Chapter 3
The first week of term began and the fifth years of Hogwarts found themselves already crushed under a mountain of homework. The professors, it seemed, had no intention of going easy on their students with O.W.L.s looming ahead. On the second evening of classes Rose, to her indignation, found herself at the library with her friends, obscured from view by a teetering stack of books.
"Rose!" Maren hissed, peering around the books. "Come over here, I need your help on this charms homework."
"One moment," Rose muttered, hastily scrawling the last word of her runes translation. "Ha!" she cried when she finished, throwing her quill down and pumping a fist in the air. "I got it! Professor Scribner said we wouldn't finish it in one day and I did!"
"Shh!" Madam Pince wheezed from an unseen corner of the library.
"Shut it, will you?" Albus whispered, standing up to glare at Rose over the top of her books. "You're going to get us kicked out."
"Sorry," Rose said sheepishly. "Got a bit excited."
"You finished the translation?" Nathan asked from across the table where he sat working through herbology with Lucy.
"Just now." Rose tilted her chin slightly higher in the air. "And Scribner said we wouldn't get it done in just one day."
"Could you help me with it later?" Allie asked, looking up from her potions book. "I think I made a muddle of it earlier."
"Sure," Rose nodded. She took three of the books from the stack in front of her and slid them across the table. "Here, these were loads of help."
"Oh, lovely," Allie trilled, slipping the books into her bag.
"Oy, Weasley, charms," Maren said, pointing to the roll of parchment in front of her. "I need you to tell me how we made that self-cleaning spell work in class this morning."
"Oh, blimey, I don't remember," Rose groaned, running a hand through her hair. "My answer for that one was complete bollocks. I think I just said something about the wand movement ending with a jab."
"Bugger," Maren muttered, pushing the parchment away. She looked around the table. "Oy, Scorpius, do you know the answer to number four on the charms homework?"
"I think it's the enunciation of the incantation," he answered without looking up from his runes translation. "If you aren't careful with pronunciation you just end up casting a polishing charm instead of imbuing the object with the capability to repeatedly clean itself."
"So the way you say the incantation is what makes it work, then," Maren said half to herself, bending over her charms work and raising her quill.
"That's right, I think," Scorpius looked up and nodded. "Though I'm not entirely sure."
"Well, you've got a much better idea than Rose or me," Maren shrugged, scribbling something on her parchment. "Also, Rose, did you finish that transfiguration essay?"
"Ugh, no," Rose moaned. "It's ghastly. Y'know I think Lyncroft set it just to take the piss out of all of us. I can't find the answers to half the questions anywhere in the book."
"Damn it," Maren groaned. "I was counting on having you help me with that."
"Sorry," Rose shook her head.
"At this rate we're going to be in here all night," Maren said with a sigh. She threw her quill down on the table and stretched. "Scorpius, can you help?"
"Sorry," he replied, collecting the textbooks and parchment strewn about his side of the table. "I would, but patrol starts in ten minutes."
"Bollocks, I forgot about that," Rose muttered. Scorpius glanced at her and raised an eyebrow but didn't respond. He dug in his bag for a moment before extracting a roll of parchment, which he handed to Maren.
"Here's my notes from class if you want them for your essay, though. And Johanna was telling me she found a lot of it in the grade six book."
"Why are we writing an essay on something from the bloody grade six book?" Maren grumbled, taking the notes and scanning them.
"I dunno," Scorpius shrugged. "Lyncroft probably wants to be sure we're prepared for O.W.L.s. My dad said sometimes they include things from the grade six curriculum."
"Well that's a load of dung." Maren brushed hair from her face and sighed. "Thanks for the notes, though. Rose, d'you want them when I'm done?"
"Er," Rose bit her lip and peered sideways at Scorpius, who was looking down at his bag and tapping his fingers against the table. "No, that's alright. I'll just have you help me when you're done."
"Suit yourself," Maren said, picking up her quill again. "I'll see you when your patrols are done, yeah?"
"Oh, yeah, I guess so." Rose looked at the clock over her shoulder which showed that she and Scorpius were due on the fourth floor in less than ten minutes for their first patrol of the term. "I just have to get my things together." She scrambled to gather her books and quills and parchment, pretending not to notice Scorpius's fingers tapping interminably against the tabletop. She shoved everything unceremoniously in her bag, trying not to wince at the unmistakable snap of her favorite quill breaking underneath her runes textbook. Straightening, she took a breath and flicked her hair over her shoulder. "You ready?" she murmured in Scorpius's direction.
"Mhm," was his only reply. He brushed past her and walked toward the library door. Rose huffed and jogged after him.
The fourth floor was deserted when they arrived, much to Rose's disappointment. It would be nice, she thought, if something could happen to distract her from the horror that was patrolling for two hours with Scorpius. Weren't rounds supposed to be exciting, after all? There were supposed to be troublemakers stealing through the corridors and snogging couples attempting to conceal themselves in broom cupboards and behind tapestries. She and Scorpius should not be the only two people in the vicinity.
He played with the wristband of his watch, sliding his ring finger between the weathered dragonhide and his pale wrist and sliding it around absently. When he moved the watch face back to its place and removed his finger from the band, he dropped his hand to his thigh and began tapping his fingers. Tap tap tap.
Rose pursed her lips and turned to watch the portraits as she passed. One showed a very fat man with a ruff sleeping with a half-finished glass of wine in his hand. The next frame stood empty, with birch trees and spindly shrubs abandoned and slightly windswept. The ornate gold frame afterward held five cherubim; they eyed Rose as she walked by.
"Oy, Gingey," the cherub in the center called out, waving a pudgy arm. "Would ya like to come enjoy a nightcap with us?"
Rose rolled her eyes and kept walking. The portraits of Hogwarts were always entertaining, whatever their other shortcomings.
She and Scorpius walked in silence. Rose spent ten minutes twirling her hair around her finger and another forty-five daydreaming about quidditch trials where she would fly circles around Gabriel Herrick and cast a jellylegs jinx midair. She smothered a giggle at the mental image of him trying to land a broom with his legs dancing spastically beneath him.
Less than ten minutes remained in the patrol when they turned the corner at the tapestry of Sir Carleton and his army of unicorns. Rose's gaze swept over the corridor walls and came to land on a broom cupboard with a dented doorknob and a large scratch on the bottom left corner. She and Theo had frequented that very broom cupboard often last year. Her heart gave a funny tremor in her chest and she bit down hard on her lower lip. Scorpius's fingers continued to tap as she sucked in a breath and averted her eyes.
Tap tap. Tap tap.
How easy that had been last year, when she had been the one scurrying to avoid prefects on patrol! Maybe some couple was holed up in there now, wrapped around each other and hardly daring to breathe until their footsteps passed.
Tap tap. Tap tap.
Of course, if someone had told her last year that she would be made prefect, she would have laughed in their face and said of course not. But here she was, badge and all, patrolling the corridor.
Tap tap tap. Tap. Tap tap.
If she didn't implode under the sheer weight of the responsibility she would surely waste away during one of these infernal, eternal silences. As if the badge itself weren't frightening enough, she was paired up with someone who could barely stand to look at her.
Tap tap. Tap.
Rose peeked to her left to see Scorpius's eyes trained straight ahead, his hands falling to his side. He had his shoulders thrown back so that his chest pushed out slightly further than normal. He was undoubtedly conscious of his posture, pushing his chest forward so that his badge, shiny and glimmering in the flickering candlelight, couldn't be missed even by the most unobservant of passersby.
Tap tap tap, his fingers beat the staccato rhythm against his thigh. Tap tap.
He looked the part, that much was undeniable. Everything about Scorpius Malfoy screamed authoritative. Maybe it was the way he carried himself, or perhaps just his calm demeanor. Either way, he looked the part more than Rose did.
Tap tap.
Had he been as surprised about her selection as she had been?
Tap. Tap tap. Tap.
He had to have been. She hadn't even been expecting it.
Tap. Tap.
He had probably been expecting to get the badge, though. How could he not be? He had been the obvious choice. Ravenclaw had to have at least one prefect who was undoubtedly right for the job.
Tap tap tap.
Had he been angry when he heard she had been made prefect? It was possible. He had probably thought he would get to spend these patrols with Lucy or Allie, talking about whatever it was they talked about.
Tap. Tap tap.
He probably hated the fact they had to patrol together even more than she did. After all, hadn't he told her last year just how much he despised her? And now he was forced to spend two hours twice a week walking the halls of the castle with her, without even Albus as a buffer.
Tap tap tap.
No wonder he was silent.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
"Will you stop that?" the words jumped from Rose's mouth before she could stop them. Scorpius slowed, his hand coming up to rest on his opposite elbow as he looked at her. "I—I mean, please," Rose said, her voice trailing off. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear and looked at the patch of wall visible beyond his shoulder. "It's driving me mad."
Scorpius watched her for a moment, then nodded, resuming his earlier pace. "Sorry."
Rose chewed the inside of her cheek and continued walking, skipping every few seconds to keep up. She ought to say something more, to combat the heavy silence that draped over them. Scorpius shoved his hands in his pockets and hunched slightly forward, his badge no longer gleaming in the candlelight. Rose bit down harder on her cheek and crossed her arms. She should tell him he could tap his hands if he wanted, if that's what kept him sane during these patrols. He should be able to have that, at the very least. They were both going to have to figure out some way to remain lucid during these hours of reticence.
A screech echoed from around the corner, dragging Rose from her thoughts. She frowned and sped up, hearing Scorpius do the same. They reached the corner just in time to hear a voice shriek, "Duck!"
Rose obeyed, falling almost flat on her stomach as the neon green disc sailed over her. When it was clear it wasn't going to hit her, she looked up and found Scorpius standing over her, knees bent and one arm outstretched. For a moment Rose thought he was trying to help her up, but then she realized he was facing away from her, toward the far end of the corridor where a green speck was growing. The fanged frisbee hurled toward them; Rose heard it come closer and then saw Scorpius shift his weight. A muffled hiss sounded, along with a grunt. Rose glanced up to see Scorpius holding the frisbee gingerly by the edge, his white fingers glowing against acidic green.
"Alright," Scorpius called as he inspected the frisbee, "whose is this? Come here and tell us who you are so we don't have to find a teacher."
Rose clambered to her feet and attempted to smooth her hair, praying that whoever's frisbee it was hadn't seen her drop to the floor as though she'd been stunned. She slowly peered around the corner. A pair of boys stood plastered against the wall underneath one of the sconces. Rose crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows as she rounded on them, trying not to laugh at their wide eyes.
"Was that your frisbee?" she asked as Scorpius's footsteps echoed behind her.
"Er, no," the taller boy, who was clad in jeans and a tartan dressing gown, said slowly. "It's-it's a friend's-"
"Were you the one throwing it in the corridor, though?" Rose asked, raising one eyebrow a degree higher. The boy chewed on his lip, eyes flitting to his friend.
"Y-yes," the shorter boy stammered, his eyes turning to the floor.
"You do know these things are forbidden, right?" Scorpius asked from beside Rose, holding the snarling frisbee up.
"Er-"
"What house are you two in?" Rose asked, cocking her head.
"Gryffindor," the shorter boy muttered.
"Right," Rose nodded. "Well, we'll have to dock you five points each for having a forbidden item in the corridor. But we won't take points for being out of bed past curfew so long as you go back to your common room straight away."
"And we have to confiscate the frisbee," Scorpius added.
"Right," the taller boy said, nodding fervently. "Right. We'll be on, then. Ready, Winston?"
"Yeah," Winston replied, peeling himself off the wall. "S-sorry-"
"Just don't do it again," Scorpius said with a ghost of a smile. "I almost lost a hand trying to catch this thing."
"It's one of the new ones!" the taller boy cried, stopping to grin at them. "It has an extra set of teeth-"
"Boys," Rose broke in, "if you're not on your way to your common room by the time I count to three I'm going to have to take an extra ten points each. One-"
Her subsequent counts were drowned out by the boys' clattering footsteps as they sprinted down the corridor toward the staircase. Rose snorted to herself and then glanced at Scorpius, who was regarding the frisbee with a look of distaste. "It's kind of nice to have a bit of excitement," she mused as she began walking.
"Mhm," Scorpius shrugged. "I don't mind the quiet though."
Rose sighed heavily and tried not to roll her eyes. "Of course you don't." She picked out the lock of hair and began twisting it around her finger again.
If he wanted silence, they could patrol in silence every night. See if she cared.
She perfected her quidditch trials daydream as they walked back to the tapestry of Sir Carleton. She decided that instead of a jellylegs jinx, it would be more effective if she cast a bat bogey hex on Herrick midair; the thought of him trying to retain control of his broom whilst his bogeys flew violently from his nostrils was almost enough to send her into a fit of giggles in the middle of the corridor. When they reached the tapestry, Scorpius glanced at his watch and announced their patrol was over and he was going to the heads' office to drop off the confiscated frisbee and fill out the corresponding report.
"Should I go too for that?" Rose asked, brushing her hair over her shoulder.
Scorpius made a noncomittal noise. "I don't think it matters."
"Right," Rose nodded slowly, pausing as she played with the strap of her bag. "Well, I suppose I'll be off then."
"Alright," Scorpius turned toward the staircase leading to the heads' office, so his back was to Rose. She waited a moment longer, adjusting and readjusting the strap on her bag.
Scorpius paused and turned back to face her. Rose raised her eyebrows. He shifted the fanged frisbee from his right hand to his left. "Can you tell Lucy I'll give her back her muggle studies notes at breakfast tomorrow?"
"Er—yeah—sure." Rose dropped her hands to her sides, letting her bag swing from its now overly-long strap. Scorpius nodded and moved back to the staircase. Rose sighed, hitched her bag up on her shoulder, and walked the other way to Ravenclaw Tower.
***
The next morning, as her friends finished fixing their hair and applying their makeup, Rose surveyed herself in the full-length mirror Allie had propped against a wall. Her hair remained in the braid Maren had done the night before and her bare face was unevenly colored but free of blemishes for the time being; her badge, which she had just pinned to the breast of her robes, glittered.
"Comb your hair, darling, or you'll start to look like a merperson," the mirror wheezed.
"Shut it," Rose grumbled, snatching her bag from the floor as she looked toward the bathroom. "Allie! Tell your mirror to be nicer to me!"
"It's not meant to be nice, Rose," Allie said as she walked into the dormitory, blonde hair pinned back behind her ears and her cheekbones a glittery bronze color. "It's meant to be honest."
"Well it's being rude," Rose sniffed, patting her braid which, admittedly, wasn't as tidy as it had been last night.
Allie rolled her eyes and smiled, taking Rose by the arm. "Maybe if you spent a little more time on your hair in the morning Carmela would be nicer."
"Its name is Carmela?" Rose asked, glancing over her shoulder at the mirror and wrinkling her nose.
"Yes," Allie said, looking affronted. "What's wrong with that?"
"I didn't know that people named mirrors."
"Can we go to breakfast, please?" Maren wailed from her bed. "I've been starving since I woke up and you lot are moving so slow."
"I'm almost ready!" Lucy called from the bathroom. "Just a few more minutes."
"I can't wait any longer, Lucy!"
"Maren, why don't you and I just go down now and save everyone seats," Rose said, sharing a small smile with Allie. "So you don't starve and Lucy doesn't have to go to class with only half her hair done."
"Brilliant." Maren jumped off her bed and lunged for the door. Rose laughed and followed her out to the staircase.
"I can't believe I'm being escorted to breakfast by a prefect," Maren laughed as they walked through the common room. "That badge really is blinding, y'know."
"Ugh, I hate wearing it," Rose groaned. "You know everybody's been staring at me the last few days whenever I'm in the corridor? It's maddening. I know I wasn't the expected choice but honestly, at this point it's just rude."
"So hex them."
"I can't hex them." Rose rolled her eyes. "I'd get detention and McGonagall just gave me that talk about how I'm a leader-"
"I think she just meant you can yell the loudest of the four of us."
"Right," Rose snorted. They pushed open the common room door and walked out into the corridor behind a group of seventh year boys. One of them turned around and gave the two girls an appraising look, his eyebrows raising slightly as his gaze swept over Rose.
"That was odd," Maren whispered when the seventh year turned back to his friends. "Reckon he wants to ask one of us to Hogsmeade?"
"I hope not." Rose grimaced. "I've had one date to Hogsmeade and I hope I never have another."
"Well if you had another it wouldn't be with Matthew Corner."
"Urgh, still."
The Great Hall teemed with students. The two girls wove through the chaos and found an empty section of the Ravenclaw table. Rose sat down and immediately grabbed a muffin, taking a large bite before Maren was even seated.
"What've we got today?" Maren asked vaguely, pulling her schedule out of her bag and frowning. "Ugh, double potions and double herbology. That'll be a nightmare."
"Wha' 're we doi' to'ay?" Rose forced out through a mouthful of muffin.
"I dunno about potions but for herbology I think someone said Longbottom's having us prune a chimera cactus," Maren answered. "And I don't know what that is but it sounds ghastly."
"It sounds awful." Rose made a face and took another bite. "Par'ners?"
"You had to ask?" Maren laughed, putting the schedule away and scanning the hall. "Oh, here come Lucy and Allie. D'you reckon they know what a chimera cactus is?"
The morning passed by slowly, though not unpleasantly. Double potions was more bearable than usual as Professor Lecher decided to allow the class to brew their choice of O.W.L. standard potion. Rose and Maren spent the class brewing an uncontrollable giggling serum, testing it on an unsuspecting Albus at the end.
To Rose's irritation, she still received several stares in the corridor between classes. She folded her arms across her chest as she walked to lunch, leaning forward slightly in an effort to hide her badge from view.
At lunch, as Rose helped herself to pot pie, she had the misfortune to look down the table just as Theo and Helena were sitting down; his hand guided her back gently. Helena lowered herself gracefully into the seat and brushed a sheet of blonde hair over her shoulder as she surveyed the food on the table. Her eyes landed on the pot pie in front of Rose, and then moved upward to rest on Rose herself, fork suspended and unabashedly gawking. Helena raised an eyebrow and leaned back, tapping Theo on the shoulder. With one eye still on Rose, she whispered something. Theo frowned and then nodded, his eyes darting to look at Rose and just as quickly flitting back to his lap. He put an arm around Helena's waist and whispered.
Rose pushed away her plate away and turned determinedly in the other direction, joining without invitation or introduction Nathan and Maren's conversation about quidditch tactics.
"I just don't understand," she hissed to Allie as they made their way to ancient runes, passing a gaggle of fourth year Ravenclaw girls who whispered and sent indiscreet glances in their direction. "This isn't happening to any other prefect."
"Are you sure it's because you're a prefect?" Allie asked, eyebrows coming together.
"I don't know what else it would be," Rose said, biting her lip.
"Maybe Dom's done something else to end up in the magazines and you just haven't seen it yet," Allie suggested. "That would make people stare."
"Maybe," Rose shrugged. "Why am I the only one, though? There's loads of Weasleys at school." She sighed shook her head. "Oh well. I suppose it doesn't matter all that much."
"There you go," Allie nodded. "And anyways, it's not such a bad thing. I wish loads of people stared at me as I walked to class."
"Nah," Rose shook her head. "It's strange."
"It's better than being ignored."
"I'll tell you what," Rose said, "next time I catch someone looking at me in the corridor I'll just kindly tell them to look at you instead. You're much prettier anyways, so they'll probably be grateful."
"Rose-"
"Come on," Rose laughed as they walked into the classroom. "I'm sure everyone would much rather look at you. You're much more interesting than I am."
By the time dinner arrived, Rose had half a mind to remove the sodding prefect badge from her robes. She took her seat beside Maren and snatched the potato dish, heaping a spoonful onto her plate.
"Hungry are we?" Maren snorted.
Rose merely grunted.
"Mind you don't eat the entire table, please," Maren shrugged, pulling forward a soup tureen. "It'd be a bit embarrassing."
"Mrgh."
"Has anyone started that potions essay yet?" Lucy asked from across the table, her forkful of green beans suspended in the air.
"I wrote out the similarities between the potions from a library book but that's all," Scorpius said beside her. "I can give it to you tonight if you'd like."
"Lovely, and I still have your muggle studies book as well." Lucy bit off the end of a green bean and chewed slowly.
"Brilliant," Scorpius nodded. His face lit up as he looked from Lucy to something over behind Rose, raising his hand in a wave. Rose twisted in her set to see Henry Winkle approaching.
"Hey, Winkle," Scorpius said as Henry came to stand behind Rose. "Come to remind us when trials are?"
"Er, no, actually." Henry put his hands in his pocket and shifted his weight, moving so he stood beside Rose. His eyes flickered from Scorpius to Maren and finally to Rose, a crease forming between his eyebrows. "Er," he murmured quietly, "Weasley, I wanted to talk to you."
"Abou' wha'?" Rose mumbled, hurrying to swallow as she looked up.
"You know what," Henry muttered, his ears going slightly pink. He rubbed the back of his neck.
"No?" Rose cocked her head to the side and frowned. "What is it?"
"Come on, Rose," the crease disappeared as Henry's brows met. He folded his arms across his chest and glared at her. "Don't be difficult about it."
Rose turned back to her plate and rolled her eyes. "Henry, I have no bloody idea what you're talking about."
"Fine," he snapped, hands dropping to his side as he leaned closer to her. "I heard what happened with you and Herrick and you two should've told me straight away. If this affects your performance on the pitch-"
"What?" Rose sputtered, nearly choking on her fork. "What are you on about?"
"I heard about the ball," Henry said, straightening slightly. His ears flamed now and a bit of pink had crept to his cheeks. "And I don't-I mean-ugh, I'm not here to lecture you and I truly don't want any more information but just-try to keep things appropriate at practice and for the love of Merlin if anything like this happens again, you have to tell me."
Rose straightened in her seat and narrowed her eyes. "You're here to lecture me about going with Herrick to last year's ball?"
"Come off it, Rose, you know that's not it" he said, throwing his hands up in exasperation. "Look, I'm not trying to be a prat-"
"Well you're being one," Rose snapped, snatching the pitcher of pumpkin juice so forcefully it sloshed over the table. "So sod off."
"Rose-"
"Winkle, lay off," Maren broke in, giving Henry a pointed look. "This isn't any of your business."
Henry scowled but then deflated. "Fine," he muttered, turning away, "but this better not cost us the sodding cup-"
"It won't cost us anything ," Maren said to his retreating back. When he had returned to his seat she turned to Rose. "What was his problem?"
"No idea," Rose shook her head, glowering at her potatoes. "So what if I went to the ball with Herrick? It's not like we're going out or anything."
"Some second year probably said something about you two going together and got their facts mixed up," Maren said, giving Rose's shoulder a squeeze and returning to her food. "They can be rather daft."
"Maybe he's angry you spent the entire night snogging Herrick," Lucy broke in, frowning at Rose.
"I didn't snog him all night," Rose said, folding her arms.
"Yes you did," Lucy replied, tilting her chin up. "I saw you."
"For your information, we only snogged once at the very beginning," Rose retorted. "And I'm surprised you could see anything being that you were too distracted snogging Nathan to even talk to me."
Lucy inhaled sharply and set her fork down with a clang. "If you want to talk about being distracted, Rose-"
"Lucy, calm down," Allie said, her soft voice cutting through the cousins' glowers. Lucy's face smoothed and she retrieved her fork, taking another small bite and looking anywhere but at Rose.
Rose pushed her plate away, no longer hungry. "If you must know," she mumbled to the table, "we snogged once and then he ran off with another girl." Her face flamed and she twisted a piece of hair around her finger.
Lucy didn't say anything. Beside her, Scorpius seemed to nod. Rose ignored him, wishing he would just vanish. There couldn't be anything much more embarrassing than admitting in front of Scorpius that she had been ditched at the Victory Ball.
"I'm not hungry anymore," she announced, pushing her plate away and jumping to her feet. "I'll be in the dormitory."
"Do you want someone to go with you?" Allie asked.
"I'll go," Maren said, grabbing a dinner roll and getting to her feet. "I've got loads of homework to get done anyways."
As Maren gathered her bag, Rose surveyed the Ravenclaw table, bile rising as she caught sight of various students indiscreetly watching her. "Ready?" she asked, tearing her gaze away.
"Yeah," Maren grunted as she slung her bag over her shoulder.
They made to the seventh floor and into the nearly deserted common room. As they ascended the spiral staircase to their dormitory, footsteps greeted them.
"Fancy seeing you here again," Katrina DeMarco laughed when she came into view. "Rose, I feel as though I only ever see you on the stairs."
"If we were in divination they would probably say that's some sort of horrible sign," Rose said with a small smile. She pointed toward Katrina's bulging bag. "Library?"
"Unfortunately," Katrina replied with a grimace. "Lyncroft's set us a ghastly essay for next class."
"Urgh, I always forget N.E.W.T. years are supposed to be even worse than O.W.L.s," Maren groaned.
Katrina shrugged. "We all have to do it, I suppose. How's your night been so far?"
"Irritating," Rose grumbled. "Henry came up to me at dinner yelling about how I went to the ball with Herrick."
Katrina regarded her with a smirk, eyebrows raised. "He finally heard about what happened then?"
"What do you mean what happened?" Rose asked. "Nothing happened."
"Well, everyone saw you two snogging."
"Okay?" Rose snorted. "Merlin, I can't believe he got his knickers that much in a twist over a little kiss."
"I don't think it's the kissing so much as everything else."
Rose blanched. "What do you mean everything else?"
"Well Herrick said you two snuck off to a broom cupboard—"
"He what?" Rose yelped, her eyes going wide.
"—and did a bit more than snogging."
"He—he's telling people we shagged?" Rose stammered, her stomach feeling as though someone had just dropped a bludger in it.
Katrina shook her head. "Er—no—he said—what was it? 'A goal through each hoop but no snitch."
Rose swallowed heavily; the floor seemed to wobble underneath her and she felt Maren take hold of her arm.
Katrina suddenly frowned and leaned forward, regarding Rose carefully. "Rose?"
"That's not true," Rose said fervently. "It's not true, Katrina. I mean, I kissed him at the very beginning but that was all. And then I hardly saw him the rest of the night."
Katrina softened and put a hand on Rose's arm. "Look, I know it's not fun to have people talking—"
It's not true, Katrina! It's not!"
"Rose—"
"I hardly saw him!" Rose cried, stamping her foot. "He went off with another girl and I spent the evening with my friends!"
"Oh, Rose," Katrina's face fell. "So you didn't—"
"No! I wouldn't! I didn't!"
"Oh dear," Katrina exhaled and stepped closer, putting an arm around Rose's shoulder. "I'm so sorry."
Rose didn't go to breakfast the next morning. When Maren came back to the dormitory to walk to transfiguration, she hardly said a word.
"Would it make you feel better if I punched him?" Maren asked. "I'd be quick about it. He wouldn't even know it was me."
"No," Rose said with a weak smile as they passed a group of chattering slytherins. Adele Ahlgren caught Rose's eye and gave a half-hearted wave before turning back to her friends. "It'll be okay. I just want everyone to stop bloody talking about it."
They walked into the classroom and Rose felt eyes fall upon her. A group of Hufflepuff girls sitting in the corner whispered without even bothering to hide their stares. Rose kept her eyes down and dropped into her seat.
"Rose?" Johanna Amal appeared beside her, dark eyes crinkling at the corners.
"What?" Rose bit out.
"Er, never mind if you don't—"
"No, I'm sorry," Rose sighed, pushing her hair back. "What's going on?"
"I just wanted to say I don't think those rumors about you are true," Johanna said. "And, er, I'm trying to make people be kinder."
Rose blinked. "Oh. Well, er, thank you."
Johanna nodded and awkwardly turned to go back to her seat. Rose glanced at Maren and shrugged. "That's probably the only good thing that's going to happen today, isn't it?"
As if on cue, one of the Hufflepuffs at the back screeched, "Ew, she did that?" Rose sent the girl a withering glare, ceasing only when Professor Flitwick wobbled into the room and announced the beginning of class.
The rest of the morning passed in a similar manner. While nobody was openly rude, murmurs and stares followed Rose down the corridors and into classrooms. Though she thought privately that she would rather eat her own shoes, she walked with her friends into the Great Hall for lunch accompanied by murmurs and giggles. She had barely made it through the doors when she was nearly knocked over by Fred, red-faced and clutching his wand.
"There you are," he said, putting a hand on Rose's shoulder and stooping slightly to look her in the eye. "Are you alright? I was looking for you at breakfast and Lucy said you stayed in your dormitory."
"I'm fine," Rose muttered, her face flushing as she looked away. "I just didn't want to come down until I had to."
"Right," Fred nodded. "Now, where is that slimy git? James and I came up with a list of hexes to use on him."
"Oh, Fred, please don't," Rose said, covering her face as she hurried to sit down. "Please, you'll only make it worse."
"Rosie, if he thinks he can say that and get away with it—"
"Just leave it alone," Rose pleaded, dropping into a seat. "If you hex him then everyone will see it—"
"That's the idea."
"—and everyone will just talk more and I'll have to move to Romania with Uncle Charlie."
Fred paused and lowered his wand, his face thawing slightly. "You're sure you don't want us to do it? Not even one little jellylegs jinx?"
Rose nodded fervently. "Positive."
Fred sighed and sat down beside her. "Alright. But if you change your mind, you let me know."
"Deal," Rose grimaced. "Though right now I'd almost rather have you hex me so I can go to the hospital wing instead of class."
"It's been that bad?"
"Dreadful," Rose murmured. She kept her eyes determinedly on the table in front of her as she loaded food onto her plate. "People are horrible."
"They are," Fred said sagely. "And Herrick is a sack of dung."
Rose snorted. "A sack of dung covered in hair potions." She glanced down the table, where the sack of dung sat with a group of seventh years, his golden waves perfectly formed as usual. She fingered her wand in her pocket and bit her lip. "Fred?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you for the offer, but I think if I change my mind I'll just hex him myself."
"Really," Fred replied, eyes dancing. "That's the way to do it. And if anyone else says anything to you, just put a lip-lock jinx on them so they shut up."
Rose laughed . "I hadn't thought of that."
"That's what I'm here for."
After lunch, Rose walked with Maren down to the greenhouses for herbology. Allie and Lucy met them just outside the castle doors, each carrying an armful of books.
"I think I've got all the ones Scorpius mentioned for the potions essay," Lucy muttered, tottering down the walkway. "Though I couldn't find the one on saliva-based extracts. D'you reckon someone else has it?"
"I dunno who in their right mind would want to read that other than you," Maren replied, hitching her bag further up her shoulder and tossing her hair.
"It's supposed to be very useful," Lucy said crossly, shifting the books so they leaned against her left shoulder instead of her right.
"Doesn't mean anybody really needs to read it."
"Which greenhouse are we in today?" Allie asked, looking over her own stack of books which, from what Rose could tell, all appeared to be guides for rune translations.
"Four," Rose said. "Thank Merlin, I'd freeze otherwise."
"Ugh, that means we're doing something with that cactus again," Allie sniffed. "I didn't enjoy that last time at all."
"I didn't think it was that bad," Rose said.
"I broke a nail trying to prune it!"
"You grew it right back."
"But now it's not even with the others and the color is all wrong."
Rose shrugged. "I have my keeping gloves in my bag if you want to wear them."
"You do?" Allie brightened. "Would you mind terribly if I borrowed them?"
"Nah." Rose shook her head. "Just mind you don't rip them."
They reached the greenhouse and joined the cluster of fifth years waiting outside the door. Rose bounced from one foot to the other, wishing she had thought to wear a jumper under her robes. She always forgot how quickly summer receded once the term began.
"Oy, Weasley!" Julian Babcock, a Gryffindor boy near the front of the queue called out. Rose narrowed her eyes and looked up, her hand clasping her wand lightly in her pocket. "Would you like to go to the ball with me?" He glanced toward his friends and grinned as he continued, "I heard you're the best date."
With hardly a thought, Rose's wand came free of her pocket and pointed at Julian as an incantation fled her lips. A jet of light appeared, followed by Julian's squeal as large, flapping bogeys came shooting out of his nostrils.
The crowd burst into shrieks and laughter, as people ducked to avoid colliding with the bat-bogeys and the boy's friends converged on him to perform the counter-curse.
"What's going on?" The door to the greenhouse must have opened in the midst of the commotion, because Neville stood in the doorway carrying a large potted cactus, surveying the scene in front of him with bewilderment. Rose watched as his eyes flickered to Julian still lying on the ground with his bogeys violently fleeing his nose, to her wand still poised for combat. He stepped toward Julian and bent down, taking out his wand and murmuring an incantation.
"Everybody inside now, please," Neville said as he got to his feet, assisting a very pale Julian. He gestured toward the door. "Before I have to take points." The queue of students hastily obeyed, trotting into the greenhouse. "Rose, stay out here a moment, please," he said evenly when she made to enter.
Rose ducked her head and stepped to the side, cheeks burning. When everyone else was inside the greenhouse, Neville turned to her.
"I'm very disappointed," he said, motioning toward her wand which hung limply in her hand.
"I'm sorry," Rose mumbled. "I wasn't thinking."
"No you weren't. And this coming from a prefect, too, is unacceptable. I'm taking twenty points from Ravenclaw."
"I know. I shouldn't have let him wind me up like that."
Neville raised his eyebrows. "What did he say?"
"Nothing," Rose shook her head. "It doesn't matter."
"Are you quite sure?"
"Yes." She nodded. "So do I have detention then?"
"Tonight at eight o'clock sharp," Neville said crisply, taking hold of the greenhouse door. "Don't bring your wand."
***
Rose left detention that night feeling a bit lighter; it hadn't been as awful as she'd thought. Neville just had her repot some new Moning Maple saplings and let her go ten minutes early, giving her a small smile as he said she surely had homework to catch up on. Rose traipsed down the corridor toward Ravenclaw Tower, playing with the sleeve of her robes and humming to herself. With a whistling sound, something moist grazed her ear. Then something sticky hit the back of her head. Rose put her hand to her hair, and nearly screamed when she saw her hand covered in black ink.
"Ickle Weasley, running all alone," Peeves chanted as he descended from the ceiling, his arms laden with ink pellets. He launched another one at Rose, which she dodged by running behind the statue of Uric the Oddball. "You can't hide," he cackled, throwing another pellet which hit Rose's shoulder. Using her bag as a shield, she darted from the statue and around the corner to the girls' seventh floor lavatory. She shut the door behind her and breathed a sigh of relief. On the other side of the door, she could hear ink pellets hitting the wall as Peeves shouted, "Students out of bed, beware!"
Deciding she wouldn't put it past Peeves to find a way into the girls' lavatory, Rose walked into one of the empty cubicles and shut the door, peeking at the shoes occupying the floor on either side of her. After a few seconds, a flush came from the cubicle to her left, followed almost immediately by a flush from the right. Footsteps clapped against the tile floor and two voices emanated over the rush of the faucet.
"D'you think Peeves has gone yet?" the first girl, who sounded like Amalia Villanueva, a seventh year Gryffindor, asked.
"Probably," the second answered; if Rose wasn't mistaken, it was the voice of Mirabelle Crouse. "He doesn't very much like to stay in one place too long if nobody's there."
"We should still wait a mo'," Amalia mused as the faucet shut off. "I don't fancy getting ink in my hair on the way back."
"Alright," Mirabelle said airily. "Though we can't wait too long. I want to try and talk to Davies tonight."
"You've said that the last three nights!"
"And tonight I'm actually going to do it!"
Rose smiled to herself; they were definitely Gryffindors.
"Did you hear what Idina said she heard about that Herrick bloke?" Mirabelle asked.
"Margo told me in charms today," Amalia answered. "D'you reckon it's true?"
Rose breathed in. Taking care to be as quiet as possible, she ducked down and peered below the cubicle door. Yes, Amalia and Mirabelle stood by the faucets, both in jeans and t-shirts.
"I wouldn't be surprised if it was," Mirabelle paused and there was the sound of shifting fabric. "I've heard what he's like."
Rose froze in the cubicle, wondering what the best thing to do would be. She could stay in the cubicle and listen to the gossip circulating about her supposed tryst at the ball or she could stalk out and join the two older girls at the faucet; the latter could go one of two ways, she reasoned. Either she would have a private laugh at their shocked expressions and waltz back to Ravenclaw Tower, or they would snigger and sneer at her. The thought of receiving derision from one more student, especially Fred and James's classmates, was enough to fill her stomach with lead and clamp her mouth shut.
"Hm, that's true," Amalia said. "I dunno, I just never would've thought he'd go for someone like her. I mean she's pretty, but she's what, a fifth year?"
"He probably just wanted to say he shagged a Weasley," came Mirabelle's tart reply.
"It's possible," Amalia replied, trailing off. "But—I mean—there's so many to choose from."
"Well, Dominique rejected him, remember? Maybe this time he just found one with low enough standards."
"I dunno," Amalia said. "To hear Fred and James tell it, the girl's a saint."
"Oh, please," Mirabelle said disdainfully. "You know she was shagging that Vance bloke all last year?"
"No," Amalia gasped.
"Yes, Ambria Hofstadt told me."
"Ugh, it's always the ones you least expect who turn out to be the biggest slags."
"I mean," Mirabelle replied, "can you really say you didn't expect it? One of the younger ones had to be a little wild. And Fred says that Rose absolutely worships Dominique."
"Well, hopefully he and James are able to keep her straightened out. D'you remember all the stories about Dom?"
"At least she got everything together before graduating. Can you imagine if Witch Weekly got ahold of some of those old stories?"
"Ha! That would be amazing." There was a pause and some shuffling.
"D'you think it's safe to leave now? Is Peeves still out there?"
"I don't know, go check."
"No, what if he's there waiting for us?"
"Ugh, fine, we'll walk out together. Ready?"
"No."
Footsteps clacked, door hinges whinged, and the girls' voices faded. Rose remained in the cubicle, arms wrapped tight around her torso, nose and throat clogged with mucus and bile. She sniffled and ran her sleeve across her nose to catch the excess sludge as tears trailed freely down her cheeks, soaking the fabric and falling into her collar.
When it became apparent the tears weren't going to stop anytime soon, she left the bathroom, gently closing the door behind her, and walked back to Ravenclaw Tower.
Dim light filled the common room, which held a smattering of students at the small tables and in armchairs. Most ignored her and Rose kept her head down, unwilling to risk anyone seeing her shiny, blotchy face and runny nose. As she approached the staircase leading to the girls' dormitory she hiccuped slightly. She leaned against the banister for a moment at the base of the first step, staring intently at the floor and trying to will the tears back into her skull.
"Nobody believes him," Scorpius, whom she hadn't noticed sitting alone at a nearby table, said quietly.
Rose swallowed heavily, trying and failing to stifle a hiccup. "How would you know?"
Scorpius inhaled softly, though his voice remained even. "I know a bit about what it's like to have people say nasty things about you. Nobody who knows you believes them."
A hiccup. She dragged her sleeve across her nose again, not caring that he was watching her. "Right. Well—" her voice broke and without saying anything more she scrambled up the stairs, taking care not to look back.
At first glance her dormitory appeared empty but as Rose walked in she realized Lucy was sitting in bed, one of the potions books opened in her lap.
"Maren said to tell you she'll be back within an hour," Lucy murmured, tugging at the end of her ponytail.
Rose nodded slowly, sinking into bed without bothering to change into her pajamas. "Thank you."
Lucy didn't answer and Rose, after a moment's consideration, decided she was too tired to attempt conversation. She was too tired to talk to anyone anymore. So she simply curled up, wrapped the midnight blue duvet around her shoulders and burrowed into her pillows, allowing the painful dam building up in her chest and behind her eyes to burst.