Chapter 15
The next morning all anyone could talk about was the Victory Ball, which had lived up to its reputation yet again for providing fodder for the Hogwarts rumor mill.
The biggest piece of news that had come of the evening was that Allie Boot and Quentin Collingwood were, if not dating, then well on their way. The two had spent the entire evening together talking, laughing, and dancing, and more than one witness claimed to have seen Collingwood give her a goodnight peck on the cheek.
"Come on, Allie," Rose pleaded as the girls traipsed down to a late breakfast the next morning. "There has to be more that you can tell us."
"There really isn't," Allie shook her head, her cheeks turning slightly pink. "I've already told you everything."
"Well, are you going to see him again?" Maren demanded.
Allie gave a small smile and shrugged. "Maybe. We were saying last night it might be a good idea to study together, what with exams coming up…"
"Oooh," Maren trilled, a broad smile spreading over her face. "A nice meetup in the library—"
"To study!"
"Mhm, I'm sure that's all you'll be doing."
"It might be," Allie squeaked as they took their seats in the Great Hall. "Though…" she looked furtively over her shoulder and then whispered, "I wouldn't mind if it were…more."
"Oooh," the girls all squealed.
"I'm so happy it worked for you two," Lucy beamed as she poured a glass of pumpkin juice. "He has always seemed so nice."
"He is very nice," Allie murmured, the color on her cheeks deepening. "And I thought he looked so handsome last night in his dress robes."
"He really did," Rose agreed as she speared a kipper. "The two of you looked wonderful together."
"And I was telling him about the new spell I've been using on my nails and he seemed keen to learn about it—"
"A real trooper, then," Maren nodded.
"Hush," Allie nudged her in the shoulder. "It's an interesting spell. But I don't know…" she looked around at the other three and twirled a lock of blonde hair around her index finger. "It was just…oh, it was so lovely."
"Well," Maren sighed and spooned scrambled eggs onto her plate. "I'm glad at least one of us had a proper nice evening. I will never forgive you, Lucy, for sticking me with Corner."
"Oh, you're fine," Lucy shook her head. "Don't be so dramatic, Maren."
"He tried to slow dance with me! Twice!"
"It wouldn't have killed you to just dance with him."
"It really might have."
"Do tell us more about the end of your night, Lucy," Allie said, wiggling her eyebrows.
Lucy's cheeks turned a furious shade of scarlet. "How did you—"
"Johanna Amal told Quentin and I that she heard Lyncroft scolding you as she was leaving the dance," Allie giggled.
Rose's eyes went wide. She caught Maren's eye and saw her shock mirrored in her friend's face.
"What happened?"
"Our dear Lucy and Nathan were caught snogging out in the Entrance Hall after the ball ended," Allie grinned. "Johanna heard Lyncroft giving them the most awful dressing down."
"She took fifteen points each," Lucy scowled, the flush creeping up her cheeks. "Honestly, that was just ridiculous. We weren't doing anything too bad, we were just—"
"Aggressively snogging?" Maren supplied.
"Oh, here come Nathan and Scorpius now," Allie said, looking up past Rose's shoulder. "We can ask him all about it."
"All about what?" Nathan asked as he dropped into the seat beside Lucy.
"We heard you were caught by Lyncroft last night," Rose laughed.
Nathan gave a short chuckle and shook his head, turning to face Lucy. "Yeah, she wasn't too pleased to find us there. Said she'd been running around all evening breaking up couples, looked dead tired."
"Did you hear that, Lucy?" Maren said, her eyes glinting as she laughed, "the poor woman had been running around all night and you were there—"
"Yes, I get it," Lucy sniffed, shaking her head. Her face remained a brilliant red, and Rose felt a wave of sympathy for her cousin. She knew all too well how bad the Weasley blush was.
"Eh, it's fine," Nathan said, running an arm around Lucy's shoulders and shrugging. "We were going to get caught one of these days. Bad luck it's when the teachers are most irritated with everyone."
"I wonder if anyone else got caught," Maren said as she sipped her tea. "Seems like half the school spends the night of the ball snogging somewhere."
"It's amazing the teachers don't walk in on more people, when you think about it," Nathan nodded.
Now Rose felt her own face heat up as she chewed her eggs and studiously avoided looking towards Scorpius. The memory of the night before had plagued her all morning, making her face and neck heat up at odd moments. The feel of Zeno's hair in her fingers, the pressure of his mouth against hers, and the mingled shock, embarrassment, and horror on Scorpius' face when he opened the door of the broom cupboard seemed burned into Rose's brain forever. Even now, in the middle of the Great Hall, just the thought of the encounter, and the silent walk back to Ravenclaw Tower, made her want to run back to her dormitory and never leave.
What must he think of her? To find her wrapped up with one of her cousins' friends, someone whom she was not dating and had no intention of going out with? And after Herrick had spread all those hideous stories about last year's ball…
Rose shook her head to clear her thoughts.
There had been a time in the recent past when she simply would have said that she didn't care what Scorpius Malfoy thought of her, and if he wanted to hate her for enjoying a nice snog at the end of the Victory Ball then that was his choice. Now, she was finding she did rather care. Or at least, she didn't want him to hate her. Not when it seemed like they had been making steps towards….well, maybe not a friendship, but a civil acquaintanceship. A civil acquaintanceship she was not keen on losing at this time.
The rest of breakfast passed with more chatter about the ball. The girls recounted various dresses their classmates wore, whose hair had looked the nicest, and which couples seemed to have fallen out at the dance while the boys did their best to listen and nod.
"Well," Lucy said when they all had cleared their plates. "We'd best get back to the common room. I've three separate essays that I still have to finish before Monday."
They all groaned at the mention of homework. They had all ignored a rather daunting pile of work the evening before in order to focus on the dance and festivities. Now, on the other side of May 2nd, the end of term and prospect of O.W.L. exams looked much closer.
"I told Al I'd meet him back in our dormitory," Nathan said as they exited the Great Hall. "I'll see you all later." With a wave, he turned towards the staircase and descended.
The girls and Scorpius walked back to Ravenclaw Tower at a languid pace, all looking rather tired and peaked now the excitement of the ball had worn off.
"Where do forgotten memories go?" the eagle knocker asked when they arrived.
"Into the essence of our being," Allie answered.
"Very well," the knocker replied as it swung open.
Allie, Maren, and Lucy walked through the doorway, grumbling about the transfiguration essay that awaited them.
"Er—Malfoy?" Rose asked, bouncing between her feet as she watched her friends enter the common room. "Could I actually—could I talk to you for a moment?"
Scorpius, who had been about to follow Lucy through the doorway, paused mid-step. He turned slightly, looking over his shoulder with a surprised face.
"Yeah, sure." He stepped away from the doorway, his hands going into his pockets. Behind him, the eagle knocker tutted as the door swung shut.
Rose bit her lip. Now that they were here, she found she didn't quite know what she wanted to say. Or rather, she knew what she wanted to say but couldn't decide how to begin. The words seemed to creep up her tongue only to disappear as soon as she opened her mouth.
Scorpius raised his eyebrows slightly, his eyes flickering between her face and the floor. "Is everything okay, Weasley?"
"I just—I want to say sorry," Rose said hurriedly, her tongue feeling thick and clumsy. "For—you know—last night, with Zeno and the broom cupboard—"
Scorpius's eyebrows traveled further up his forehead. He took his hands out of his pockets and cracked his knuckles, eyes rising and landing on Rose's face. She felt a heated flush snake its way up her neck.
"I just—" she fumbled to find the right words. "I'm not sorry for kissing him, you know, it was rather nice and you're not my dad and I'm allowed to snog whoever I want—" she trailed off, her face growing warmer as Scorpius's eyebrows furrowed.
"Not that I need to explain any of that to you," Rose mumbled, drawing her arms around herself. She drew a breath and continued, addressing her shoes. "And I suppose you don't care who I snog but that's not—that's not why I wanted to apologize anyways—"
"Oh—okay?" Scorpius was frowning at her, his arms crossed against his chest. "So—"
"So I'm sorry you found us, and I just wanted to make sure that we're—I mean that you're—I just don't want you to hate me again," she said with a heavy exhale. She swallowed, not daring to raise her eyes again to see his face. "I'm sorry you found us like that and that it was so awkward. And I don't want you to think I'm some sort of slag or that I don't take being a prefect seriously or that I just wander into broom cupboards with anyone, especially now that we're finally kind of friends, or maybe not friends but at least not enemies, and it's been rather nice, and I just really don't want you to hate me again."
She paused to draw breath and chanced a glance up.
Scorpius stood before her with his arms crossed. His brow was furrowed, but to her relief he didn't look angry or annoyed. He tilted his head to the side as he looked at her, his grey eyes searching for something, she didn't know what, in her expression.
"So—" Rose said awkwardly, shifting her weight between her feet and twisting a piece of hair around her finger, "is it—are we good?"
Scorpius dropped his arms to his sides, the creases in his forehead smoothing as his face relaxed. "Yeah, Weasley, it's fine," he said. His grey eyes again landed on Rose's, and he looked like he might smile. "I suppose I ought to apologize for interrupting."
"No," Rose shook her head quickly and looked down. "No, we were—it's fine."
Scorpius nodded but didn't respond.
"So we're alright then?" Rose pressed, still not entirely believing it. "You're not angry with me or—I don't know—thinking I'm a shit prefect?"
Scorpius regarded her, eyes once again seeming to bore into hers. Rose felt for a moment as though he were looking past her face, examining something deeper, something Rose wasn't entirely sure she wanted him to see. "No," he said quietly. He paused, and then continued, "And for the record, I wasn't angry last night. Just…surprised."
Rose swallowed. "Right. Uh, noted."
His expression pinched and the creases appeared on his forehead again. "Though if you—repeat that—in the future—you should be more discreet."
Rose nodded. "Right," she said again. "I'll, uh, I'll do my best."
Scorpius gave a curt nod and glanced towards the common room door.
"Malfoy?" Rose ran a hand through her hair and bit her lip.
Scorpius's gaze shot back to her. "Yes?"
"Can you—can you not mention this to anyone, please? Especially Al? The girls will know eventually, and that's fine, and I'm sure it will get out somehow, but at least for now—it's not like Zeno and I are dating or anything and as far as I know we aren't going to be and I just don't want—"
"I won't say anything."
"Thank you."
His hands returned to his pockets as he turned towards the eagle knocker. "No problem, Weasley."
Rose tucked her hair behind her ear and stepped forwards, joining Scorpius in front of the door. The eagle knocker eyed them and then opened its beak.
"What kind of sight is always perfect but never present?"
Scorpius's mouth turned upwards. "Hindsight."
"Well done." The door swung open, and Rose followed Scorpius into the common room. Lucy, Allie, and Maren had already gathered their school things and sat at one of the round tables near the window surrounded by scrolls of parchment and books.
"What happened to you two?" Maren demanded when she caught sight of them walking through the doorway. "I thought you were right behind us and then you were just gone."
Rose felt the flush on her cheeks darken. "We were—"
"Prefect business," Scorpius murmured beside her with such calm authority that even Rose believed him for a second. "Wechsler wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page following the ball."
Maren had already turned back to her work at the word 'prefect,' and Rose let out a small breath of relief as nobody questioned Scorpius's explanation. She walked up to the table and glanced down at the roll of parchment in front of Lucy.
"What are we working on first, then? Transfiguration?"
"Yes," Maren said from across the table. "And I need both of you to go get your things right now so one of you can explain to me how in Circe's name partial vanishment works. My notes may as well be in Gobbledygook."
Rose grinned but did as she was told, hurrying to the dormitory staircase to gather her things. The rest of the day would be spent fussing over incantations and wand movements, no doubt. But it hardly mattered. She, Rose Weasley, had managed to do something right for once when it came to Scorpius Malfoy. And that was a victory which she would hold far closer than she would like to admit.
***
As May stormed by the final quidditch match of the season approached and nothing, not looming examinations nor truly alarming thunderstorms, had stopped Henry Winkle from working his team to the bone. The team flew together four times a week, and Rose found herself on the pitch nearly every week with either Henry or Maren, perfecting maneuvers and building up her balance in anticipation of her matchup against Alec Davies. The schedule meant that Rose was flying better than she ever had before. It also meant that Rose, Maren, and Scorpius frequently returned to the common room late into the evening, sodden and exhausted, only to join the other fifth years in their attempt to finish assignments and prepare for examinations.
For perhaps the first time in the three years she had been on the team, Rose looked forward to the upcoming final match with unadulterated relief. Some evenings she almost didn't care whether they won or lost, just that the grueling training schedule would be done.
Of course, once she had a good shower and got into bed the feeling dissipated, and she thought she would gladly fail her O.W.L.s if it meant Ravenclaw won the cup again.
"I think I may vomit," she said to Maren on the morning of the match, looking down at the eggs on her plate with disdain.
"From nerves or from something you ate?" Maren asked, washing down a mouthful of porridge with a swig of pumpkin juice.
"Nerves, I think." Rose glanced over at the Gryffindor table, where Alec Davies and James were locked in conversation, and felt her stomach turn over. "Though I'm really not sure."
"You'll be fine," Maren assured her, putting a hand between Rose's shoulder blades and giving her a swift pat. "Everyone's exhausted. It's bloody medieval, if you ask me, putting the final match right before exams."
"Right." Rose nodded and took a sip of juice.
"We just have to stay in the game long enough to cover a two hundred point margin," Maren said. "Most of it is on Plumaj, of course. I wouldn't want to be the one going against Cutler, but if anyone can get to the snitch before her, it's Hera. And of course that just means that you, miss keeper, just need to help make sure we're up by fifty."
Rose breathed in, closing her eyes. "I can do that," she said, willing the statement to be true. "I've saved plenty of goals before."
"That's right," Maren nodded.
Someone sat down on the other side of Maren, and Rose looked over to find Scorpius pouring himself a glass of juice.
"Morning, Malfoy," Maren said. "Rose and I were just discussing our odds today."
"And how do they look?" he asked, pulling the dish of eggs towards him. "Winkle kept going back and forth last night when I asked him how our prospects looked. I still don't quite know if he thinks we'll win or not."
"It will be difficult, but we can win," Maren replied, giving him the same furtive nod she had given Rose. "As long as Weasley keeps up her stellar record, you and I don't get hit by any bludgers or drop the quaffle too much, and Plumaj beats Cutler to the snitch, the championship is ours."
Scorpius nodded slowly, taking a long sip of juice. "It's doable," he said evenly. "I hate having to play against Davies, though."
"Say, Rose, how's your bet against him going?" Maren asked, turning to look at her.
"He's up slightly, but depending how today goes I think I can catch him," Rose said, sitting up a touch straighter. "I've saved 327 goals and let in 74, he's saved 289 and let in 56."
"Well, today's your chance," Maren said. "Just mind the hoops and by the end of the night you'll be five galleons richer."
"That's the idea," Rose said with more confidence than she felt, flicking her plaited hair over her shoulder.
"We'd best be getting down to the pitch," Maren said, looking at her watch. "Winkle's probably already down there driving himself mad."
Rose laughed weakly and got to her feet. There was really no arguing with Maren's logic.
They traipsed down to the pitch and into the changing rooms, where they found Maren's prediction to be true. Henry Winkle stood in the corner of the changing room, fanning several pieces of parchment in front of him and muttering to himself.
"There you three are," he cried as the door swung shut behind them. "I was just about to send a search party out for you!"
"Winkle, we're fifteen minutes early," Maren shook her head.
"Well you're the last ones here." He scowled and gestured to the bench behind him, where Katrina DeMarco, Linus Fleming, and Hera Plumaj all sat.
"Sorry," Maren shrugged.
They pulled on their quidditch robes and Rose pulled on the keeper's gloves Aunt Ginny got her. Henry stood in front of them, his arms crossed and his face stony.
"We have a fair shot to win the cup," he began, raking a hand through his hair. "But—" he paused and visibly swallowed, "but for that to happen we all need to play at the top of our game today. Chasers, we need points on the board, as early as possible. Weasley, we need to make sure Gryffindor doesn't get the chance to put points on the board. Fleming and I will do our part to disrupt them. Plumaj," he looked towards the seeker, "remember, winning the match doesn't mean we win the championship. We need to be up by at least fifty. I know Cutler's a strong seeker but just…try to hold her off as long as you can."
Hera gave a short nod.
Henry breathed in and squared his shoulders. "Right." He looked around the changing room, making eye contact with all of them in turn. Rose felt her heart race, and stood as tall as she could. "It's time."
They walked out onto the pitch, brooms over their shoulders, and faced the Gryffindor team. The stands roared with cheers, the sound nearly eclipsing the thunder rumbling over the highlands. Rose brushed a damp curl from her forehead and squared her shoulders. She looked across the pitch to the Gryffindor team, studying them as River Jordan shouted a welcome over the enchanted megaphone.
James stood in the center, his dark hair quelled by the rain and sticking to his head. His mouth sat in a firm line, his eyes firmly on Wood. Beside him, Shannon Warrington and Roxanne watched the black clouds trail across the sky, their wind whipping across their shoulders. Fred stood beside his sister, beater's bat hanging loosely in his hand. He caught Rose's eye and winked, his face flashing a grin before resuming its stony expression. Rose grinned back and shook her head. Finally her gaze landed on Davies, his brown hair tousled by the wind and his grip on his broomstick firm. Rose hoped for a moment he might look up and catch her eye, give her a brief wave or grin like Fred had, some sort of camaraderie before they became adversaries.
Davies remained unmoved.
Wood blew his whistle and Rose threw a leg over her broom, breathing in slowly as she awaited the second whistle. Its shriek broke through the humid, tense air, and the players kicked off the ground.
"And they're off!" River Jordan shouted into the megaphone as Rose positioned herself in front of the hoops. "Gryffindor takes immediate possession of the quaffle, and Warrington is flying down the pitch. She flies left, dodges DeMarco, bears right—oh, that was close! Warrington narrowly avoids a bludger sent by Henry Winkle, and passes to Weasley. Weasley goes left, dodges a bludger sent by Fleming, dodges another bludger sent by Winkle, almost flies into Malfoy but regains her balance—"
Rose hovered in front of the center hoop, her eyes glued to Roxanne. Her cousin tucked the quaffle more securely under her left arm, her right hand steering her broom to the left. Slowly, Rose shifted her weight to the left, watching Roxanne's wrist. Roxanne continued flying straight toward the center hoop, her eyes and shoulder drifting to the left. With a small smile, Rose waited as her cousin approached, her own hands beginning to curl to the left. Roxanne came closer, her arm beginning to pull back. Rose let herself drift further left, loosening her hand from her broom as she leaned towards the left hoop, watching as Roxanne brought the quaffle back and her eyes drifted once again…towards the right hoop.
With a cry Rose leaned to the right, hands outstretched, but it hardly mattered. She was too far away to do more than watch the quaffle soar through the hoop.
The scarlet and gold clad crowd erupted into cheers as River Jordan yelled, "Weasley scores the first goal of the match! The score is now 10-0 Gryffindor!"
"Bad luck, Rosie," Roxanne called with a grin as she turned and flew off.
Rose ground her teeth and righted herself on her broom. This was not how the match was supposed to start.
An hour into play, things had improved somewhat, but Rose found herself still astride her broom, her robes soaked through.
"Malfoy scores!" River Jordan shouted as Scorpius flew away from the goal. "That brings the score to 130-90 Gryffindor!"
Rose ground her teeth and willed herself to concentrate on the game in front of her. Gryffindor was playing well; she didn't know that she had ever seen a school match in which the three chasers were so clearly in sync with one another. Moreover, they had picked up some new tricks. More than once Rose had dived left only to see James or Roxanne shoot left, or flown high only for them to drop low at the last second. Rose shook her head as if to fling every morsel of irritation from her mind.
She could play better than this. Ravenclaw could play better than they were playing at the moment.
She just had to get her head on straight, start saving more goals, and hope the snitch didn't make itself known until Ravenclaw could recover.
Whatever higher power had heard her hope simply laughed. As Rose watched James streak down the pitch towards her, quaffle under his arm, the crowd at the other end of the pitch gasped. Out of the corner of her eye she saw two figures racing towards the Gryffindor stands.
The snitch had been spotted. Rose groaned.
A cheer rang through the crowd and Rose looked up to see Kennedy Cutler circling the pitch, her fist raised triumphantly in the air. Rose's stomach rose into her throat, making it briefly difficult to breathe.
"Gryffindor wins!" River Jordan cheered. "With a final score of 280-90, Gryffindor has won the quidditch cup!"
The sections of the crowd dressed in scarlet and gold shouted madly as the Gryffindor quidditch team descended to the ground. Rose hovered in the air for a minute, watching from above as James and Fred touched down and promptly launched themselves at one another, embracing tightly and shouting. The rest of the team joined them, a gaggle of limbs as Roxanne threw her arms around James and Fred embraced Shannon Warrington and Alec Davies clapped James heartily on the back. Wood approached and handed James the quidditch cup, which James promptly lifted over his head with a shout.
Rose drifted slowly to the ground, barely registering the sodden grass beneath her feet. She looked around the crowd and saw her teammates quietly touching down across the pitch, their faces downturned. The three chasers stood closest to the goal, and Rose trudged over to them, her broomstick heavy against her shoulder.
"This is shit," Maren groaned as Rose approached, dragging a hand down her face.
"Yeah," Rose replied. "Complete shit."
"We were outplayed," Katrina DeMarco said with a heavy sigh, looking over towards the celebratory Gryffindor team. "I wish I could say they won on a technicality or something, but—they just beat us."
Rose nodded, the lump in her throat throbbing. She didn't know if it had been her worst match ever, but it had not been her best, and the knowledge stung. Winkle had said they would all have to play the best match of their lives if they were to win, and Rose had not done so.
"I suppose we should go change," Maren sighed, shouldering her broom. "Winkle's already left the pitch, and if I have to watch your cousin kiss that sodding cup one more time I'm going to be sick."
They began the slow march back to the changing rooms. Rose's legs ached beneath her from the time spent on a broomstick in the rain. She ran a hand over her head, shuddering to think how frizzy her hair must look.
The team changed silently and dispersed without much conversation. Nobody saw Henry Winkle, who had sat himself in the showers and refused to speak to anyone. Katrina sped off as soon as her school robes were in place, saying something about finding Milo, while Linus Fleming looked rather bowlegged as he ambled out. Even Hera, usually so stoic, looked rather crestfallen as she silently swept from the changing room.
Rose and Maren locked their brooms away and exited the changing room, finding Scorpius waiting for them outside. Despite the weather his button down shirt still looked perfectly pressed, while his blond hair had been neatly combed away from his face. Rose looked down at her own shirt, which was decidedly rumpled, and raised a hand to the thick bread which struggled to contain her windswept hair.
"I just can't believe we lost to fucking Gryffindor," Maren burst out as they began walking towards the castle.
"I'm actually glad it was Gryffindor we lost to." Scorpius murmured, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
"What?" Rose flinched as Maren yelped, her braid smacking Rose's cheek as she whirled to face Scorpius.
Scorpius shrugged and turned to look at the two girls, frowning slightly. "If we had to lose, I'd rather we lose to a really good team than an average one. And as much as I wish it weren't true, Gryffindor was a really good team this year."
"Ugh," Rose groaned and ran a hand over her hair. "Don't say that. James and Roxie are never going to let me forget about this."
"Agreed," Maren shook her head. "I don't even want to look at James for the rest of the term. He's going to be positively unbearable."
"And Davies won the bet," Rose moaned, bringing a hand up to cover her eyes. "I don't even need to do the maths, I already know."
"That's not really your fault, though," Maren said with a consoling pat on Rose's shoulder. "He played really well. I mean—"
"He didn't, though, is the thing," Rose mumbled. "He actually was slightly worse than his average, and if I had just played an average match we might have—"
"You did just fine, Weasley," Scorpius broke in, frowning between Rose and Maren. "And it's not like it came down to you, anyways."
"I know," Rose bit out, rolling her eyes as she dropped her hand. "I know it wouldn't have made that much of a difference, but at least then maybe we still could have won the match if not the cup. Or I could have at least won this bet and and been able to show Davies I'm a good keeper, or—"
"Weasley." Scorpius cut her off, "obviously we all wish we'd played better and had won. But it's done now and, really, you did just fine."
Rose scowled at him over Maren's shoulder. "I don't want to be just fine—"
Scorpius glared back at her. "It was a close match until Cutler caught the snitch, and you played well even if you weren't brilliant."
"I just—"
"Either way," Scorpius continued, ignoring Rose's interjection, "we still have two more years to improve, and Gryffindor will have to spend next year rebuilding."
"Fine," Rose sniffed, unable to argue with his logic. She gave a noncommittal shake of her head before turning to Maren. "You know, we should ask Fred and James to fly with us this summer. Now that they're done they have no real reason to say no."
"I'm surprised you don't just ask Davies to fly with you," Scorpius muttered, still scowling at the ground.
Between them, Maren's eyes ping-ponged from Rose to Scorpius, her head cocking to the side.
Rose paused, mouth slightly open. "Wait," she burst out, a hand flying to her hair, "do you think he'd do it? You think he'd help me, maybe one-on-one?" She could hardly keep the glee out of her voice as images of her and Alec Davies flying around the Burrow that summer, all alone, filled her head.
Scorpius rolled his eyes. "I have no idea what he would do, Weasley."
"I bet he would," Maren breathed, turning slowly to Rose with a grin. "Since he's leaving he has no reason to refuse. Malfoy, don't you think that'd be great if Weasley got some one-on-one help from Davies this summer?"
Scorpius shrugged, his hands burrowing deeper in his pockets.
"I'll have to ask Allie to teach me a new charm for my hair," Rose murmured, running a hand down the tangled mess of her braid. "If I'm practicing with Davies this summer I'll need to find a way to keep it smooth while I'm flying."
"Make sure I'm there when she shows you how to do it," Maren said, looking down at her own hair. "I tried to dry mine in the changing room and had to get back in the shower because it looked so bad."
"It doesn't look bad at all!" Rose cried, looking over the twisted strands.
"Because I braided it while it was still wet," Maren snorted. "Allie's going to murder me when we get back."
"Oh," Rose nodded in understanding. "She does hate when we do that."
"Scorp, you're so lucky." Maren shook her head. "You don't have to worry about your hair getting all out of place when you're flying."
"I guess." Scorpius looked impassively ahead, as though his hair were the least of his concerns, which it very well may have been.
"I suppose it really doesn't matter too much today what our hair looks like," Maren sighed. "It's not like we have a party to go to."
"What do you think Fred and James have planned for tonight?" Rose asked.
Maren paused to consider before replying sagely. "Complete destruction of the Gryffindor common room."
They spent the rest of the walk discussing the various hijinks likely to occur at the Gryffindor post-match party, their ideas growing more and more outrageous until Maren suggested the headmistress herself would arrive with the intention of disbanding the celebration, only to be talked into a dance by James Potter and end up sharing a firewhiskey with him. Even Rose couldn't suspend her disbelief that far.
They arrived at Ravenclaw Tower and walked into a rather grim common room. Rose spied Lucy and Allie waiting for them on a sofa near the center of the room, a deck of exploding snap cards on the table in front of them.
"Well," Maren said as they walked through the doorway. "It's officially over."
"Bloody depressing," Rose groaned.
Maren shook her head and walked ahead towards Lucy and Allie, flopping onto the sofa across from them and throwing her arms over her head.
"At least we can have a game of snap," Rose said to nobody in particular, shuffling towards her friends.
"Just make sure Thomas doesn't blow up the tower," Scorpius murmured beside her.
Rose started, forgetting he had been behind her. A small laugh bubbled up her chest, and she bit her lip to keep from letting it out.
A hand landed on her shoulder and Rose turned to find Scorpius looking at her with the same odd intensity she sometimes found behind his eyes. She felt her cheeks grow warm, and forced her eyes to the floor.
"We'll get them next year," Scorpius said softly before quickly releasing her and striding over to the sofa, dropping into the seat beside Lucy.
Rose bit her lip, uncomfortably aware of the residual heat on her shoulder where his hand had lay. With a small huff she straightened, flipped her braid over her shoulder, and strode to join her friends.