Rose had long ago mastered casting the Aguamenti charm nonverbally, as had most of the Charms class. They had now moved on to learning how to conjure small clusters of birds using Avis. She recognised this the moment Professor Spitflick demonstrated – it was an old favourite of her mother's whenever she was feeling cross, and she had always wanted to know how to do it.

Dom was ignoring her, still cross about their conversation the day before. Usually, this did not particularly bother Rose, and she would simply wait for the bad mood to pass (which it would, eventually) before acting as though nothing had happened. Today, however, she was keen to get back on Dom's good side, so that when the inevitable 'pairing practice' occurred, she wasn't left without a partner.

Charlie had caught her eye before class, and she knew it was only a matter of time before he confronted her. She should never have kissed him after the Quidditch match. Even if it was just a peck, it had given him the wrong message and she had been regretting it ever since. Though she knew that delaying the inevitable would achieve nothing, the selfish part of her still wanted to avoid that conversation for as long as possible – it surely wasn't going to be pleasant.

This was why she needed Dom.

"Partners, please!" squeaked Professor Spitflick, exactly as she had anticipated. There was a general groaning and shuffling as the class organised themselves into pairs.

Rose turned to Dom. "Partner?" she asked tentatively. Her cousin gave her a hard look.

"You can't avoid him forever, you know?"

She blushed. "Yeah, I know…"

As though on cue, she saw Charlie rise from his seat out of the corner of her eye. He made his way over to her, bumping clumsily into his desk and stumbling a little as he did so.

"Be my partner," she whispered frantically, but Dom simply gave her a disparaging look and turned her back. Rose took a deep breath. Obviously she was just going to have to get it over with.

"Partner, Rose?"

She jumped in surprise at the familiar-yet-unexpected voice, and twisted in the other direction to see her old friend Lorcan Scamander standing next to her. He sat down without waiting for an answer.

"Lorcan, hi!" she said somewhat breathlessly, turning her head just enough to see Charlie sit back down, looking annoyed. "Uh, thanks for that."

"S'okay," he replied. "It looked like you were in need."

Was she really that transparent? "How did you know?"

He smiled rather sadly. "I have been your friend for six years, you know. You've forgotten, but I used to know you pretty well."

"I haven't forgotten."

"Well it wouldn't surprise me," he said mildly. "You're busy these days. I barely see you anymore.

Rose felt a ball of guilt swell inside her. "I'm…sorry about that," she said genuinely. "I just – "

"Don't have time for the unimportant things," he told her bluntly. "It's okay."

"What? No!" she shook her head vigorously. "Lorcan, you're not unimportant, you're – "

"Now now, less chatter, more wand-work," interrupted Spitflick, bouncing past and wagging a finger at them. "I want to see birds by the end of this lesson Miss Weasley. Chop chop!"

"Yes sir," mumbled Rose, giving her wand an unenthusiastic flick and producing a solitary feather. "So how have you been?" she asked Lorcan once the Professor was out of earshot.

"Oh, you know," Lorcan shrugged dispassionately. "Alright."

"Alright?"

"Well," Lorcan scratched his chin with the end of his wand. "Alone, mostly."

Rose bit her lip, feeling even worse. She had almost forgotten, in the turmoil of the past six months, that she had been one of Lorcan's only friends. And she had essentially abandoned him. No wonder he had been less than pleased to see her strike up a friendship with Charlie.

"I'm sorry," she said again, though he did not look particularly upset. Rather he was staring avidly out of the window, watching as flakes of snow drifted past. It had been snowing since the previous evening, covering Hogwarts in a blanket of white and reminding everyone that winter was not quite finished with yet.

"My mother says Wrackspurts thrive in the snow," he commented, still staring idly out the window. "They can sense humans more easily, from their body heat."

Rose grinned. It had been a while since she heard one of Lorcan's strange anecdotes about his mother.

"Guess we'll have to be careful, then, when we go – hey!" she exclaimed suddenly, as an idea flashed through her head.

"Miss Weasley!"

"Sorry Professor!" Rose ducked her head and made a face at Lorcan, who was looking at her with a bemused expression.

"What?" he asked, as soon as there was sufficient background noise to hide their conversation once more.

"How about we go to Hogsmeade together?" she whispered eagerly. Since she couldn't go with Scorpius, this would be the next best thing. "I'm sure there's a weekend coming up."

"This weekend, in fact," said Lorcan idly.

"Really?" She frowned, surprised that she had missed the notice. "Well, great. We can meet up with Dom and her family at some stage, since they're coming to visit and – "

"I think you're forgetting something," he interrupted, and his smile was a little forced this time. "Haven't you already promised this Hogsmeade weekend to someone else?"

For a minute she blinked at him in confusion. Then the memory hit her with the force of a Bludger, and she clapped a hand over her mouth. The date with Charlie! It had been so long since she made the agreement that she had completely forgotten about it. She shot a glance over to the other side of the room, where Charlie was sitting with another Ravenclaw and practicing wand movements with a glum expression. He would surely think they were still going; after all, there was no reason for him to believe that anything had changed since she promised him.

She groaned aloud, forgetting for a moment who she was talking to. "Damn."

"I shouldn't think it's that big of a deal," observed Lorcan calmly. "I was under the impression that you and Charlie were…well acquainted."

"I – we – well, I – "

"And there's no one else you'd rather be going to Hogsmeade with besides him, is there?"

There was something loaded about Lorcan's question that made her uneasy. For some reason she couldn't help but think he was referring to Scorpius. But there was no way Lorcan could know about him, was there? She was just being paranoid.

"Well…there's you," she supplied lamely.

Lorcan gave her a lopsided smile. "I think you'll have a much better time with Charlie."

"Yeah," she suppressed the urge to beg Lorcan to come with her. "I suppose." She flicked her wand again, and was this time successful in conjuring a very small yellow bird. It twittered happily and zoomed towards the ceiling.

"Oh bravo, Miss Weasley!" called Professor Spitflick from the back of the classroom, where he was helping a glowering Peoria Rallitt, whose wand was smoking copiously. "Ten points to Gryffindor! Bravo, bravo!"

Rose smiled, her mood instantly improved by a sense of achievement. She turned back to Lorcan, who was tapping his wand against his chin with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Do you think Professor Spitflick would be interested in a pair of Spectrespecs?" he asked her, when she raised her eyebrows at him.

She laughed lightly. "Maybe," she said, as her small yellow bird began flying in circles above their heads. "You should ask him."

They grinned at each other, and suddenly Rose remembered why Lorcan had always been one of her best friends.

Charlie cornered her as soon as the bell rang. She had been expecting it, and had tried to hurry out of the room before the rest of the class, but Professor Spitflick called her back at the last second to congratulate her on her exemplary skill in managing to conjure a whole flock of her own canaries 'once she had stopped chattering,' and she had found herself trapped in a detailed discussion about the merits of conjuring in the modern world and what a wonderful student her mother had apparently been. Although Rose tried her best to hurry him along, by the time he had finished, the opposite of what she had been hoping for had occurred – most of the class had left, including Dom and Lorcan, and Charlie was hovering at the doorway waiting for her.

She gave him a small smile as she passed him, hoping against hope that perhaps he would simply let her walk by. When she felt his hand close around her wrist and a gentle tug, she knew there was no such luck. Turning, she raised her eyebrows in what she hoped was polite, neutral enquiry.

"Hi," Charlie returned her smile with what looked like a painful grimace. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Umm…sure," she followed him a few metres off up the corridor and into an alcove that only partially sheltered them from the eyes of passing students. Rose cast a quick glance up and down the corridor, letting out a sigh of relief when she couldn't see any Slytherins, and one blonde Slytherin in particular. Not that she was doing anything wrong, she thought defensively; she just didn't see the point in antagonising Scorpius any more than she had to, since he seemed to disapprove so strongly of Ravenclaws.

She turned back to Charlie and waited for him to speak, but he just looked at her expectantly. Eventually she said, "So, what was it you wanted to talk about?"

"What were you doing with Scamander?" he asked her accusingly, and Rose felt her hackles rise.

"He's my friend," she said coldly.

"Since when?"

She glared at him. "Since a long time ago. Is that a problem?"

He looked like he wanted to say yes, but instead shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry," he said half-heartedly. "I was just wondering."

"Well don't," she folded her arms. "It's none of your business."

Charlie scrunched up his nose at her hostile tone. "Have I done something wrong?"

She hesitated for a moment before giving a small shake of her head. "No, of course not."

"I feel like you've been avoiding me," he said, running a hand through his scruffy brown hair. "And I don't know why."

"I've just been really busy," she said awkwardly. "I'm sorry."

"Seems like even Malfoy gets to spend more time with you than I do," he commented spitefully.

She stared at him in shock, her heart hammering in her chest. "Huh?" How could he know? How could he –

"Your lessons," said Charlie, his expression sour. "I wish Millew had paired you with me, instead of him. It's cruel of them to force you to interact with that git."

Rose forced herself to take a deep breath, her heart rate slowing back to normal. "Oh." She had to stop jumping to conclusions every time anyone said Scorpius' name. "Yeah…"

"Anyway…..you're sure it isn't something that I've done?" he asked, staring at her intently. "I haven't done anything to offend you, or – or upset you?"

She shook her head again. It wasn't a lie; Charlie hadn't done anything to her. He was actually, when she thought rationally about it, a very nice guy, and would probably make a wonderful boyfriend. Her parents would certainly approve, that was for sure. On paper he was a perfect match. She just didn't really feel….well, anything for him.

"And you're sure…" he swallowed, and seemed to force the next words out, "there's no one else?"

Her heart rate quickened, and she dropped her gaze. Now he was forcing her to lie, and she didn't like it. But what other choice did she have? If she said there was another guy, he would demand to know who it was. She would have to refuse to tell him, and then drag his curiosity and suspicion around with her. It wasn't worth the risk of being found out; far better, in the long run, to tell just this one small white lie.

"Rose?" Charlie looked stricken at her hesitation.

"No," she said hastily. "No, there's no one else, but – "

He let out a long, shuddering breath and passed a hand across his eyes. "Wow," he said drily. "You sure know how to string a bloke along."

That statement was a little too close for comfort. She bit her lip and stared off to the side, wondering when her life had become so complicated.

"I really like you Rose," said Charlie, reaching out and touching her arm. "I want to spend more time with you."

"You're – you're a really nice guy," she said, unable to meet his eyes. "But I – "

"Do you still want to come to Hogsmeade with me?" he asked earnestly. Rose decided it was time to put her foot down. "This weekend?"

"I don't know. I know I promised, but listen, Charlie – " his face fell at her tone, but she forced herself to continue. "I want you to know that I don't have time right now for a relationship. You're a good friend, but only a friend, okay?" She swallowed her own embarrassment and made herself stare at him firmly.

There was a flash of annoyance on Charlie's face, and his jaw tightened sharply, but after a moment it was gone and he was left looking nothing but disappointed. "I understand," he said heavily, dropping his hand. "But we can still go to Hogsmeade right? As friends?"

She was very tempted to say no. Rose paused for a moment, contemplating her answer. There wasn't really any reason to refuse, though. She had already promised, and it was only a silly Hogsmeade visit. Most likely she would spend the majority of it with Dominique anyway.

"Sure," she said, watching as Charlie cracked a broad grin at her words. "But just as friends."

"Just as friends," he nodded, still grinning hugely. "See you on Saturday then." He waved, then stepped backwards and vanished into the crowd.

Rose was making her way back to the Gryffindor common room after lessons on Tuesday when a hand reached out of seemingly nowhere, grabbed her wrist and yanked her sideways into an empty classroom.

"What the – ?" she protested, finding herself pinned to the wall faster than she could blink. She struggled fiercely until she saw who it was, at which point she simply went limp and gave Scorpius her best death glare, hoping to convey with her eyes her fury at being manhandled so abruptly.

"Way to break my arm off," she snapped, massaging her wrist and continuing to scowl at him. "Couldn't you just call my name or something?"

"No, I couldn't," he said sharply, and she paused, giving him a curious look. Something in his tone was off, and it wasn't an amused glare he was sending her way. He looked angry.

"What's wrong?" she asked warily.

"Let's drop the innocent act, shall we Weasley?" he bit out in a tone of suppressed fury.

Rose quirked her eyebrows at him in surprise, but managed to conceal the pang of offense that coursed through her at his tone. "Back to last names are we now, Malfoy?"

"Yes."

Her shoulder was beginning to hurt from the force of Scorpius' grip. She wriggled pointedly and he loosened it a little, but continued to pin her with a furious expression. She couldn't remember the last time he had looked at her with greater anger, if ever.

"What in Merlin's name is this about, Scorpius?" she said at last, deciding to drop the pretence of understanding.

"I could ask you the same question," he growled at her.

"And why is that?" she couldn't help from asking. She wasn't sure what had brought on this sudden hostility from him, considering they had parted amicably the day before, and she didn't want to ask him, either. But she wasn't going to just stand here and passively accept his temper tantrum without retort.

"You know," he said, lowering his voice menacingly. "Or you should know, anyway."

She sniffed her disdain at his response. "Well you're going to have to enlighten me," she said, "or else let me go. I can't stand here all day absorbing your attitude." Not to mention having him in such close proximity was making her skin tingle.

His expression hardened, which surprised her a little. She had expected to see his lips twitch like they normally did when she used overly expansive mannerisms, but they remained tightly drawn into a frown. Obviously Scorpius was not in the mood for humour.

"What are you doing this weekend, Rose?" he asked, putting so much venomous emphasis on her name that she would almost have preferred he stuck to surnames.

She continued to employ an expression of blank ignorance, despite the fact that her heart rate had suddenly picked up in recognition. He knew already? She had only spoken to Charlie earlier that day. She would kill him if he had been spreading rumours. "Nothing particularly interesting. How about you?"

It was obvious he wasn't fooled. "That's not what I've heard," he said, bringing his face closer to hers so that she was forcibly reminded of the feeling of his lips on hers. She wondered vaguely how he would react if she simply leant forwards and kissed him. Probably now wasn't the best time.

"Really?" she swallowed guiltily. "And – and what have you heard?"

"I heard you're going on a date to Hogsmeade," he said, his eyes boring into hers. "With Charlie Corner."

Rose blinked and looked away. Scorpius gave a low growl of displeasure at this, and clasped her chin with his thumb and forefinger, forcing her eyes back to his.

"What are you playing at?" he asked softly, and for the first time Rose noticed something other than anger in his eyes. She had hurt him.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. Her voice was hoarse, so she cleared her throat and tried again. "I promised him ages ago that I would go with him, and I didn't know how to tell him no when he came up to me after Charms." Scorpius didn't say anything, but continued to glare at her, so she stumbled on. "I – I didn't think one date would be a big deal. And I mean, it's not even a date. More like going to town at the same time," she smiled a little, but he didn't return the sentiment. "And, well, it's not like I can go with you, is it? And…and I did promise."

The expression on Scorpius' face as he stared at her was more than unnerving. Rose squirmed, but he still had hold of her chin and somehow she knew it was important she didn't look away. It felt almost as though he was testing her. Whether she was passing, she didn't know.

Eventually, he dropped his hand, so that they weren't touching. There was a moment's charged silence, then,

"Un-promise him," he said, and his voice brooked no room for discussion or argument. "Tell him you can't go with him. Tell him you're busy."

"Is it really such a big – " she began weakly, but at the sight of his narrowed eyes she broke off.

"Tell him, Rose," he said, before sidestepping her and letting himself out of the room. Rose stared at the spot where he had just been, biting her lip, her mind full of questions.