When Rose went down for breakfast on Saturday morning, she couldn't for the life of her understand why the air was filled with so much excited chattering. That was until she saw a huddle of students dressed in bright yellow Quidditch robes brush past her on their way out of the Great Hall, conversing in low voices and patting each other nervously on the back. Her eyes flicked instinctively to the other side of the Hall, and there, of course, were the Slytherin players, dressed in green, getting to their feet and preparing to follow the Hufflepuff players out. She spotted Albus, and her eyes dropped immediately to the floor.

"Oh Merlin," she said in a low voice.

"Ooh here they come Rose," squeaked Dom, grabbing her arm. "Good luck Albus!" she called loudly.

Rose didn't look up as he walked past them. "Thank you Dominique," he replied solemnly, before continuing on outside.

"Gosh, he doesn't look very happy," whispered Dom. She looked at Rose and her brow furrowed. "I thought you told me you and Albus made up?"

"I – we did, it's just – I – "

"I suppose he's just nervous," said Dom with a wave of her hand. "Anyway, let's hurry up and get something to eat. I don't want to miss the start of the match."

Rose dug her heels into the floor and stared at her cousin. "What?"

"What do you mean 'what'?"

"I'm not going," she said firmly. Dom raised her eyebrows.

"But it's Al's last match! And if they win then that means Slytherin have won the Cup. Surely you don't want to miss it?"

"I – I know, but – " she flushed. "I – I just can't, and…he won't – I don't – it's not…I just can't go!"

"Can't go where?" James, Fred, Hugo and Lily materialised in front of them, having clearly come from breakfast themselves. They were all wearing excited, apprehensive smiles. Rose felt her stomach plummet.

"Rose doesn't want to come to the game," Dom announced, as though this was some kind of sacrilegious affront on her behalf. Her family gaped at her in astonishment.

"You have to come," said James, staring at her as though she'd lost her mind. "If Slytherin lose, Gryffindor have pretty much got the Cup in the bag. Plus Al's playing."

"I know," she floundered hopelessly. "I just – I have so much work to do and – "

"Come on Rose," groaned Lily. "Don't be such a square."

She glared daggers at her younger cousin. "I'm not…I don't…"

"It'll be fun," said Dom brightly, taking her arm and steering her forward. "What's the big deal?"

"We'll wait for you to grab some toast," said James, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. "Just hurry up."

"I feel sick!" Rose said desperately. Her family only rolled their eyes. "Really, I think I'm going to be sick. I – "

"No you aren't," said Dom. "Now come grab some toast and let's go."

Twenty minutes later, Rose found herself in the very place she had so desperately wanted to avoid – high up in the stands watching as the Hufflepuff and Slytherin teams made their way onto the Quidditch pitch.

"And it's a perfect day for Quidditch as the two team Captains shake hands," Malachy McLaggen's magically enhanced voice boomed over the stands. "Slytherin of course without their first Seeker Scorpius Malfoy for this game, due to a school imposed suspension for fighting."

The Slytherin side of the stands booed loudly at this.

"There's Malfoy, look," said James, pointing over at the mass of emerald and silver. "Doesn't look too happy, does he?"

Rose followed his finger and found her eyes locked with Scorpius' from across the pitch. He was sitting in the front row of the Slytherin stands, his hands gripping the railing in front of him. Even from so far away she could feel the anger and bitterness radiating from him in waves. He caught her eye and then looked away, and she focused back on the game.

"And there's the whistle everyone. The players take to the air, Hector Nott the reserve Seeker up against the fabulously gorgeous Simoly Howard from Hufflepuff. And it's Harper for Slytherin with the Quaffle."

Rose watched as Harper streamed forward, before being confronted with a well-directed bludger. He threw the Quaffle backwards with ease towards Albus, who seemed to stretch out for it in slow motion, his hands flailing and his fingers clutching at thin air. The Quaffle bounced off of his chest and ricocheted downwards into the waiting arms of one of the Hufflepuff Chasers, who couldn't seem to believe his own luck. There was a groan from the Slytherins.

"And a very uncharacteristic fumble from Potter there," continued McLaggen gleefully. "Don't see that very often. Big game nerves perhaps? Anyway it's Hopkins with the Quaffle for Hufflepuff…"

"Come on Al," muttered James.

"And Hopkins goes for goal….and a wonderful save there by the Slytherin Keeper Blishwick. Back to Warrington, to Harper, to Warrington, to Potter, to – and he's dropped it again!"

This time the entire stadium seemed to groan, except for the Hufflepuffs who jeered loudly. Rose saw Albus whack the handle of his broom in frustration, then whack himself in the forehead several times. She looked over at Scorpius to see that he had his head in his hands.

"What's wrong with him?" asked Lily in concern. "Is he sick or something?" None of the family answered her.

"And it's quickly back up the pitch in Hopkins' hands. He passes to Blakethorn, Blakethorn dodges a bludger, passes to Smith who…scores! She's scored! Hufflepuff with the first score of the match!"

Albus was definitely having trouble concentrating on the game. As they reset for the next play, Rose saw him staring intently at the spot where Scorpius sat with his head in his hands, and there was a painfully hostile look on his face. After a moment he shook his head and seemed to drag his eyes back to the Quaffle.

"And it's Smith for Hufflepuff with the Quaffle. She passes to – oh good interception there by Warrington, and Warrington heads toward goal, he passes to Harper, who ducks a bludger from Malik and passes back to Warrington, he dodges Blakethorn, only the Keeper to beat now, Warrington passes to Potter who – misses."

He had missed by quite a margin too. Blackethorn took the Quaffle as it soared a metre past the outside goalpost, and gave a mock nod of gratitude in Albus' direction. The Slytherin fans were in outrage, shouting and pointing at Albus, who hung despondently in the air as though not sure what to do.

"Uh oh," said Fred, shooting a sideways glance at James, who had his mouth open and couldn't seem to believe what he was witnessing.

There was a cheer from the Hufflepuffs, and Rose realised they had scored again. She winced, and shrank back into her seat. If only she hadn't spied on Scorpius and Flora, if only he hadn't followed her to the classroom, if only she hadn't given in to her stupidity and kissed him…if only Albus hadn't found them, this wouldn't be happening.

"And Warrington's got the Quaffle again, he dodges Smith, passes to Harper, who passes back to Warrington, who passes to Harper who – doesn't pass to Potter and – ouch, is hit by a bludger and, ow, looks like his nose may be broken."

Madam Howler blew her whistle, and flew towards Harper, who did indeed have blood pouring out of his nose. Rose chewed her lip. Albus had been open in front of goals then, Harper should have passed it to him. But it was clear why he hadn't.

"Slytherin've got to keep passing it to Al," said James darkly, echoing what everyone was thinking. "They can't play with only two Chasers. They'll get thrashed."

After Madam Howler had fixed Harper's broken nose, the play resumed, but it didn't get any better for the Slytherins. Albus dropped two more passes, including one that was pretty much thumped into his chest, and missed another shot at goal, while Hufflepuff scored three more times.

"And it's 50 points to Hufflepuff, Slytherin still yet to score," shouted McLaggen. "A very surprising game so far, given that Slytherin were predicted to flatten Hufflepuff convincingly. Perhaps Malfoy's absence from the team has affected Potter more than we imagined it would."

"I don't understand," whined Dom. "Al was fine when I talked to him on Thursday."

Rose's stomach gave a lurch, and she thought for a moment that she might be sick. She looked over at Scorpius to see him stand up abruptly and turn as though to leave, before Bachar Zabini grabbed his arm and yanked him back into his seat. The other Slytherin boy said something to him, pointing angrily at the sky. Rose could imagine what he was saying. Scorpius didn't reply, but he stayed where he was.

"And Slytherin score!" McLaggen's voice brought her attention back to the game. She saw Harper fly over to Warrington and high-five him. Neither of them looked at Albus, who hovered some way down the pitch, his eyes downcast. "Maybe that will be the start of a revival for them?"

But it wasn't. Hufflepuff scored twice in quick succession, and when Albus managed to throw the Quaffle straight into Hopkins arms, missing his teammate Harper by more than three metres, all hope seemed lost. The Slytherin fans were practically starting a riot, while the Hufflepuffs couldn't seem to believe what was happening, and were goading their opposition for all that they were worth.

"Blakethorn scores!" called McLaggen. "80 – 10 to Hufflepuff and – what's this? The Seekers have seen the snitch!"

Rose's eyes snapped upwards, to see the two seekers diving so quickly their outlines were nothing but a blur. Her heart jumped into her mouth. Slytherin were only 70 points behind, if Nott caught the snitch they would still win. Then all of Albus' fumbles would be forgotten.

"Oh please catch it," she said aloud, wringing her hands together.

But Simoly Howard was slowly but surely outstripping Nott, who while a good flyer was no match for her experience. She was a foot ahead of him now, a huge grin already plastered on her face, her hand stretching out.

"And Simoly Howard's caught the snitch!" cried McLaggen, his words drowned out by the cheer of delight from the Hufflepuff stands and the furious roar from the Slytherins. "Hufflepuff win, 230 to 10. And a more comprehensive thumping of Slytherin I don't think we've seen in years. Congratulations Hufflepuff!"

Rose slumped back in her seat, stricken. She watched as Albus floated slowly back to the ground and sank to his knees. He pounded the ground with his fist, again and again and again as though he could somehow thump all his rage into the dirt. The rest of the Slytherins dismounted and walked past him without a word, besides Nott, who tapped him briefly on the head as he passed. Al's shoulders were shaking, and she could feel the anguish rippling out of him. She looked for Scorpius, but he was already gone.

"Well at least it was quick," said James, his voice cutting through their numb silence. "I don't think I've ever seen him play so badly."

"Not even that time he played with Demiguise Fever and passed out afterwards," agreed Fred.

"There must be something wrong with him," said Lily tearfully.

"We saw him before the match and he didn't seem very happy," said Dom, looking at Rose. "I thought it was just nerves but maybe it was something else…" she trailed off thoughtfully.

"On the upside," said Hugo, swivelling in his seat, his eyes bright. "This makes our chances of winning the Cup a whole lot better. We only have to beat Ravenclaw and we're set."

"Yeah," James nodded slowly. He shook his head and the stunned look was replaced with a grin. "Yeah, of course. Too bad for Albus that he choked on the big stage, but all the better for us."

"He didn't choke!" Rose said angrily before she could stop herself. Five heads swivelled to look at her.

"What do you mean?" asked James.

"I mean…he's really upset," she said, already regretting opening her mouth.

"About what?" asked Fred.

"He – he had a fight."

"With who?" asked Dom.

"With – " she bit her lip, wondering if she should lie. But surely they would figure it out soon enough anyway. It didn't look like Albus and Scorpius would be making up any time soon. "With Malfoy.'

"About what?" asked Lily.

"Argh, I don't know!" she snapped, fed up with their questions. "All I know is they had a fight and he's obviously really upset and…just lay off him, alright?"

"Sheesh, no need to blow your top," said James, rolling his eyes. "Well, come on then, let's head back. No point sitting here watching Albus embarrass himself."

Rose looked back down to the pitch at his words, and saw that Albus was still crouched on the ground, his head in his hands, totally alone. Her heart went out to him.

"I have to go and speak to him," she said. James shrugged.

"Probably not a good idea. You know what he's like after he loses Quidditch."

"He breathes fire," warned Fred. "And watch the tail. It's got spikes."

She glared at them. "I'm going down to him," she said determinedly.

"Suit yourself."

"Do you want me to come too?" asked Dom. Rose shook her head.

"I'll meet you back up at the common room in a bit."

"'Kay."

Her family meandered off, but Rose turned and hurried down the opposite set of stairs, the ones that would take her onto the pitch. She raced down them quickly, feeling slightly lightheaded by the time she reached the bottom. Albus hadn't moved at all. She took a tentative step forwards, suddenly nervous.

"Al?" she called when she was only a few feet away. He stiffened. "Al I'm – "

"What are you doing here?" he practically growled, without looking up.

She let her breath out in a sigh. "I came to see if you were alright?"

"What does it look like?"

"It looks like you're upset," she said, dropping to her knees so that she was level with him. "And I know why and I'm sorry."

"You don't know anything Rose," he said, his voice muffled by his robes. Rose thought she saw him wipe surreptitiously at the corner of his eyes with his sleeve, but pretended not to have noticed.

"I said I'm sorry," she said heavily. "What more do you want me to say?"

He looked up at her then, his green eyes over-bright. "I want to know why you thought you couldn't tell me?"

"I – " she bit her lip. "I was afraid you'd react like this."

"And you thought going behind my back was a better idea?"

"I didn't really think," she admitted. "It was on and off and…we broke it off because of his dad, and then – I hadn't decided what to do yet."

He stared at her. "Yeah, his dad. And your dad. What do you think they're going to say?"

"I don't know," she said miserably.

He swiped a hand through his hair. "I don't get how you can like him," he said at last. "I've never heard you say more than half a dozen words to him in six whole years. And you really did hate him, didn't you? That wasn't just some act, was it?"

"No."

"So what changed?"

"I don't know, I guess the lessons – " he rolled his eyes and she crinkled her nose in response. "I know it sounds cliché, but I spent some time alone with him and I guess I just realised that he wasn't quite who I thought he was."

"Took you long enough," said Albus snidely.

"Better late than never, right?"

He sighed. "I don't know Rose, I don't want you to get hurt. Scorpius has a lot of girls…"

Her heart began to thump painfully hard. "What do you mean?"

Her cousin shrugged. "Just that he's a hot-blooded young guy, and he's gonna go after girls. You can't expect that this is going to end happily."

"I…" his words hurt her more than she cared to admit.

"Come on Rose," he said exasperatedly. "This isn't some kind of Beedle the Bard fairytale. Do you know how many girlfriends he's had since third year?"

"No…"

"Well, more than a couple," said Albus with a crooked grin. She stared at him, amazed that he could be so brutally insensitive. "I never thought you were his type, but there you go. He never said anything. I can't figure out if he was lying the whole time or if he's only just become interested in you."

She thought about the way he had asked her to the Yule Ball in fourth year, when he had come so close to telling her his feelings. But she held her tongue.

Albus got to his feet, brushing some of the dirt off the front of his robes. Rose stood as well, not sure what to think.

"I'm not happy about this," said Al grimly. He picked up his broom and tucked it under one arm. "I can't tell you not to see him, I know that. But I can tell you that I think it'll end in tears, and advise you not to continue. I know Scorp's my best friend, but he's not the guy for you."

She nodded rapidly, not meeting his eyes. "Have you – have you spoken to him?"

Al's face darkened. "No," he scowled. "And I don't intend to. I'm afraid I'll do something I'll regret."

"Al!"

"It's true," he stated simply. "You, I can forgive, since you're too innocent for your own good. But he should know better. He should know you're way, way out of bounds. I can't believe he had the nerve to – " he broke off. "If James knew about this, I don't think Scorpius would be safe at Hogwarts anymore."

"Don't say that," she moaned. "He's your best friend, how can you say that?"

"Was my best friend," corrected Albus. "Now, I don't know what he is."

Rose turned away, her eyes stinging with tears again. She had done this; she had ruined their friendship. And she had no idea how to put things right again.

"I can't believe you spent so long hassling me to like him and now that I do, you're acting like this," she remarked at last, her tone heavy with bitterness.

"There's a whole lot of difference between liking someone as a friend and sleeping with them," said Albus drily.

Her eyes snapped to his. "I haven't slept with him!"

He reddened and coughed uncomfortably. "Well…good. I'm glad."

"Has…has Scorpius slept with other girls?" she asked, not sure she wanted to know the answer but unable to stop herself from asking.

"Of course he has," said Albus bluntly. "See, this is what I mean. You and he are on completely separate planets. You're totally wrong for each other."

"Right…" she rasped, looking down at the ground. Suddenly she wanted nothing more than to be alone. "Well, I guess I'd better get going."

"I'm sorry if that sounded harsh," he said, his expression concerned. "Rose?"

"No, it's – it's okay," she lied. "I understand."

"Are you going to keep seeing him?" he asked her seriously.

How could she, after everything he had just said? "I don't know," she whispered. "I have to think about things. I'm not sure."

"Well, whatever you decide, I want you to tell me," he said firmly. "I refuse to be kept in the dark about this any longer. And you should tell Dom as well. She deserves to know."

"Are you going to forgive Scorpius?"

Al's jaw clenched, and he looked away. "We'll see."

She sighed and took a few steps backwards. "I'm sorry about the game."

"So am I. I don't know how I'm going to face the Slytherin common room now."

"I'm sure they'll get over it," she said, trying not to think about the looks of outrage on the faces of so many Slytherins as they watched their team get thrashed. "After all, how many games have you won for them?"

He shook his head. "Not nearly enough to make up for this."

"I'm sorry," she said again, softly.

"Yeah, me too."

She turned and left Albus standing alone in the clearing, the wind whipping his green robes about his ankles, his hair tossed to one side, and his expression very dark.