Rose and Scorpius, A True Love

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The rest of the year was far from normal. I had quit the team because I couldn't juggle rounds plus all the homework I was assigned with practice. And the Gryffindor prefect Jake Peck, he weirded me out. He gave me weird looks on our round duties. And it ruined the effect of being prefect. But I tried to be as polite as possible. By the end of the year however, whenever I finished exams, things got a little better. They had lost the trace on Dolohov yet again, and with exams finished I wasn't as stressed out anymore. My father was disappointed I had quit the team, mother however thought it was a great idea to "focus on my studies". Life was a little dull without quidditch. But I did what I had to do. An interesting (and entertaining) thing happened that year as well was about six months after school had started, Malfoy had yelled one morning at breakfast "LEAVE ME ALONE! IVE TOLD YOU YOU WE ARE DONE!" For all of Hogwarts to hear. Daisy transferred to Beauxbatons Academy of Magic, in France after that. It really was a funny sight. Harley said I was just acting jealous, and as a result her hair magically turned purple until she took those words back. That summer Scorpius had to visit Romania with his mother and father so I was blessed with a Malfoy free summer as well! But before I knew it, I had found myself in my sixth year at Hogwarts. I was still a prefect, and so was Malfoy, along with the creepy Gryffindor Jake.
"Here's your schedule miss Weasley." Squeaked professor Flitwick. I looked at the paper and smiled. "What do you have?" Harley asked as she looked at her own paper. "Double Care of Magical Creatures." I said happily. I had gotten all O's in my OWL's the year before, so I took only the classes I needed to take to work with animals. Harley sighed. "Nope, I have potions with Ravenclaw." I shrugged my shoulders. "We live in the same castle, sleep in the same dorm, and are in the same house. It's not like we won't see each other." Harley frowned. "I can't believe we only have two more years..." It was my turn to sigh. I nodded in agreement. "And I don't get to see you much now a days, your always on round duty." I drank some orange juice while Harley complained. "Well yes, the prefects are scattered everywhere at night. Security and all." I stood up and grabbed my bag. "I better get going, see you later." And I ran out of the great hall. As I ran down towards the forbidden forest, where Hagrid always has his classes, I tripped over someone who was laying in the grassy hill. I fell over and rolled down the hill. Whenever I finally stopped rolling, my papers were scattered everywhere. "Oh no!" I moaned as I tried to collect them, but the wind was blowing them everywhere. As I caught one of my papers in the wind I bumped into a tall figure. "Oh I'm sorry I-" I looked up to see Scorpius Malfoy glaring at me, a dirty shoe print on his black robes. "It was you I tripped over?" I said trying to hold in my laughter. He narrowed his eyes. "It would seem so." He said in sneer. I reached for my transfiguration essay (homework assigned during the summer) that was in his hands but he snatched it out of reach. "Problem?" I asked starting to get angry. "You could apologize Weasley. You did trip over me, and ruin my robes." He whispered dangerously. I scoffed, "Apologize? You were the one laying in the entrance way like an idiot! And you made me trip! You should apologize for laying in the doorway!" I said shrilly. He raised his eyebrows as if challenging me. "Give me my essay Malfoy. Now." I growled. "What? This?" He asked examining my essay with raised eyebrows. "Oh no... I don't think I will... Doesn't seem good enough you see. There seems to be some damage on it." He said looking at it closely. Now that can't be right, I spent weeks on that essay. It should be perfect. "What are you talking about?" I asked as I looked at the clean roll of parchment. He took out his wand and said, "Right there." He pointed his wand at the corner of the parchment and it ignited in flames. I screamed, "NO!" I watched in horror as my essay shriveled in flames. Malfoy smirked, "Maybe if you apologized that wouldn't have happened." He said with raised eyebrows. I was shaking in anger, "Malfoy! That essay took me WEEKS to finish! It was perfect! And you ruined it!" I yelled. I grabbed my wand and yelled "EXPELLIARMUS!" Before he could react his wand flew out of his hand and I caught it. He paled as he saw me step closer. He raised his arms in surrender. "Look Weasley- your a prefect remember? don't want to lose your badge now do you?" He said as he backed away. I smiled menacingly at the rodent. "You don't think I won't risk it?" I asked. He gulped. "MISS WEASLEY! MR MALFOY! MY OFFICE! NOW!" I dropped my wand as I heard Magonigall yell from behind me. I looked around to see her trudging up the hill. I paled, if possible, more than Malfoy. "Good job Wealsey- got us both busted." Scorpius mumbled. "I don't know WHAT you two think you are doing! But you need to get into my office this instant." We followed the headmistress reluctantly. When we arrived at her office she closed the door. "Sit." She said tartly, we sat. "Now I have had you two in my office too many times through the years! I made you prefects hoping you could over come your differences, last year went smoothly but I can tell I will need to do more to make you understand." I was holding my breath, waiting to be stripped of my prefect badge. "I will speak with the HB and HG, they will rearrange the patrol schedules so that everyone is with a different house prefect. And I will make sure you and you (she pointed at us) are now doing rounds together. I am sick of the Slytherin/Gryffindor prejudice! And I am sick of this Weasley/Malfoy battle! You two will do homework together, you will do rounds together, and you will convince people you are not childish! If I find out either of you have started anything again, you will lose your prefect badges. Do I make myself clear?" Her eyes were flashing, and her mouth was a thin line. We both nodded in agreement. "Good. Now get to class." We stood up and left. As we walked down the corridors I started to walk faster, my class was outside. But Scorpius was following me. "Is there something you want Malfoy?" I spat out bitterly. "Don't flatter yourself Weasley, I'm not following you. My class is outside as well." He said as he walked beside me. I rolled my eyes and trudged along trying to ignore his presence. "Oi! There ya are' Rosie! Mr. Malfoy." Hagrid beamed at me, and nodded towards Scorpius as we got closer to his hut. I froze in mid walk. "Problem Weasley?" Spat Malfoy bitterly. "Wait- THIS is your class?" I asked in horror. "Duh, so?" Scorpius asked crossing his arms. "Why? You hated this class!" I said. He shrugged his shoulders and glared at me, "Not that's it's any of your business, but it grew on me. So shut up." And he turned around and continued to walk towards Hagrid. I stared, open mouthed after him. "Rosie?" Hagrid asked from a distance. I shook my head and ran towards Hagrid. Why the hell is Malfoy still taking Care of Magical Creatures? There were only 5 people who took this class. Jake, Scorpius, me, and two Hufflepuffs. Not many people take this class after fourth year because they think Hagrid is crazy with the animals, but I've always loved the class, but Malfoy has made it perfectly clear a number of times he hates it! So why is he here? "Alrigh' kids. Welcome to NEWT level in Care o' Magical Creatures. This year' I'll have yea deal wit' the big critters." We all nodded in understanding, the Hufflepuffs looked hesitant but nodded. "If yea' would follow me." He waved his giant dust bin sized hand and started to walk towards the forbidden forest. I followed without hesitation, but the others stopped moving. "We're going INSIDE the forest?" A Hufflepuff asked in a shaky voice. Hagrid looked at his small class with sad eyes, "o' course! That's where our lesson is today." Hagrid said a little weak. Scorpius thought about it for a moment but moved next to me, indicating he was ready to go inside the forest. The Hufflepuffs didn't move. And Jake looked like he'd be sick. "I'll go Hagrid." I said bravely. Scorpius nodded in agreement. Jake looked at me, then the forest, then back at me. He had a weird expression on his face, but he took a deep breath and walked up next to me. "Looks like someone has an admire." Scorpius mumbled in my ear. "Shove off Malfoy." I whispered angrily. Hagrid took a deep breath, "Look 'ear! If your too much of a coward to go in, then get outa my class!" Hagrid said firmly. I smiled, he never stood up for himself in class, people were always scared and he would second guess his lessons. But today he stood up for himself. The Hufflepuffs swallowed hard, and took shaky steps toward us. "Now follow me." Hagrid said, and we made our way into the forest. I had never been into the forest before, well not deep into the forest anyway. We walked longer then I thought we would, and the Hufflepuffs kept whispering behind me. "I can't believe he's making us go this far in here! What if some werewolf attacks!?" One of them whispered to the other. My fists clenched and unclenched. I took a deep breath as I continued to walk behind Hagrid, I hated it when people made fun of his lessons. "Hagrid, how far is our lesson anyway?" I asked panting slightly as I climbed over a giant tree stump that twisted around the forest floor. "Not far now Rosie." He whispered. As we walked, I saw Jake walking only two feet behind me, I could feel his eyes watching my every move and it made me uncomfortable. I stopped walking and he ran right into me. "Do you think you could give me a little space?" I asked as politely as I could. He smiled awkwardly and nodded his head. I continued to walk, Jake now a good yard away. I could hear sniggering and looked next to me to see Malfoy with a hand over his mouth as he tried to hold in laughter. "And what's so funny?" I asked slightly annoyed. He took a deep breath and smirked, "Oh nothing. Just seems like your having a little trouble keeping your boyfriend in check is all." He said with a shrug of his shoulders. I felt my ears go red from anger. "He's not my boyfriend Malfoy." I spat out bitterly. He shrugged his shoulders, "Does he know that?" He asked sarcastically. I glared at Malfoy, and smirked. "What's wrong Malfoy? Jealous?" Malfoy tripped over a tree root and fell to the ground. I started to laugh as I continued to walk ahead of him. I almost bumped into Hagrid when he stopped walking and pulled out an odd pipe looking thing. It was hard to see it, seeing as how we were now so deep in the forest that I couldn't see the sun or sky through the thick bramble of trees. There was a sharp whistle, I could barley hear it. And then I heard the loud thudding of hooves. "Hagrid- those arnt- how did you-?" Hagrid beamed at me through the darkness. Then I saw the silhouettes of men, but they weren't all men. Soon we were surrounded by centaurs. "Hagrid..." Said one of the centaurs, he moved forward to shake Hagrids hand. As he walked forward, he passed under a ray of light that broke through the dark trees and I could see he was almost pure white, with platinum blonde hair. Not like Malfoys though, his had a white glow to it. "Ello' Firenze." Hagrid said in a respectful tone. They shook hands, "I though' I would bring my students up here to meet yea' how are yea'?" The centaur Firenze stared into space and said in a mystified voice, "The stars are aligned quite lovely this evening, arnt they..." I saw Firenze look away from the sky and lock eyes with mine. He looked as if he was once beautiful, but age took over his pretty features. His ice blue eyes stared into my dark blue. Then he glanced at Scorpius. But then he looked at Jake. Not with the same curious look he gave Scorpius and I, but with an expression, almost like disgust. He looked back at me and Scorpius, "The worst has yet to come... Do not trust those who do not seem trust worthy... You have been warned." Then he signaled his heard, and they galloped away back into the dark forest. "Can't have much of a conversation with 'em can yer? Always speak in riddles they do." Me and Scorpius were looking at each other in confusion. Scorpius opened his mouth, but closed it again. "Your lesson was brilliant, Professor." I said as I forced my eyes away from Scorpius. "Yes, I agree." Scorpius said awkwardly. The Hufflepuffs were still shaking in the back and Jake looked like he was about to faint soon. "Al'righ class, back to the castle." And we all started to walk back. Scorpius kept shooting Jake suspicious glances. What had that centaur meant? "Firenze use to work up in the castle yer know." Hagrid was saying. "After the war, his heard took him back, and now he's the leader! Imagine that!" The forest was thinning and we soon found ourselves on the edge of the forest. "Visit me soon Rosie?" Hagrid asked. "Of course" I said with a smile. I started to walk back up the hill, but Malfoy called my name. I turned around to see him running after me. "What do you want?" I glared. "I already have to see you in rounds and when I study, I'd like to have a chance to not be around a rodent." I spat with venom. Scorpius glared at me, "I just wanted to give you your essay back." He said rudely. I rolled my eyes, "thanks to you! I need to go back to the library and re write it!" I yelled. He took a deep breath, reached into his robes, and pulled out a folded (and now wrinkled) piece of parchment. "Is that-?" I asked, my hope building up. "I picked your essay up and made a copy of it. I burned the copy to trick you. I wanted to make you mad for stepping on my robes." He said grumpily. He tossed me my essay, it wasn't destroyed after all! "I hate you so much!" I said in relief. He gave me an odd look, and started to walk up the slope. "Don't be late for rounds Weasley. I don't like to be kept waiting." And with those words he started to walk back to the castle leaving me alone and feeling puzzled.