I return to Hogwarts before everyone else so I can set up for James' party. Jenny tags along, nattering away about Al, the party, her dress for the party, the necklace Al got her for Valentine's Day and so on. I nod politely, but I'm not really listening. My mind is on Mum and her crumby flat, on Dad and the fact that he's a bastard, and on Hugo and his new piercing – can that kid get any weirder? Not exactly positive thoughts, I know. But nothing in my life seems positive these days.
I get my 'Organisation Folder' from the dormitory and read through the party plans a few times. We then head to the Room of Requirement. I concentrate hard on the exact details of the party as I walk past the wall three times, my eyes screwed up in deliberation. Jenny's so excited as the door appears on the wall – it's obvious that she's never been in the Room of Requirement before. See, that's the great thing about having James Potter as a cousin – I know every single corner of this castle inside out and backways.
The room is just how I imagined it to be. It's smaller than the one we held the Christmas party in back in third year, but there are less people coming to this one – every single person in Hogwarts was at the Christmas one. It's not surprising we were caught. James got detention for an entire month after that. There are about twenty white tables, each with four chairs around them. The chairs have pink cushions and there are pink love heart shaped balloons at each table. The walls are draped with pink and red materials and banners that say "Happy Valentines Day!"
At the back of the room, there's a huge space on the floor, with red cushions placed on the floor in a circle for spin the bottle. Along the back wall, there are ten small tables, with chairs either side for Speed Dating. There are speakers on the walls playing music from Merlin knows where.
"This is amazing!" Jenny gasps.
"D'you think so?" I ask nervously, "It's not too much?"
"Rose, it's brilliant! You thought of all of this yourself?"
"You helped," I say modestly.
"Oh please," she says, "this is all you! Are you sure you're not going to come?"
"Well..." I say, "I might..."
"Oh my god! Someone asked you, didn't they?" she cries, and starts jumping around excitedly. She's like a puppy.
"It's only Mark," I say nonchalantly.
"Mark Matthews? Oh Rose, he's so hot!" she says very uncharacteristically.
"Okay, steady on girl, you do remember a little someone called Albus Potter don't you?"
"Al knows I love him," she shrugs and then clasps a hand over her mouth as if she really didn't mean to say that.
"You what?" I laugh at her embarrassment.
"I can't believe I said that out loud," she says and covers her very red face in her hands, "please don't tell him!"
"I won't," I say, still laughing, "but just so you know, I think he feels the same."
She looks up and she can't suppress her smile.
"R-really?"
"Sure," I shrug, straightening the centrepiece on one of the tables, "He's liked you since second year. Don't get all soppy with me...I can't really deal with emotions and such."
"Oh Rose, do you really think he loves me?" she smiles, her eyes filling with tears of joy.
"What did I just say?"
"No," she says shaking her head, "No, he doesn't love me. Why would he?"
Is this girl serious?
"Because you're this petite, curly haired Ravenclaw who doesn't have any flaws at all and is just about the nicest person in Hogwarts," I say, "and boys like nice girls like you."
"Do you think so?"
"Believe me, as one of the not nice girls, I know these things."
"You're nice," she says, but she doesn't seem too sure.
"Quit kissing my ass just because you're going out with my cousin...I know I'm not nice, and I'm pretty cool with it," I say.
"Okay...but you're not not nice, if you get me."
I don't, but I nod anyway.
Dom isn't back from Hogsmeade by the time I return to the dormitory, but Chastity and Laura are there. They stop talking when I come in. Chastity smiles kindly at me, and Laura shoots me a malevolent glare.
"Hi Rose," says Chastity, "are you coming to the party tonight?"
"Of course she's not," Laura answers for me, "Who'd want to go with her? She's pregnant!"
"Shut up, Laura," Chastity sighs.
"I am going actually," I say proudly, "with Mark Matthews."
The look on Laura's face is priceless. Her mouth actually drops open in shock.
"That's great!" says Chastity.
"What?" Laura splutters, "How the hell did you get Mark Matthews to bring you? Did you get pregnant with his kid too?"
"I know this must be big news to you," I say in a patronizing tone, "but you can't get pregnant while you're pregnant."
It takes her a few seconds to process this.
"Whatever, you're a slut."
"You don't have to be pregnant to be a slut," I say.
"Yeah, otherwise you'd have about fifty kids, Laura," says Chastity. I laugh and high-five her.
"Whatever bitches," she spits, "You're just a pair of losers anyway. And I don't care if you're going with Mark Matthews...I'm going with James Potter."
She sweeps out of the dormitory, slamming the door behind her.
"She's lying, right?" I ask Chastity, who looks down at her hands, "Chas, tell me she's lying!"
"Erm, he asked her yesterday," she says quickly.
"WHAT? After he jinxed her in the hallway? After everything she's done?"
"I know," says Chastity, "I thought it was a bit strange too."
"I'm going to kill that little git!" I scream and storm out of the dormitory. I run down the stairs and then across to the boys' dormitories. When I reach the door that says "Seventh Years" I storm in without knocking. Mark and Fred are there and they both jump in surprise when they see me.
"WHERE IS HE?" I yell.
"Where's who?" asks Fred looking a bit frightened.
"Where the HELL is Potter?"
They both point to the bathroom door.
"Potter!" I scream, banging on the door, "Cover yourself up, I'm coming in!"
I burst open the door. James is at the sink, shaving, with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. I grab him by his wet hair and drag him out of the bathroom. He's screaming like a girl while trying to keep his towel on and Fred and Mark are in stitches laughing.
"What the hell?" he screams.
"Laura Phelps?" I yell, "LAURA PHELPS? Of all the girls in Hogwarts, you chose HER?"
"Ah," says James, his head sort of twisted around because I still have a hold of his hair, "See, the thing about that is – AH!"
I pull his hair harder because he isn't in enough pain.
"I surrender!" he cries, "Please! Don't make me take off my towel and use it as a white flag!"
I let go of his hair.
"You're a backstabbing little git, d'you know that Potter?"
"Red, c'mon, it's not like I'm asking her to marry me."
"You KNOW how much I hate her, James!"
"Things change!" he cries, "I'm sorry you feel that way about her..."
"Just shut up!" I cry, smacking the back of his head, "I can't believe I actually planned your stupid ass party for you! You're a selfish prick and you always have been!"
I storm out of the dormitory and back up to my own. It seems that between the time it took to go to the boys' dorm, drag my cousin out of the bathroom, scream my head off at him and then return to my own dorm, Dom returned from Hogsmeade. I'm in tears of pure anger at this stage.
"What happened?" asks Dom worriedly.
"James Potter happened!" I cry, "Can you believe he's going to the Valentines party with Phelps?"
"No way!" Dom gasps, "But...James hates her!"
"That's what I thought too but apparently not!"
I fall down onto my bed and cover my face in my hands.
"It's just James being James," says Dom reasonably, "You know what he's like."
"Men are idiots," I sigh.
"Amen to that, sister."
Dom and I get ready for the party together and it feels like old times again. We talk, we laugh, but there's still the Malfoy issue which is standing like a big elephant in the room. But neither of us bring it up – it's probably better this way. I wear my newest pair of black jeans – they're not really that new, I got them last summer. I don't really like shopping. There's considerably tighter on me now than they used to be. My pink t-shirt clings to me around the stomach area especially – how could I have not noticed how fat I'm getting?
"Maybe this party was a bad idea," I say, looking at my reflection in the mirror.
"You look great, Rose," says Dom. That's easy for her to say. She looks absolutely amazing in her denim mini-skirt and pink string top...she makes me want to cry. She's so tall – I'd say she's pushing 5' 11 – and slim and her hair flows so silkily down her back. I have to do about six different straightening spells on mine before it even looks half way presentable.
I rummage through my wardrobe looking for some other item of pink clothing, but I have nothing so I'm forced to wear this skin tight t-shirt. I throw my light pink cardigan on over it. Mark's waiting for me in the Common Room when I come down, wearing a pair of jeans and a pink t-shirt that says "Frankie Says Relax" on the front.
"Nice t-shirt," I say mockingly.
"Hey, it's nicer than your boring old plain one," he says, pointing at my dark pink, skin tight t-shirt.
We head over to the Room of Requirement without waiting for James. If we'd have waited, I would have been responsible for the death of my cousin. The room is almost full by the time we arrive. The first person I spot is Malfoy. He's wearing a pair of denim jeans, a pink shirt, untucked, with a black blazer over it. And as much as I hate to admit it, he looks hot.
"Put your eyes back in your head," says Mark, "You're making it way too obvious!"
"Making what obvious?" I ask innocently.
"That you want to give Malfoy another good shag right here in the Room of Requirement!"
That earns Mark a very hard smack upside the head. I spot Jenny and Al at one of the tables. Jenny's wearing a very cute pink dress while Al, like Malfoy, is wearing a pink shirt. It's a very pale pink – in fact, it's practically white. Jenny jumps up and hugs me and Al nods in acknowledgement.
"You'll never believe who James is bringing," I say.
"Laura Phelps?" says Al, "Yeah, I know."
"And you didn't try to stop him?" I cry
"Since when does he listen to me?" Al says, cowering beneath my wrath.
"I swear, if that boy lives to see nineteen, it'll be a bloody miracle!"
The room is filling up quickly. James must have invited every single student in school, including the Slytherins. I see Lily with Roxanne over the opposite side of the room. I catch Lily's eye and smile weakly at her, but she turns away in disgust. Apparently she's never going to forgive me. Dom drags a very disgruntled looking Malfoy out onto the dance floor and he very reluctantly obliges. I look away to try to tame the jealous monster inside me.
"How about a dance?" Mark asks, but it's more like a demand than a question.
"I hate dancing," I tell him, "I can't do it!"
"So?" he says, "You want to make your man jealous don't you?"
"He's not my man!" I protest, "And I don't want to make anyone jealous!"
"Sure you don't!"
He grabs my hand and drags me onto the dance floor. We end up having a lot of fun trying to dance. Luckily it's a fast song and we're both as bad as each other – people have to jump for their lives as we flail our arms and legs about. But we're laughing until our sides hurt anyway. At one point I see Dom laughing at us too, but Malfoy just looks his usual emotionless self. That boy annoys me.
As quickly as the fast song changes to a slow one, Mark twirls me around and sends me flying straight into someone while he grabs Dom's hand and starts slow dancing with her. She laughs and doesn't object. And because the universe absolutely hates me, the person Mark pushed me towards just happened to be Malfoy. He looks really uncomfortable – seriously, he looks like he wants to jinx himself. But then he sees Dom and Mark dancing so he just shrugs and grabs my hand...and we're dancing.
"So..." I say uncomfortably. I'm so bad in situations that are in any way emotional, romantic or sensitive.
"Um, yeah."
And apparently Malfoy is no better.
So we dance in silence. And it's fine at first. I try my best not to think too much about what's happening and avoid looking at Mark because he keeps grinning annoyingly at me. But then Malfoy decides to break the silence and ruins our peaceful swaying.
"Do you not find it weird to be dating while you're pregnant?" he asks in a casual tone.
"Do you not find it weird that the guy I'm supposedly dating is dancing with your girlfriend?" I shoot back.
"So you're not dating him then?"
"What's it to you?" I snarl, "It's none of your damn business. If you're allowed to date then so am I!"
"It was just a question, Weasley."
"And like I said, it's none of your damn business, Malfoy, so keep your questions to yourself."
"Just shut up and dance," he sighs.
"Don't tell me what to do!" I say indignantly, but he ignores me and tightens his grip around my waist.
"I don't know why I bother with you, Rose Weasley," he sighs.
"You don't bother with me," I say coldly, "You don't give a tiny rat's arse what's going on in my life."
"Well it's hard when you are constantly pushing me away and running from me in the corridors."
"Yeah, when you want to talk about you and me and Dom and the whole bloody love triangle of doom," I whisper furiously so Dom won't hear, "Have you ever asked me about my morning sickness? Have you ever asked to see the first scan picture? Have you noticed that I look and feel like a bloody whale these days? No, of course not, because you're too wrapped up in your own world and your own pathetic little love life!"
"Y-you have a scan picture?"
"Yes," I say and pull away from him, "but I doubt you'll want to see it – after all, it's what's putting your chance of getting a job in the Ministry, isn't it? My 'sprog'? Don't worry about a thing, Malfoy, as long as you have your cushy little life, then you have absolutely nothing to worry about. You're a selfish git, d'you know that? A typical bloody Slytherin."
He looks stunned at my vicious outburst, but I storm away from him before he can say any more. Al and Jenny are out on the dance floor now so I can't talk to her; Dom and Mark are still dancing together; James and Laura are snogging in a corner (I hope they choke on each other's saliva); Molly is chatting away to some bloke over at the Speed Dating tables; Lucy is playing spin the bottle with the other first and second years. Roxanne is dancing with Lysander Scamander, while Lily sits at a table by herself with her arms folded. Hugo and his emo/Goth/whatever the hell they are friends are even pairing off to dance with one another, which includes Dom's younger brother, Louis, who has ended up with a rather large fifth year girl and doesn't look too happy about it. I'm not even sure where Fred is, but I'm pretty sure he and James are responsible for the group of drunken fourth years in the corner – they spiked the non-alcoholic Butterbeer again.
I leave the Room of Requirement, wondering why the hell I went there in the first place. Before I turn the corner to head towards the Gryffindor tower, I hear a very nervous voice and pause to listen.
"H-h-hi Lily...no...Lily! How are you? No...there you are Lily!...Miss Potter, how are you this fine Valentine's Day?"
I'd recognise that vague, wistful voice anywhere, although it's a lot more uptight than what I'm accustomed to. I round the corner.
"Hello Lorcan," I say.
Lorcan Scamander jumps and quickly turns away from the wall he was talking to. He blushes furiously – it's very odd to see him blushing. But I suppose Lorcan has always been the shyer of the Scamander twins. He's not as upfront, yet spaced out, as his mum, Luna and his brother, Lysander. Lorcan is more like his Dad, Rolf.
"Hello Rose," he says quickly, "Lovely day – erm, I mean night, isn't it? Are you enjoying the party? Or were you enjoying the party I should say, as you're clearly not at the party anymore...hmm, interesting time of year, Valentine's Day. I hear the cherubs are being extra nasty this year – did you know that, contrary to popular belief, cherubs are not the loving, romantic creatures we make them out to be, rather evil beings who shoot flamed arrows –"
"Lorcan!" I exclaim as he stops to take a breath, "Enough!"
He coughs uncomfortably.
"Why are you not at the party?" I ask him.
"I don't know," he shrugs, "everyone else seems to be pairing up – it's not like I have anyone to pair up with."
I wish he wouldn't say stuff like that. It makes me feel really uncomfortable.
"Well...Lily's all by herself too. Maybe you could dance with her?" I suggest and he goes a deep shade of scarlet and mumbles something inaudible.
"Come on," I say encouragingly, "I'm sure she'd love to dance with you."
"I...I don't think so," he says, "I think I'll just have an early night."
"But it's only nine thirty," I point out.
"Ah yes, I better return to the common room before the Night Nargles awaken," he says.
"Lorcan, how many times have I told you that there is no such thing as Nargles, Night Nargles, Christmas Nargles or St Patrick's Day Nargles," I say exasperatedly.
"Mother says –"
"Whatever," I say, not wanting to hear exactly what Luna Scamander said because I'd be here all night, "Just come back inside and have some fun. There are no Valentine's Day Nargles, right?" I try to joke.
"No, but the traditional "Cupid" associated with Valentine's Day is a cherub and like I was saying, this year the cherubs are being extra nasty..."
The boy goes off on another rant, so I take him by the arm and steer him back to the Room of Requirement. Lily is still sitting alone at her table, biting her nails.
"Go and keep her company," I say, "She looks bored."
Lorcan nods, takes a deep breath and walks over to Lily. I watch as he points to the seat beside her, she shrugs and he sits down on it. After a few minutes she seems to have warmed up to him because they're chatting and laughing away. On the other hand, Dom and Mark have stopped dancing and she's back dancing with Malfoy. James is sitting at a table with Al and Jenny and his arm draped around Laura Phelps. I feel so betrayed seeing Al and Jenny sitting at the same table as that bitch that I can almost feel my blood boiling and my ears reddening in anger. Why do things like this always happen to me? Why can't I be the one dancing or cuddling with some boy? Why do I have to be the one to pay for my mistakes, when everyone else seems to get away unscathed?
All of my natural Granger-ness leaves me and I'm left with nothing but Weasley rashness. I march over to Mark, who is at a table pouring himself a Firewhiskey, grab his head and kiss him fiercely on the lips. Then, after a few moments, I break away and run from the room – but not before I notice Malfoy frowning at me.
*
Mark was in shock. He followed me out of the Room of Requirement looking very flustered indeed, something that is most unusual for him.
"That wasn't part of the plan," he stated.
"I know," I said, "I was improvising."
"Right," he nodded, "So...that was...just...improvisation?"
"Exactly."
"Well just so you know, it worked very well," Mark smirked, "Malfoy looks fit for murder."
"I hope he does murder someone and then ends up in Azkaban where all the bloody Malfoys belong!" I said, sounding exactly like Dad. Mark looked shocked by my outburst, but we both knew I didn't mean it.
"But...I think James is going to kill me," Mark added, looking genuinely worried.
"If I don't kill him first," I muttered, "I'm just so sick of them all."
Mark pulled me into a hug, and I was so glad that there was no awkwardness between us after I forced myself on him. I have to say, it was a very bad time for Malfoy, Al and Jenny to walk out of the Room of Requirement, but they did. Mark and I broke apart quickly, but it was too late. Malfoy was looking a bit put out, while Al and Jenny just rushed back inside. Mark decided that Malfoy and I needed time alone (even though that was the last thing I wanted), so he left too.
"That was a pretty pathetic attempt to make me jealous, Weasley," said Malfoy nonchalantly.
"Well it's a good thing I wasn't trying to make you jealous then," I lied.
He grinned annoyingly.
"I'm sure," he nodded, "Did you know you're a terrible liar?"
"Did you know you're a terrible kisser?" I shot back childishly.
"Good comeback," he said sarcastically, "I suppose that's why I have a girlfriend and you're throwing yourself at your cousin's friend to make people jealous."
"You're a bastard," I snapped, "Just go curl up and die, do us all a favour!"
"Ooh, getting a bit hormonal?"
"I used to think Dad was wrong about you," I said, "but now I can really see how you truly are the son of Draco Malfoy and the grandson of Lucius Malfoy. It actually hurts me that I'm half responsible for bringing another Malfoy into the world."
I know I got personal – maybe I even went a bit far.
"It's better than being the daughter of a Mudblood and a Weasley," he muttered, but he looked like he instantly regretted it. It was way too far.
"Look, Rose, I –"
"How the hell is Al friends with such an idiot as you?" I shot, "My Mum may be what you call a 'Mudblood', but at least she wasn't a Death Eater who killed innocent people. Are you proud of who your father is?"
"I didn't mean –"
"Just piss off," I snapped and stormed off.
So now I'm in my dormitory, plotting the death of Malfoy and James. Well, maybe not their deaths – but I definitely want to put them in the hospital wing for at least a week. My thoughts are distracted by a tapping on my window. It's an owl with a letter tied to its leg. I throw open the window, untie the letter and let the owl fly back out towards the Owlery.
Rosie,
You don't know how great it is to hear from you. Harry told me about what happened with that Laura Phelps girl – if I was there I'd give her a good hex. I know you have my old Standard Book of Spells book, so turn to page 77 (I think) and I wrote a pretty good hex that makes people grow beards in ten seconds – try it, it's amazing!
About this adoption thing – are you sure you've thought this through? I mean, you're obviously going to be a bit emotional and all that, so don't make any rash decisions. You don't want to do something you're going to regret. You've always been sensible, Rosie, I know you'll make the right decision.
I'm really sorry about your parents by the way. Harry and Ginny are trying their best to get them to talk. I don't think it's the end for Ron and Hermione – they're just going through a rough patch. And just so you know, your dad does NOT hate you. I know he's acting like a spoiled child, but he'll come round, I promise.
I'm glad you and Al and James are sticking together, but don't exclude Dom and Scorpius. They're probably taking this just as hard as everyone else. It must be strange for Dom to have her cousin pregnant with her boyfriend's baby! Don't kill me, but I don't think you guys should fall out over this. As for Lily, she just has a schoolgirl crush – she'll grow out of that.
I'm so glad you were the bigger person and wrote to me. Let's not fight anymore, okay? By the way, Vic wants you to be a bridesmaid at the wedding (which is in April – I know it's so soon, but that's a whole other story). I'd love it if you were.
Write soon Rosie,
Love,
Teddy
I read and reread the letter over and over. I have him back. I know he's getting married, but I'm having a baby, so I guess we're even. I don't care when the wedding is, because having a married Teddy is a damn sight better than having no Teddy at all. I realise now that I was being selfish when I sent that stupid first letter to Ted – I should have been happy for him, like a real friend. I realise now how he felt because I treated him the same way Lily is treating me – like a stupid schoolgirl with a crush.
Scorpius POV
I don't bother waiting for Al before heading back to the dungeons. Not that he'd actually want to walk with me anyway. I'm thinking he'll keep giving me the silent treatment for another two weeks or so – that's enough time to forgive me for sleeping with his cousin, right?
His cousin.
What is her problem anyway? She thinks she's the shit, when really she's just a sarcastic little...little...I don't know what she is. Well, one thing I know is that she's pregnant and it's my fault.
I really didn't see that one coming. Now I find myself up shit creek without a paddle. My life is finished. Every time I think of the fact that Rose Weasley is pregnant by me, I feel so scared that I think I'm going to pass out.
I shouldn't have done it.
Done what, I hear you ask? Well, a number of things I suppose. I shouldn't have gotten drunk and slept with Rose Weasley for one. True, I've liked her since first year, but really, getting a girl drunk and pregnant is not the way to go about pursuing her. But I've always done things the awkward way. I mean, I asked Dom Weasley out to make Rose jealous – that one came right back to kick me up the arse.
I've always been so smug and confident around girls. I suppose arrogance is to be expected from a Malfoy. But who knew the bloody Karma police were on patrol? I don't think I've ever done anything so bad to deserve all of this. True, my grandfather killed loads of innocent people and my dad tried to kill Albus Dumbledore. And sure my Great Aunt Bellatrix was a psychopathic killer who murdered her own cousin, Sirius Black. And maybe my family have been pureblood, power-driven weirdo's for the last few centuries, but technically I didn't do all that stuff.
I did use Dominique Weasley though. It's not that I don't like her – I mean, her great grandmother was a freaking Veela after all. She's one of the most gorgeous girls in school, even if she does have werewolfish tendencies (it's not good to kiss her at the full moon, I learned the hard way). But there's something about Rose that makes me go a bit crazy when I'm around her. She's different from all the other girls. She says what she thinks and doesn't give a damn what people say back. That's what I've always liked about her. And it's also what drives me 'round the fucking twist.
I fall back onto my bed in my dormitory. It's bloody freezing in here, but it's always freezing in the Slytherin dungeons. It's like they think we've got all this pure blood to keep us warm so we don't need HEAT or anything. Salazar Slytherin was a bit of a plank when I think about it. I maintain that the only reason I'm in Slytherin is because apparently Slytherins are "ambitious". (And cunning and evil and sadistic bastards, but we'll forget those parts). That's the reason Al Potter is a Slytherin too. We know what we want, and we're willing to work to get it.
I want Rose. I want her to stop being so bloody immature and to stop talking about this adoption crap. I want her to stop kissing Mark Matthews, the git. I don't care how friggin' dreamy he is! I mean, if I were a girl or gay, I'd WELL go for Matthews, but alas I find myself with an attraction towards girls. And I'm a bloke. I'm fairly sure.
I'm telling myself that the only reason Weasley was kissing Matthews was because she was trying to make me jealous, but she seemed pretty persistent that she doesn't like me.
Al returns to the dormitory shortly after me. I suppose he was walking Jenny to the Ravenclaw tower. I would have walked Dom to the Gryffindor tower, only she had James and Fred to walk with, so I assumed she wouldn't want me tagging along. He sort of grunts as a greeting and then pulls off his clothes and jumps into bed without another word.
"Fun night?" I ask cautiously, praying that he'll talk back.
"Yeah, 'suppose," he grunts.
Then there's silence for a few minutes. I know he's not asleep because he's not snoring. None of the other two guys, Briggs and Parkinson are back yet. They're okay guys, I guess. Briggs is a bit stupid, but he's pretty cool. Parkinson is the son of Pansy Parkinson, a pug-like woman who never married so we take great pleasure in screaming "Your mum's a slut!" at him. It's really funny, he goes so red he actually looks like a tomato – no joke. Anyway, his mother is a slut. She's had at least twenty boyfriends in the last two years. And she used to be a stripper.
"Al," I start, "...if you were a girl or gay, would you do Mark Matthews?"
Al pauses for a second and then bursts out laughing.
"Scorp, you get weirder by the day," he sighs, "but yeah, I so would. Although having said that, you wouldn't kick that Gryffindor bloke Jason Sloper out of bed on a cold night."
"Too true," I agree.
We stay quiet for another few minutes.
"Sorry, mate," I say.
"I know," he says back stiffly. Don't you just hate awkward apologies? "Let's forget it...water under the bridge, yeah?"
"Water under the bridge," I repeat.
Except it isn't really water under the bridge. If I just slept with Rose then we could say 'water under the bridge, no harm done'. But the harm has been done and there is no bridge.
"How about Kyle Boot?" Al asks.
"Too muscular," I reply, "He might crush you when he hugs you."
"Yeah," Al agrees, "And he's so popular, he's likely to cheat."
"What you want is the likes of Jason Patterson in Hufflepuff," I say.
"Yeah!" Al agrees, "He's got those really blue eyes."
"Yeah, and he's a brilliant Beater!"
"He wouldn't cheat."
"Never."
"Scorp?"
"Yes Al?"
"I think we left our dignity back in the Room of Requirement."
"Mate, I was just thinking the same."
Rose POV
Everyone gets up late the day after the Valentine's Day party. Most people are grinning stupidly, but I float around with an extremely stern look on my face, as if daring someone to mess with me so I can scream my head off at them. I stay in the common room doing homework for most of the day and blatantly ignore James and Laura Phelps. I think James is ignoring me too come to think of it - I think he's mad that I kissed Mark. Dom is out with Malfoy for most of the day, not that I care or anything after his display yesterday and the fact that he called my Mum a Mudblood. Idiot.
"Um, Rose?"
Lily appears beside my desk and I look up from my Potions essay for the first time in about an hour. She looks a bit nervous and she's twisting her long hair around on her index finger.
"Hi," I say, surprised that she's talking to me and not glaring evilly at me.
"Can I?" she asks, pointing to the chair beside me. I pull it out and pat it and she sits down, smiling. I missed her.
"What can I do for you?"
"I just want to say I'm sorry," Lily sighs, "I know I've been so immature about Scorpius. It's not like you did anything wrong."
"I'm sorry for what I said," I say, "I was a bitch. Friends?"
"Friends," she grins her father's grin, "and...thanks for talking to Lorcan..."
She blushes furiously.
"No problem," I wink, "he's a good guy. He just needs a nudge in the right direction."
"Yeah...he is a good guy," she says distantly.
"Who knew one of the Scamander twins would cause the indestructible Lily Potter to blush," I grin.
"I'm not blushing!" she protests and blushes even more.
*
For the next few days, Lily and I are on better terms than ever before. Although I'm still not talking to James (nor is he talking to me), Dom and I are back to being best friends and even Al seems in a better mood. Life has become a lot more bearable. Dom is really supportive of my pregnancy and even wanted to see my scan picture. She said 'aww' when I showed it to her, but I doubt she could see much more than Hugo or I could. I'm thinking she may be secretly plotting my death – seriously, who could be that happy for someone who's having a baby with their boyfriend?
Hugo, however, is becoming completely insufferable, as most brothers are. He's dyed his light brown hair to jet black and not only does he have his eyebrow pierced, but he also has his lip done too. And now he's saying that as soon as he turns seventeen, he's getting a tattoo of the dark mark on his wrist. Honestly, that boy is so clueless sometimes. I don't think he gets that the dark mark is a sign of all the suffering our parents and grandparents went through, but more of a fashion statement. Then again, James went to the last Halloween party dressed as Voldemort. They're both as stupid as each other.
So it seems that reconciliation is in the air. I think the biggest surprise came after Transfiguration on the Monday after the Valentine's Day party. Malfoy held back after class and Dom hurried off to Herbology without waiting for me. He looked a bit sheepish and out of pure stubbornness, I walked straight past him, with my head held high. Malfoy followed me out of the classroom and had to run to keep up with my fast pace.
"Weasley, hold up!"
I kept walking.
"Come on, would you at least talk to me?" he pleaded.
"Why, so you can just insult me and my family again?" I shot, breaking my vow of silence.
"Look, I'm sorry. We both said things we didn't mean."
"I meant them," I snapped, "You're an arrogant, idiotic, selfish –"
"Yeah, so you've said," he interrupted me, "But can't we just start again?"
I stopped walking so suddenly that a small first year walking behind me crashed into me and fell backwards. Malfoy grinned and helped her up, and she rushed down the corridor blushing furiously. I glared at him.
"You have to stop frowning, your face will end up stuck that way," Malfoy smirked.
"Shut up."
"Okay, seriously, I think we have to stop this...whatever this is. We can't be at each others throats the whole time."
"Why not? I'm pretty okay with hating you," I snapped.
"I'm sorry about what I said about your mum," he shrugged, "But being an arsehole sort of runs in the Malfoy bloodline in the same way red hair runs in the Weasley one."
"So you're telling me this kid," I pointed at my stomach, "Is going to be a red-headed arsehole?"
"It could be a blonde," he shrugged, "But the point is, I didn't mean what I said. And I think we should be friends."
I raised my eyebrows.
"You really think we can be friends?" I asked sceptically.
"I think we should try," he shrugged.
I surveyed him for a moment, trying to figure out if he was being serious or having me on. He seemed genuine. I held out my hand.
"Alright, friends," I said.
"Friends," he smiled, shaking my outstretched hand.