Professor McGonagall ended up suspending Lily's trips to Hogsmeade for the rest of the year. She was to attend detention for a month, as well as writing an extensive and detailed apology to both Lysander and Katie.
After Lily explained her involvement in the incident, Rose was only given detention for a week — for breaking curfew, McGonagall said.
By the time they left the office it was half past eleven on Saturday morning. Most of the students in third year and above had already left for Hogsmeade, so the castle was much quieter than usual. Lily and Rose walked in silence, only meeting a few rowdy first year boys and a gossiping group of second year girls on their way back to the common room.
Despite her punishment being issued, Lily was still brooding. Rose didn't know whether she should try and make conversation to get her mind off things... Lily wasn't usually one for forced small talk, and Rose couldn't think of any other major gossip to bring up other than Lily's incident. And she knew that would not go down well.
Instead of saying anything, Rose stayed quiet. Better safe than sorry, she thought, knowing how Lily could be when she was in one of her moods.
The two girls stopped short when they reached the common room. Rose's heart jumped at the sight of a blonde head of hair, a boy leaning against the wall next to the Fat Lady's portrait. Lily's eyes were wide and round in shock, her lips parted slightly.
"Finally!" The Fat Lady exclaimed when she saw the girls standing stock still on the staircase. "He has been hanging around here like a bad smell for the past half hour! There she is! Get on with it, boy!"
Rose's mind was working at top speed as he leaned off the wall and stepped closer. Lily was as still as a statue, her mouth opening and closing but no sound coming out.
Lorcan sent her a wary look. "We need to talk, Lily."
Mutely, Lily nodded. She didn't move another muscle, however.
Lorcan seemed to notice this. He glanced at Rose. "Would you mind giving us a minute, Rose?"
Rose began to nod. Lily's eyes snapped to meet her gaze. She could see the panic in them. Lily narrowed her eyes at Rose, as if to say don't you dare leave me alone.
Rose swallowed and pursed her lips. "Of course," she said and sped past Lorcan. She muttered the password to the Fat Lady, who swung open to let her through.
She would face Lily's wrath later. Besides, in Rose's opinion, that was her payback for pulling her into the prank.
Rose bounded up the stairs to her dorm, deciding to take a trip to the Owlery to send off the letter she had written to her parents. She wrapped up in a warm, knitted jumper and grey bobble hat, then snatched the letter up from the lid of her trunk.
She had spent most of her evening the previous night writing down the events of the past few weeks to tell her parents. She conveniently forgot to mention Lily's incident. Rose knew that her cousin would be getting enough punishment from Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny, nevermind Rose's parents getting involved.
One other person Rose had "forgotten" to mention was Scorpius Malfoy. She doubted she ever would mention his name in a letter to her parents.
However, as she was writing the letter, she realised how much she had to miss out because she couldn't mention Scorpius. In such a short space of time he had become such a large part of Rose's life. He was always around — even if it wasn't planned, like last night. She had had fun with him the previous night, on the Astronomy tower, telling each other funny stories of their childhood and discussing more Muggle-related things that Scorpius wanted to know more about.
Rose desperately wished that she could speak to Lily about him and their friendship... more so than anything, she wished she could gossip with her like she would if he was any other boy. But she couldn't. And, for the moment, that would have to be okay.
Lorcan and Lily were perched next to each other on the top step of the staircase leading to the Fat Lady's portrait when Rose ducked from behind it.
They turned to look at her when they heard her footsteps clump on the floor. Lorcan's expression showed exasperation and tiredness; Lily's was a mask of desperation and guilt.
Rose pursed her lips awkwardly, hating that she'd interrupted what was clearly an important conversation. One that could make or break their friendship, as it would seem.
"Sorry, guys..." she muttered, sweeping past them to descend the stairs.
She didn't hear the murmur of their voices until she was halfway down the staircase. Rose couldn't deny that part of her was dying to eavesdrop on their conversation, but she knew Lily would tell her everything later. She would just have to wait.
The castle grounds were just as deserted as the castle itself. The sky was grey and stormy, dark rain clouds rolling in for miles. Rose hugged her arms close to her chest, trying to insulate herself from the biting cold. The winds had been picking up recently and Rose knew that she and Scorpius wouldn't be partaking in anymore outdoor walks anytime soon.
Rose strayed onto the path that led to the Owlery, walking briskly in order to stay warm. As cold as it was, Rose was glad that winter was coming (GoT anyone??????). Winter had always been her favourite season, even as a child.
As she travelled along the path, she thought back to last night on the Astronomy Tower with Scorpius. He had asked her if she wanted to go to Hogsmeade with him today but, as much as she did want to, Rose had declined so that she could spend the day cheering up Lily.
Clearly, that wasn't quite going to plan — considering her chat with Lorcan was probably going to bring her mood down even further, if that was at all possible. Rose wished she had accepted Scorpius' offer. They could have gone for a warm butterbeer in The Three Broomsticks — if it happened to be filled with none of their classmates, which was highly unlikely.
Rose sighed. She wished they could do all the normal things that friends did together like taking walks around the castle after class and heading for a drink down at Hogsmeade. Even a simple chat between classes set Rose's heart racing at the thought of someone catching them.
Why was it so hard? She wished it didn't have to be — oh, how she wished. They just wouldn't be accepted by their peers. She knew there was no use dwelling on it for the meantime. Things weren't about to change. Rose had made her choice and she would stick with it.
With that thought in mind, Rose marched up the winding staircase to the Owlery with determination in each step. She selected one of the Hogwarts Owls, a small Tawny, to deliver her letter to her parents — Albus had already beaten her to their family owl, Holland, the day before.
She watched as the Tawny Owl glided away from the tower. Rose couldn't wait for it's return with her parents' letter. It had been far too long since they'd written each other.
With a light heart and a smile on her face, Rose descended from the Owlery and headed back to the castle. She hadn't been gone for very long, so she doubted that Lily and Lorcan would be finished their chat yet. Based on the desperation on Lily's face, Rose knew that her being around them would only give her cousin an excuse to run away.
And, so, Rose walked the familiar path through the corridors of Hogwarts to the library. A few weeks ago, Rose wouldn't have batted an eye at spending a free Saturday in the library. As much of a procrastinator as she was, Rose loved to read. When she wasn't doing school work — which, on a Saturday, she didn't tend to do — Rose would be found reading a book from the nonfiction section in the library. And that was exactly what she intended to do.
Since she had declined his invitation to Hogsmeade, Rose hadn't expected to see Scorpius at all that day. So, when she rounded a corner and stumbled upon him on the way to the library, she was pleasantly surprised.
Scorpius blinked at her. Rose blinked back, her lips twitching up at the corners. His hair was messy, as usual, and he was dressed in a black hooded jumper and black jeans.
Scorpius opened his mouth to speak. "He—"
Charlie King rounded the corner after Scorpius. He came to a stop next to Scorpius. "Scorp, why did you— oh, hey, Rose."
Rose's heart thumped. She'd never been caught in a situation like this. Her gaze flitted between Scorpius and Charlie, both of whom were watching her, waiting for a response. Scorpius with apprehension; Charlie with growing confusion.
When Rose still hadn't said anything, Charlie leaned towards her. "Rose? Are you okay?" He waved a hand in front of her face and shot Scorpius a look.
Rose blinked herself out of her stupor. "Yes. Sorry. I'm fine." She forced a chuckle. "You just gave me a fright."
Charlie nodded as though he believed her pathetic excuse. Scorpius was still watching her and, although she could feel the heat of his gaze on her cheek, Rose didn't turn her head away from Charlie.
Rose's heart was still pounding away in her chest. Guilt was pooling in her stomach. She knew Scorpius was confused as to why she was completely ignoring him, but Rose didn't want to chance word spreading of their friendship — be it on any level.
"How come you're not in Hogsmeade?" Charlie asked. He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his dark blue jeans. He was wearing a knitted burgundy jumper and a thick, wool jacket that hung to just above his knees. He looked dressed for Hogsmeade, which made Rose wonder why they weren't there.
"I could say the same for you," she said wittily, finding her voice, thankfully, steady.
Charlie cocked an eyebrow, his lips twitching in a smirk. "I asked you first."
Rose rolled her eyes, shuffling her feet. "McGonagall called me and Lily to her office this morning. I didn't think there was much point heading down to Hogsmeade after it was over."
Charlie nodded. His face pulled into a sympathetic expression. "How was your punishment?"
"I got off with breaking curfew — detention for the rest of the week. Lily wasn't so lucky..."
"If it's any consolation," he said, "I thought the whole incident was pretty funny. I had a good laugh about it when we heard, didn't I, Scorp?"
Rose saw Scorpius turn to Charlie out of the corner of her eye. She glanced at him in time to see him nod, before his eyes were back on her and their gazes met. Her stomach dropped.
She could see in his eyes that he knew something was wrong. There was nothing wrong, per se, but Rose knew she was acting strange to him.
Charlie King was looking between the two of them with a quizzical look. He cleared his throat, and Rose gladly used it as an excuse to pull her gaze away from Scorpius'.
"We were just heading back to the Slytherin common room," he said. "See you around, Rose?"
He phrased it like a question and Rose found herself nodding. "Bye, Charlie."
Charlie began to walk away.
Scorpius didn't move a muscle. Rose made the risky decision of casting him a glance. He was twisting his lips, his silvery eyes narrowed slightly.
"Is everything okay?" He asked quietly as Charlie's footsteps faltered to a halt.
Rose nodded stiffly. "Yes. Everything is fine."
He nodded slowly, strands of his blonde hair falling into his eyes. Rose could tell that he didn't believe her. "Okay," he said, however. "I'll see you later."
Rose mouthed a goodbye, but no sound came out. Internally, she was screaming at herself.
— — — — —
Rose didn't see Scorpius once for the rest of the weekend. She couldn't deny that she was ashamed of her actions on Saturday and she didn't know how to act around him when she next saw him, which was inevitable. That, however, didn't stop her from searching the Great Hall for his white-blonde hair at every meal.
By the time Monday's Potions lesson came around, Rose knew he was avoiding her. He was the last person to arrive to their classes and the first to leave. Rose's heart sank knowing he was trying to avoid her, but she didn't know what she would say to him if she were to confront him about it.
It was her fault, after all.
Needless to say, Rose's mood in Potions was worse than it usually was. Scorpius was in his usual seat at a desk-station with Charlie King. Albus was, as usual, sitting across from Rose. She had to force herself to pay attention to him, rather than watching for any stray glances that Scorpius might grant her.
"I have marked your essays," Professor Dobbs announced. With a wave of her wand, the pile of essays on her desk, at the front of the room, drifted into the air and headed towards their author. "Once you have all seen your results and are happy with the marking I will put you into your pairs and explain your next assignment."
Rose waited with baited breath as her essay floated towards her. As soon as the papers touched down on the wooden surface, Rose snatched them up in her hands.
Her mood lifted considerably when she saw the red PASS circled in the top right corner of the first page. The corners of her mouth lifted as her gaze drifted to her classification and overall percentage underneath. O — 98%.
The professors informed them at the beginning of every examination year that the marking system for all coursework would be carried out in the form of OWLs and NEWTs.
Rose turned her attention to her cousin, who looked relatively proud of himself. "What did you get?" She asked.
"Exceeds expectations," he replied. "74%."
"Good job!"
"Thanks." He rolled his eyes. "Do I even need to ask you what you got?"
Rose grinned. Albus shook his head and scoffed. She knew he was only pulling her wand.
Professor Dobbs clapped her hands together to get everyone's attention. "If no one has any queries about their essays than I shall carry on with your next assignment?"
When no one answered, Professor Dobbs began to ramble on about the peer-assignment she was about to set the class. Rose zoned out, happy to be facing the front of the class so that she could slyly watch Scorpius without being noticed.
Rose shook her head. She sounded obsessed.
Which she mostly certainly was not. She was merely conflicted.
Scorpius' was sitting with a stiff spine, as though he could feel her gaze boring into the back of him. His hair was disheveled — she could see that even from behind him. It was antagonising her how much she longed to fix the mess of it.
Rose pulled her gaze away from him when Professor Dobbs began to read out the list of partners. She prayed that she had been paired with one of her classmates who had a similar work ethic to her — someone like Scorpius, if not him himself.
"Albus Potter and Randy Goodwall."
Rose shot him a sad smile as he gathered his things and walked to Randy's desk. She loved to work with her cousin. Unfortunately for them, Professor Dobbs knew this and, for that reason, never paired them together.
"Saoirse Finigan and Jack Dowdy... Ailsa Hartman and Jennifer Jenkins..."
Rose glanced around to see who was still to be paired. Over half the class had already been called out, which left her, Charlie, two Ravenclaws, a fellow Gryffindor, two Hufflepuff girls... and Scorpius.
Rose's breath caught in her throat. Could she have been paired with Scorpius? It would have made sense, seeing as how similar their academic rankings were.
She squeezed her hands into fists. Would she dare to dream?
She would.
Professor Dobbs paired the two Hufflepuffs with the Ravenclaws. That left only Rose, Charlie, the Gryffindor girl — whose name was Marie — and Scorpius.
By this point, Rose wasn't denying it anymore. She wanted to be paired with Scorpius.
Professor Dobbs pushed her glasses further up her nose and peered down at the sheet in her hand. "Okay, our last two pairs..."
Rose stared daggers at the paper, as though, if she looked hard enough, it would turn see-through.
"Marie Merryweather and..."
Please say Charlie, Rose begged.
"...Scorpius Malfoy."
Her heart plummeted. Professor Dobbs really did have it out for her.
Rose listened with hidden despair as her Potions professor confirmed that she and Charlie King were paired together.
She ignored the rest of the class as they shuffled to get into their partners. She hardly noticed that Charlie had already sidled up to her desk and attempted to greet her.
Her eyes were on Scorpius the entire time, watching as he gathered his parchment and Advanced Potions Making textbook and walked over to join Marie at her desk. She watched as he offered her a tentative smile, which she returned with one just as hesitant as his.
She knew he aware that she watching. But he didn't once look back.
And Rose couldn't fathom why she was bothered so much. She couldn't understand why a simple pairing for an assignment had crushed her spirit so much.
However, Rose felt like they had just taken about five steps back towards square one. And she knew that the fault was her own.
— — — — —
Omg :((
I'm so sorry :(( It's been so long, I missed you all! (That's so weird isn't it??? I don't even know you guys ahahahaha but seriously I missed your comments and support ahhhh I love you guys!!!
Okay so, I am back! Officially! Regular updates from me here we come. Also, in my defence, I had incredible writers block with this chapter. I knew exactly where I wanted to go with it but no idea how to put words in that direction. It was immensely frustrating and I gave up many times, hence why it took so long.
Question of the Chapter: if you were to have one superpower, what would it?
Answer from Me: I would be invisible! My boyfriend says that's lousy but he's stupid, clearly. Invisibility would be so handy you could literally do anything and no one would see you! Even if they did see what you were doing they would have no idea it was you or what was going on!!
There's this really cool Official Harry Potter shop in Edinburgh (where I now live) and it has all the amazing official merchandise like an ACTUAL Firebolt😱 For reason, though, they don't sell Draco's wand which I thought was very strange considering they sell fkn Arthur's and Lucius'. Weird. But yeah, so if you're ever in Edinburgh (Capital City of Scotland) give that shop a visit!