Curiosity Is Not a Sin

Family Secrets

When Rose came down the stairs for breakfast the following morning, she found James scrutinising a sign on the board.

"What is it?" she asked, coming to a stop next to him.

He glanced over at her. "Dueling club," he said. "Goldstein and Neville are running it. It starts next month - it should be good." He turned toward the portrait hole, and she followed him across the room.

She looked at him. He looked morose, which was a significant change from his usual devil-may-care demeanor. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing." James cast a quick glance over his shoulder.

Rose knew from long experience that pressing the issue probably wouldn't get her anywhere, since James very rarely actually answered questions that made him uncomfortable. However, this time, curiosity got the better of her. "Avoiding someone?"

To her surprise, he made a face and actually gave her a straight answer. "Roxanne," he said. "She and Marion were huddled in the corner of the Common Room talking for awhile last night, and I think it might have been about me."

Rose winced in sympathy. Roxanne had never been shy about dressing someone down when she thought that they deserved it, and Rose had no trouble believing that their cousin would feel that any drama between two of her closest friends qualified.

"I don't think she'll mention it in front of everyone," James continued, "but just you..." He shrugged.

"What's going on with that? When Albus and I saw you this weekend, things seemed to be good... or were you just going to your empty dormitory to show her your miniature broomstick collection?"

"Nah, we were doing our best impression of you and Scorpius, except on my bed and with a couple fewer clothes." Rose noted with interest that 'Malfoy' seemed to have changed to 'Scorpius' for James, at least when her cousin wasn't paying attention. "So yeah, that's what I thought. She's said a couple things, though - I don't think she likes my plans for after Hogwarts very much, and it's making her rethink the whole thing."

She patted his shoulder sympathetically and didn't press the issue further. For his part, James did not mention Scorpius again. Instead, they talked about the Dueling Club on the way down to breakfast. It had been wildly popular the year before, and Rose hoped that she would qualify for one of the more advanced groups; her fellow fifth-years often left something to be desired.

When they reached the Great Hall, she followed James's lead, and when he headed over to join Roxanne, Marion, and Tyler, she followed him, feeling slightly curious despite herself.

As they slid into the empty space on the bench, Tyler said, in long-suffering voice, "It looks like rain through tomorrow night."

James glanced up from his plate, which he'd just finished spooning food onto. "Yes, it does," he said cheerfully.

"Maybe I'll use a snackbox to get out of practice."

"I won't use a snackbox," Marion said, grinning at James. Whatever the drama going on between them was, either Marion wanted to put a good face on it in public or she wasn't quite ready to give up on him just yet. "I'll just break my arm. A Chaser can't play with a broken arm."

James snorted. "You wouldn't dare," he said to Tyler. Then he turned his attention to Marion. "And breaking your arm would just be a stupid way to get out of practice, Madam Pomfrey can heal that in about a minute."

"You would know," muttered Rose.

He reached around Roxanne to punch her arm lightly. "Don't hate me because I'm not afraid to break bones to win a game."