Curiosity Is Not a Sin

Secrets

By the end of the time she got to History of Magic, Rose had almost managed to put her encounter with Scorpius at the lake out of her mind. Seeing him, however, brought it all roaring back, particularly when she realized that he was staring at her lips.

When she and Albus joined James and Tyler for dinner, Rose filled her plate, but rather than eat the food, she pushed it around her plate with her fork. After about ten minutes, her meal was reduced to an unappetizing meld of potatoes, bread, and apple slices.

"Hey, Rose," Tyler said. She glanced up. "Are you okay?"

She tossed her fork down onto her plate. "I'm just frustrated," she said. "We were supposed to be learning the Patronus Charm in class today, and I couldn't even make vapor."

"I'll help you tonight, if you like," James offered immediately.

"I will, too, if you like," Tyler added. "Forget vapor, we'll have you casting a corporeal Patronus in no time." He grinned. "Without Malfoy slipping something into your tea."

The mention of Scorpius brought everything she'd been trying to put out of her mind into focus, which she knew wasn't going to help her concentration. "Thanks."

She glanced over her shoulder at the Slytherin table. Scorpius was sitting there with Noah. He looked perfectly at ease. Before he could catch her staring at him, she looked away. Albus and Tyler had gone back to talking about Quidditch, but James was staring at her in a way she really didn't like. When Albus and Tyler got up to leave, James kicked her under the table, and she sighed.

"I'll be there in a few minutes," she told Albus. "I just want to finish my apple."

He shrugged and departed.

James waited for his brother to leave the Great Hall before saying, "Anything you want to tell me about?"

Rose glared at her plate. "I hate you," she told him.

"No, you don't. What's with you and Malfoy?" he asked, refusing to be deterred. "You got all uncomfortable when Tyler mentioned him, and he's been staring at you all through dinner."

She allowed herself to feel a quick moment of triumph - at least she hadn't been the only one - before saying sheepishly, "We were by the lake during lunch, and I kind of... well, kissed him."

She snuck a look at James in time to see him roll his eyes. "Oh, Rose. That was nice. Have you even figured out if you like him?"

"I don't know. He's kind of handsome, don't you think?" James raised his eyebrows, and Rose felt her face get hot. "Do you really think it was unfair?"

"I take it he kissed you back, so not really. But you know, at this point, you really should be thinking about telling Albus something."

"What's to tell?" Rose asked. "He was teasing me, I kissed him, he... enjoyed it, and I told him maybe we'd do it again sometime and walked away."

"Well," her cousin said after a moment, "I probably wouldn't present it like that. You know, I don't get it. He's a git. Why?"

She frowned. "I don't really know. He's kind of amusing, and he's not bad-looking." In all honesty, she thought that Scorpius was significantly better than "not bad-looking," though it had never really had much of an effect before this year. Blonds had never been her type.

"If you say so," James said skeptically. "I still think he's a git."

"I thought you felt bad for him."

"I do. Doesn't stop me thinking he's a git."

When Rose got back to the Common Room that evening after practicing her Patronus in an empty classroom with James and Tyler for an hour - now she was managing vapor - she was surprised to find Albus there; he generally preferred to work in the library on Mondays, because he didn't trust his brother and Roxanne not to get the week off to a more explosive start than he found conducive for actually getting work done. When she sat down across from him, he smiled.