Curiosity Is Not a Sin

Plausible Deniability

When Rose and Albus got back to the Common Room, he made a beeline for the stairs to the boy's dormitory, waving goodnight over his shoulder. She called "Night!" after him and went over to James and Roxanne, who'd put homework aside and were playing a match of exploding snap at a table in the corner.

Rose slumped into the chair beside Roxanne and let her head fall hard against the table.

They both looked up. "That bad?" asked James. Roxanne gathered up the cards, her deft fingers clearing the table in a matter of seconds.

"Worse." Rose rested her elbows on the table and sunk her fingers into her hair. "How does anyone get to be quite that unpleasant?"

James looked around before responding. "Albus here?"

"No, he went up to bed." Rose let out a sigh. "Thankfully. I'm making an effort, but Merlin, I can think of poisons that would be more pleasant than Scorpius Malfoy." She thought for a moment about what her cousins - who were both very enthusiastic Gryffindors - would be most disgusted by. "He called me a coward."

James and Roxanne did not disappoint her. "Jerk," they said at the same time, and each cast a threatening glance toward the portrait hole.

"And he basically said that I was a conceited brat." She wrinkled her nose. "He is so unpleasant. Why does Albus even like him?"

Roxanne put an arm around Rose's shoulder. "Look, Rosie, if you think it's warranted, we'd be happy to go around and show him who's boss."

"We could charm his stupid hair some ridiculous colour," James suggested, clearly getting into the spirit. "Orange, maybe?"

"How about red?" Roxanne grinned. "You know, for Gryffindor."

Rose giggled. "I like that. He kept calling me 'Red.'" She pulled her braid over her shoulder and fingered it. "I like my hair."

"Oh, he's just trying to get a rise out of you. Don't worry, we'll show him."

"Don't tell Albus," Rose said quickly.

"Do you think that we're stupid?" James asked. "I don't want him writing home that I'm being a jerk to his friend. I don't need another howler."

James had gotten many howlers over the course of his schooling. The year before, he and Roxanne had really gotten into the spirit of Halloween, hexing pumpkins in the Great Hall to shoot off sparks at odd intervals and charming suits of armor in very trafficked areas to randomly shout "Boo!" The caretaker had eventually caught them trying to charm the lights in the Potions classroom to be come out orange. They'd both gotten three detentions, and James's parents had sent him a howler, in which his mother yelled that it was all well and good to fool around but that if he had the time to do that then when he took his O.W.L.s at the end of the year he'd better not fail any of them.

James maintained that it had totally been worth it.

Rose got up. "I should get to bed," she told them.

They waved goodnight, and put their heads together, clearly thinking of other ways to make Scorpius miserable. She smiled. That would teach him to mess with the Weasley clan.

As she changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed, she realised that this would probably only add fire to his accusation that she walked around like she owned the school.

That would be a problem... if she cared what he thought. Thankfully, she didn't.

When Rose came down the stairs and entered the Gryffindor common room the next morning, she was slightly surprised to see Roxanne sitting alone at one of the tables reading a book. She made her way over and let her bag slip onto the chair across from her cousin. "What, are you not hungry?"