusion.

"Apparently," Daisy continued in a conciliatory tone, lowering her voice so abruptly Rose had to strain to hear her. "Scorpius Malfoy was spreading the word that Albus and James would beat up anyone who asked you." When Rose didn't say anything she hurried on. "And Malachy only found out because the kid who brought him the message got scared and said Scorpius had paid him to do it. Can you believe it?"

She couldn't. Rose eyed the girl opposite, trying to decide if Daisy had finally lost her grip on reality and progressed to spinning pure fiction. But it was obvious that the gossip queen had not simply made this up on her own. Rose scrunched up her face, her brain refusing to process her thoughts in a logical manner. It couldn't be true, could it? Why in the name of Merlin would Scorpius want to start a rumour like that? But even as her mind whirled with incredulity, she thought back to his smug face when she told him she didn't have a date yet. She had interpreted it at the time to mean he thought no one would ask her…but what if…

"Ugh," she put her head in her hands in disgust, well aware of Daisy's wide brown eyes watching her every move. "It must be some stupid joke," she muttered.

"But what I can't figure out," continued Daisy relentlessly. "Is whether Albus and James really did threaten that, or was it just Scorpius making it up? I mean, I can't see why he would, you know? Did you see the girl he took to the Yule Ball? She was stunning. No offense Rose, but I can't see how you could compete with that. Plus, everybody knows that Scorpius Malfoy would never take a Gryffindor as his date. Puh-lease. He is Slytherin to the core. Did you hear what he said to Theresa Wood the other day? And in front of her boyfriend too!"

Rose chewed her lip as Daisy meandered off into other topics of conversation. It didn't seem possible that Albus and James had been the instigators of such a ridiculous rumour; Albus had never been very protective of her, at least not in that way. James, maybe, but he certainly wouldn't go through Scorpius, and Rose highly doubted he would be that dramatic about it. But then, it couldn't possibly have been Malfoy himself creating the rumours, could it? No, quite clearly there had been some kind of miscommunication between McLaggen and whomever he was talking to, and Daisy was just misinformed. Yes, that was all it was, a simple misunderstanding.

"Uh, Rose, have you been listening to what I've been saying?" asked Daisy, sounding a little offended.

"Of course," Rose fibbed, picking up Witches Through the Ages again. "It's just, I really need to get this finished. You know, extra reading and all that."

"Right," Daisy looked a little put out, but shrugged and fell silent nonetheless. After a while, she got up and left, clearly in search of better company, and Rose returned blissfully to her book. Though she couldn't help her mind wandering back to Scorpius Malfoy now and then…