Rose in the Dorms
“You’re not as gorgeous as you think you are.” The voice was quiet, a little raspy.
I whirled around to see a redhead smiling at me from the corner.
“Rose? I… I didn’t see you there.”
“I bet you didn’t. Too busy admiring your own reflection, huh Scorp?” I could feel myself blushing and wished my skin wasn’t so pale. Or that I didn’t blush. Father never blushed, after all.
“I wasn’t—“
“Yes you were.” I decided not to argue it. She was right, I had been admiring my reflection, not that I’d admit it.
“Who let you in here?”
“My cousin, who else?” Albus. That annoying, open-common-room-advocating little…
“I’m sick.”
“You’re… oh.” I suddenly registered the blanket wrapped around her, and the fact that her curly hair was even more tangled than usual. “Um… do you want something?”
“Like what? Creme brulée? I don’t think Slytherin usually keeps chicken soup in stock.” Why did she have to be so darned logical all the time? It messed with my usually cool-and-calm demeanor. That chill attitude was what kept me in the thoughts and hearts of Hogwarts’ female population. Without it, I was just some dork in a green tie. Oh well. At least I still had my upbringing. And my bountiful pride and beauty, of course.
“Why here? Wouldn’t you be more comfortable in Hufflepuff?” Their common room was warm, cozy, and located next to the kitchens. And she’d have a free pass there, being Molly Weasley’s cousin and all.
“Probably. But I wanted to see Al.” Weirdly, I felt a drop in my spirits at those words. Somehow, I had wanted her to say my name. Stupid. We were a trio. One as good as the other. Although I would have preferred that Albus not let her into our dorm room without warning.
“And you,” she added.
I smiled. “I knew you’d come around. I am, after all, stunningly attractive.”
“I’ve seen you freak out because you thought the giant squid grabbed you, Malfoy. I’m pretty sure infatuation is not the reason I’m here.”
“Ah, well, always worth a try.” I had been jokingly flirting with her for the past three years. The key word here being jokingly. However Albus tried to cast our conversations.
Speaking of Albus… tell-tale bouncing footsteps were coming down the hall. Al was way too cheery to be a Slytherin.
“Scorps! You’re up!”
“I’ve been up,” I said grumpily. “Nice of you to let me know a Ravenclaw was coming.”
“Oh, come on, it’s only Rose,” he said, bouncing down on my bed and handing the girl a mug of something steaming.
“Yeah, fine,” I relented. “Hey, where’d you get the cocoa?”
“Molly,” he said. Of course.
“So, whassup?” he asked.
“What do you mean, what’s up?” I replied. “It’s the morning. Nothing’s happening.”
“Let’s go make something happen! Get where the action is!”
“It’s winter,” I said disbelievingly. “Literally everyone is in their common rooms, huddled under blankets, eating snatched food. You’re not missing anything.” That boy suffered from intense FOMO.