Rose

It’s not like they were friends. More like two people who acknowledged each other, yet preferred to stay a healthy distance apart. They had an unspoken agreement to stop the prejudices of their parents and those before them. Though remembering how she had acted upon first meeting Scorpius, Rose wanted to cry.


She and Albus had just gotten onto the train after finally getting away from their fussing parents. “My goodness, is it nice to be away from everyone,� Albus breathed. Though she would never admit it out loud, Rose privately agreed. She truly did love her parents but all the talk of houses, and sorting, and legacies had made her want to turn around and run. “I hope there’s an empty compartment somewhere. I don’t exactly fancy sitting with James and his friends, do you?�

“Most definitely not. Do you really think I need another person telling me that there’s no way I can make dad proud? I am full up on James for the moment.� She had always thought that Hugo was pretty bad to live with. He was always making rude comments and prying into her personal life but she would’ve chosen him over James any day. She truly did feel sorry for Al; with a dad like his, there was so much pressure to live up to people’s expectations that it could drive a person mad and James certainly did not provide much, or rather any, stress relief. Luckily, Al was one of the most oblivious people she had ever met. He didn’t even notice people looking at him usually, so he could cope pretty well. She on the other hand, could not. Rose hated people talking about her and though she was often called the next Uncle Percy for her lack of Weasliness, Al knew that she was just afraid to fail. Snapping out of her reverie, she noticed Al beckoning her towards a compartment.

“You found a free one, Al! Oh, thank you so much!� They quickly got in and were just putting their trunks away when they heard a knock on the door. Al went to open it and they found Scorpius Malfoy on the other side; Rose’s dad had warned her about the Malfoys and told her to stay away from Scorpius but in that moment, the only thought that came to her mid was that he looked extremely scared. He quickly reddened upon seeing whom he was talking to but looked determined not to turn away.

“Would you mind if I joined you? Everywhere else seems to be full.� Al had just opened his mouth to reply when Rose interjected. “Why would we want to sit with you, Malfoy?�

She didn’t know what her made her say it – maybe she wanted to get her dad’s approval, or maybe years of hearing taunts about the Malfoys had clouded her good judgment. What she did realize was that she had just crushed the boy’s hopes of being treated differently than by his last name. He had quickly mumbled an apology and left in a hurry. As the door shut behind him, Albus turned and looked at Rose.

“What on earth is wrong with you?� Rose had just looked at him and burst into tears. She didn’t understand how she could have said such a thing, even to a Malfoy. She wasn’t a prejudiced person and she told Al as much. In fact, she decided to tell him everything; how she worried that if she were different their family wouldn’t accept her, and that sometimes the opinions of the people around her influenced her decisions more than she liked to admit. Al listened to her talk for almost the rest of the train ride to Hogwarts. When she was done, he had come to sit by her and gave her a long, comforting, hug.

“You know, Rose,� he started quietly, “I think you would feel much better if you apologized to Scorpius. Maybe that would mark the start of a new chapter for you. Hogwarts might be a great place for you to find yourself, so to speak; to become Rose and not always Rose Weasley.�



And she had done just that. After the first years were ushered into the small chamber just off the Great hall to wait to be sorted, Rose had walked straight up to Scorpius and apologized. He had looked a bit stunned at first but then gladly shook her hand. And he had astounded her by what he had said. “Maybe we could try to be different than our parents and not hate each other?� She had laughed and agreed. Rose, of course, had been sorted into Gryffindor and Scorpius into Slytherin, but she had to admit to herself that at the moment during which he walked away from her and towards the Slytherins, she had been a bit sad to see him go. She realized now, after four years at Hogwarts, that it would have been nice to have gotten to know him. With this thought in her head she heard her mother call up to her from downstairs, “Sweetheart, we’re leaving now!� She grabbed her trunk and tried to run down the stairs as quickly as possible so as not to be late to King’s Cross. She had after all been made a prefect, and being late was not considered acceptable behavior.

He stood on platform 9 ¾, surveying all the activity as he waited for his parents to park their car and join him. Though Scorpius knew that his grandfather despised the fact that Draco drove such a “hideous piece of Muggle innovation,� Scorpius loved their car, and driving in it was one of his favourite hobbies. His father had even figured out how to make it fly!


That would be one thing that he and Rose Weasley had in common. On numerous occasions had he overheard her and her many cousins exclaiming over Harry’s and Ron’s flying cars and rambling on about how they wished they had one too. At first Scorpius had thought these discussions quite dull, but then his own father had made their car fly and these thoughts were quickly forgotten. He looked over his shoulder, and when he heard someone yell quite loudly he turned and spotted Rose being enveloped in a hug by her cousin Lily. When Lily stepped away, Scorpius noticed the gleaming Prefect’s badge on her chest and sighed - he had also been made a prefect and wondered how much time the two of them would have to spend together. It’s not that he didn’t want to get to know her, but he really didn’t want to be the focus point of Hogwarts gossip. He could see the headlines now: “Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy seen speaking face to face!�


Honestly, she looked to him like a kind girl. There was no hatred on her face and she seemed to enjoy being around everyone… including Slytherins. And when he looked closely, he had to admit that she really was quite attractive. She had gorgeous blue eyes and hair that more closely resembled auburn than red. And she did have a nice body... Stop! He ordered himself to clear his head and shook it just for emphasis. He could not be interested in Rose Weasley. Apart from all the obvious reasons that would stop them from ever being together, such as his father, his grandfather, her father, all her uncles, most of her cousins, and her grandparents killing him, frankly, he didn’t think he stood a chance. Good girls like Rose weren’t really the type to throw away their family’s expectations for a guy. He did, however, think his mother would be pleased with such an arrangement; or maybe she would just love the commotion and upset that it would cause.


For someone who was part of such a demanding family, Astoria was shockingly carefree. She didn’t seem to care what her adopted family thought of her, and one of her favourite past times was creating uproar and turmoil. He vividly remembered the discussion, if one could even call it that, that his mother had had with his grandfather Lucius about their holiday plans.

It was the summer between his second and third year, and one sunny morning, Astoria and Draco woke him up to tell him that the family was going on a vacation! Scorpius had been ecstatic, as evidenced by his jumping up and down on his bed for somewhere close to five minutes. His parents had decided to take him to Disneyland. Apparently, a wizard who worked closely with his father came from America and had suggested the place for a holiday. Scorpius had never before heard of an amusement park but when his father described the kinds of things they had there, he was intrigued. The next day though, he heard shouting coming from the direction of the main sitting room and recognized his mother’s and grandfather’s voices.
“It does not matter what you think, Lucius. I will take my family on vacation wherever I please and it certainly doesn’t matter whether or not you approve,� spoke Astoria sharply.
“You dare defy me, you ungrateful woman?! You have everything you could have ever wanted because of us and you repay us by letting Scorpius mingle with filthy Mudbloods?! How dare you!� his grandfather Lucius shouted maliciously.
“You will not under any circumstances use that word in my house! Scorpius is my son, and I have the right to raise him how I please, I do not need your permission. Draco’s and my choice to raise our son to not hate Muggleborns as you do is none of your concern. Please let yourself out.�


His grandfather had been furious but Scorpius had thoroughly enjoyed their Muggle vacation; they had even flown on an airplane to get to America! He had found it absolutely fascinating, not that he would ever tell anyone. That’s probably why his mother was his favourite person in the whole world. She never seemed to be afraid to speak her mind, something that he could never do, and did not worry about the consequences of her words. Nobody other than Astoria ever defied Lucius Malfoy. His father, on the other hand, was more like himself: quiet and reserved. He loved his father deeply but only his mother seemed to know what was on his mind even before he had figured it out himself. Which is why, he told himself quickly, if you don’t clear your head this instant, you are going to have a lot of explaining to do! He took his eyes off of Rose, took a deep breath, and turned to say goodbye to his parents who had just arrived. As he stepped up to hug his mother, she lifted a quizzical brow at his expression and at once he knew that all his preparations were for nothing. He pretended not to have noticed but all that came to mind was, Damn.


Letting go, he turned to his dad and shook his hand, and then gathered up his trunk and jumped on the train. He knew that his best friend Marcus Flint had saved a compartment for the two of them and their friends at the back of the train like always, so he headed there to drop off his trunk before the Prefect meeting. He had just reached up a hand to pull open the door when it flung open of its own accord, and a mass of perfectly coiffed blonde hair flung herself at him.
“Oh Scorpius, I’m so glad you’re back. I missed you so much over the summer, I can’t believe you didn’t write to me!�
He tried to stay upright as Adrianna hugged the life out of him and trying to not sound rude he said, “Hello, Adrianna.�
“’Hello’?! After not seeing me for so long, all I get is ‘hello’?�


Scorpius just sighed inwardly. Adrianna seemed to suffer from the most florid delusions; she thought the two of them were dating! Or almost were. At any rate, she flung herself at Scorpius any chance she got and usually never left his side at school. It’s not that Adrianna Parkinson wasn’t pretty, but he had never met a more annoying person in his entire life, and the sight of her usually made him want to run away. Or retch. He considered which of the two he felt like doing more at the moment. After half a minute of brief contemplation he decided that neither would look respectable and proceeded to try and untangle himself from Adrianna’s grasp. Marcus appeared and took Scorpius’s trunk to put it up on the shelves. “Hey Scor!�
“Hey Marcus!� Glad for some interruption, Scorpius enthusiastically followed Marcus into the compartment to put down his coat and other bag and then turned to leave.
“Oh, Scorpius! You’re not leaving yet, are you?� Adrianna cried.
“I have to go to the Prefects’ meeting. See you later, Marcus.�

He felt strangely satisfied at the infuriated look on Adrianna’s face when he didn’t mention her at all. Smirking, he thought that it wouldn’t be a good time to mention that he had just been contemplating Rose Weasley’s eyes and curves. Ha! How I would love to see Adrianna’s face when I told her that. With that thought in mind, he started off towards the Prefects’ compartment.

If someone had told Rose, when she got her badge earlier in the summer, that being a prefect would consist of patrolling the hallways with Scorpius Malfoy for the entire year, she would have thrown the badge into the trash and run in the opposite direction. However, seeing as she was seated in a compartment full of other prefects and next to the Head Girl, no doubt, Rose had judged that running away in hysterics would be frowned upon.

Harry Longbottom, the Gryffindor Head Boy, and Juliet Bones, the Hufflepuff Head Girl, had decided to change the patrolling system this year. Instead of being assigned different patrolling partners at every meeting, each prefect was assigned a permanent partner from a different house -- this was to ensure and promote inter-house communication and good spirits. The Head Boy and Girl had even asked Headmister Slughorn, who was completely enthralled by the idea, for there to be an equal number of prefects chosen from every house so as to allow their new system to work.

Privately, Rose had thought it to be a wonderful way for students to try to work together and become friends with students from other houses… until she had been paired with Scorpius Malfoy. Why him, she had immediately asked herself.

Well, he’s not THAT bad, her heart quickly piped in. But why couldn’t it have been someone else? Someone I’m friends with? I don’t even know him and I hate the effect he has on me, countered her overly analytical brain. Isn’t getting to know each other kind of the whole point? And do you mean the feeling of butterflies that you get almost every time you see him? How you feel like he penetrates your soul when he looks at you? That effect? responded her heart.

Rose chided herself and stopped her mental debate -- she was being utterly ridiculous. Just because she and Scorpius had not been friends up to this point in their lives, did not mean that they were incapable of any sort of friendship. And just because she thought him quite attractive, like every girl at Hogwarts did, didn’t mean that her heart had to go into a flutter every time she saw him, nor that wild schoolgirl fantasies of them being together had to pop into her head at the mention of his name.

Rose knew that she had fancied Scorpius for the last little while, however unwilling she was to admit it, but she did not want to start behaving like one of those girls who fawned over the boy. Adrianna was one of those girls; she always walked with Scorpius to class, sometimes even hip-butting his buddy Marcus Flint out of the way so she could stand next to him, and was always laughing at his jokes and lovingly staring at him.

Quite frankly, it was sickening to look at, and Rose had often noticed that Scorpius usually looked quite uncomfortable with the whole situation. And it wasn’t just Adrianna; the girl led a whole fan club whose favourite pastime was Scorpius-hunting. Rose disliked them all.

Thus, after reminding herself not to become Adrianna -- the only person whom Rose had ever detested -- she calmed down, composed herself, and smiled when Scorpius came to sit next to her. Almost as soon as he sat down, Rose felt a million holes burn into her as every pair of female eyes in the compartment glued themselves to her and Scorpius. It was the most uncomfortable she had ever felt and she didn’t realize for a while that Scorpius had asked her how her summer had been and was now looking a bit uncomfortable as she wasn’t answering.

“My summer was pretty good, thanks for asking Scorpius. I spent most of it telling my brother to stay out of my life actually,� Rose quickly chimed in. He laughed slightly and told her how glad he was that he didn’t have siblings whenever other people talked about theirs.

“You know, I’ve often thought about how much I would rather not have a sibling but then I realized that I would have no one to blame anything on,� Rose said chuckling.
“Ya, all I have to occupy my time is our dog, Oscar,� Scorpius told her.

“You guys have a dog? I didn’t think anyone would let a dog run around the Malfoy mansion.�

Rose quickly covered her mouth, worrying instantly whether she had said too much and if Scorpius would get offended. She hoped not because she actually found their pleasant conversation quite invigorating and didn’t want to say something stupid. Her fears must have been plastered all over her face because Scorpius quickly told her not to fret.

“Oh you don’t need to worry about saying anything about my house Rose. I actually refer to it as the family mausoleum whenever my parents and grandparents aren’t around. I’ve actually heard my mother call it that once as well!�

She sighed in relief and laughed at what he had said; Scorpius smiled at her and asked her more about her summer. They talked for a few more minutes until Scorpius excused himself to talk to some of his friends, as their patrol didn’t start till half an hour later. He bid her goodbye and gave Rose one last smile as he left the compartment.

Well that was certainly interesting, thought Rose. I had a normal, civilized, and quite pleasant conversation with Scorpius Malfoy. Who would’ve thought? And he was so nice! And he smiled and laughed with me! What is up with that? He barely said five words to me in the last five years and now all of a sudden, we start talking as if we’re old friends? Again, what is up with that? He didn’t look too disappointed to be paired up with me either. In fact, I think I even saw a small smile on his face when my name and his were mentioned. Actually, I probably just imagined that. Scorpius doesn’t fancy me, or like me, and probably doesn’t even want to be paired up with me. We are just patrol partners and that conversation that we had was just Scorpius being nice and nothing else!