Curiosity Is Not a Sin

Infatuation

After parting ways with Scorpius a couple hours later, Rose headed back to the Gryffindor Common Room, feeling in sufficiently high spirits to handle even the cold shoulder from Albus. Once Rose had climbed through the portrait hole, she made a beeline toward the stairs that led to the girls' dormitories to retrieve some homework - or, possibly, take a nap. All thoughts of doing either, however, immediately flew out of her mind when she found someone blocking her way.

She looked up, and Albus gave her a slightly sheepish smile. "Can we talk?" he asked.

"Sure," she said quickly. Schoolwork and sleep were both nothing compared to a fight with Albus, and since he didn't look like he was about to yell at her, the odds were good that he wanted to make up.

He glanced around the crowded common room. By that time, it was mid-afternoon, so while the Common Room wasn't quite as full as it would be that evening, there wasn't going to be much privacy or quiet to be found there. "Let's go upstairs," he suggested. She shrugged her assent and followed him up the other set of stairs.

When they entered the fifth year boys' dormitory, she was struck for what must have been the twentieth time by how much messier it was than her room. Granted, there were more boys in their year than there were girls, which certainly contributed, but even so, it seemed like half of the fifth year Gryffindor boys were completely incapable of picking up after themselves.

Albus, thankfully, was not one of them. She stepped out of her shoes and flopped onto his bed. He hovered by the door. "I'm sorry," he said awkwardly, forcing himself to meet her eyes. "I know I've been a pain lately."

He had been, but Rose didn't want to press her luck. "It's okay," she said. "You just don't want to share your favorite cousin. I get it."

He snorted, and some of the tension left the room. He joined her and seated himself cross-legged on his bed. "You caught me. I'm really a very jealous person."

She nudged him with her foot. "You don't sound very serious," she commented lightly. "Maybe it's Scorpius you don't want to share." Albus let out a bark of laughter, and she clapped her hands over her mouth. "Oh, Al! Is there something going on between the two of you? I wouldn't want to get in the way!"

"So it's 'Scorpius,' now?" he asked, and Rose felt her face get a little hotter. "Yes, you caught me. I'm madly in love with Scorpius, though I am starting to think that his snogging you all over the place might be starting to strain the relationship."

If Albus was willing to joke, he must be in good spirits – which would hopefully included forgiving her. "It could," she agreed seriously. "How do you know he's been snogging me nonstop?"

"Well, you sort of owned up to it the other night, and Roxanne told me about - er - bumping into the two of you in that passage. And - ugh. I felt bad today after breakfast, and when I couldn't find you, I figured you might have gone down to the lake for some fresh air."

She bolted upright. "Oh my god, Al, tell me you didn't."

He made a face. "No, I did, unfortunately. I got about twenty feet away before I realized that you were in my best friend's lap kissing him and that he had his hand up your shirt."

"I didn't see you."

"Neither did he. You both looked pretty occupied, and I didn't stick around."

Rose buried her face, which had all of a sudden gotten very hot, in her hands. "Oh my god. I - oh, hell."

"Oh, calm down," her cousin said. "I mean, it was pretty gross and scarring, but I still want to talk to you, don't I?"

She let herself fall backward onto the bed again. "Still. Sorry. So - does that mean you're not going to chew me out for... whatever I'm doing with him?"