Rose Weasley and the Sneaking Slytherin

Rose Weasley and the Sneaking Slytherin

"The Memory"

(Three months earlier)

Rose had been through enough for one day and she was at her breaking point. So when she discovered that the Gryffindor Beaters had been fighting in the locker room, and their poorly-aimed jinxes had damaged the showers beyond immediate repair, she howled.

Everyone else had already left while she was flying laps around the pitch. As a Weasley, she hated losing, and even more, she hated losing to Slytherin. They had only just lost, but Malfoy beat her to the Snitch by inches. When the whistle blew, he gave her a look that almost seemed apologetic before he slipped on his trademark smirk and flew down to his applauding housemates.

Stupid Scorpius, she thought viciously. He thinks he is so amazing... alright, well he is best in our year, next to me...Rose threw her gear into her locker, determined to stay upset, even as her thoughts turned to towards Scorpius' better qualities. If he weren't so bloody handsome, he wouldn't have such an ego. Sure, he might be the brightest wizard, and he is almost unbeatable at Quidditch, but if that git had at least one visible flaw it might knock him down a peg.

Rose got lost in her thoughts, as she headed out of the locker room. She dreaded the idea of walking all the way back up to the castle covered in sweat and mud. She made it all the way to the end of the pitch before an idea occurred to her.

She looked around, making quite sure that there was no one else on the grounds, before she snuck back towards the other House locker rooms. Surely all of the Slytherins are long gone, Rose justified. They probably have a party going on in their common room right now.

The redhead hurried in to the near-identical locker room. After a quick sweep of the room, she dashed off her filthy Quidditch robes and abandoned them on a bench. Better hurry, Weasley, she thought to herself. Don't want to get caught in here.

Unfortunately, as she grabbed a towel and headed towards their showers, she heard one of the faucets turn on.

Rose froze on the spot. Her wand was in her hand in seconds. Why the HELL did I come in here without my Invisibility Cloak? Damn! She tried to back up slowly, but when she turned to run she crashed into a locker. She fell back onto the ground, but she was on her feet in a matter of moments, clutching her forehead. When she got her eyes to focus, finally, they landed on a startling sight.

Scorpius was standing there, practically starkers, with one hand holding his wand at her and the other clutching a towel. Water dripped slowly from his hair, and his skin was flushed, most likely from stepping under the stream of steaming water.

For a moment all either of them could do was stare. Rose, without her robes, felt vulnerable, even though she was far more covered than her opponent. She started when she realized that she was staring at his gleaming chest. Stop it, you dolt! Don't look at him like that! The last thing you need right now is a duel.

But dueling was the last thing on her mind for possible activities. She had noticed the heat building in the room, despite steam no longer pouring from the showers. She was aware that they both had slowly lowered their wands. She had certainly observed the odd look in Scorpius' eyes that she was sure was mirrored in her own. She tried to put her finger on that look. Suddenly it came to her: hunger.

It was as if something snapped. Both hurtled towards one another as if they had been held back by slingshots. Her hands snaked through his damp hair as he flung his brawny arms around her small waist. He pushed her back with his body until her back slammed into the same locker that she bruised herself on. Rose did not have a long history of kissing, but as far as she could tell, there had never existed such a frenzied snog.

When they finally broke apart to breathe, the weight of the moment settled around them. They simply stood there, staring into one another's eyes and panting as their hearts and minds raced.

Rose was the first to speak. She blushed deeply as she uttered one word.

"Towel."

Scorpius was always full of surprises. None of the Weasleys or Potters had expected him to be as clever as he was, and they certainly were not prepared for him to be cordial. And if Rose had been asked to predict his response to her statement, she would never have guessed that he would laugh.

It was an easy laugh, one of comfort and a little of smugness. Rose bristled a bit at his disregard for her modesty, although she couldn't very well point that out, having just throttled him in his own locker room. Oh no, she worried, what kind of witch does he think I am?

Scorpius made quite sure he was firmly wrapped in his garment and backed away from Rose. He seemed to be comfortable, which only made Rose more uncomfortable. She didn't like the idea that this was a common experience for him.

"Right, well, sorry for barging into your shower - I mean, your locker room! I just needed to, you know, and Bell and Finnigan broke ours, and if it weren't for the mud, and oh look now it's on you, too, and I have to go!"

Flustered, Rose turned to march out of the Slytherin space. She halted at the door when she heard a noise that she was sure was another soft chuckle. She twisted around and crossed her arms over her chest, looking very much like her Aunt Ginny.

"I think we should just pretend this never happened. I don't need you judging me, thinking this has happened before or that it will ever happen again. We just... long week, you know, with end of term, and holidays coming up. Stressed and strained, that's us."

As she rambled, her anger grew inside her. He was just standing there! She may as well have been asking for help on a Potions essay in the library, for all his swagger.

Bloody wanker. Rose gave up on trying to talk her way out of the embarrassment she felt.

"Right, happy Christmas and all."

As she stormed out of the room, she heard the smirk in his voice as he said, "Yes, I dare say it will be."

~*~

(Now, on the beach)

So I know exactly how I got to this moment. And I have no idea how to get out of it. Or if I even want to.

Scorpius seemed to be waiting for an answer from her, but she was drawing an impressive blank.

"What's stopping you, Weasley?" he teased. His blond hair was lifting slightly in the sea breeze, distracting Rose. Without even thinking about it, she reached up and brushed it back, only realizing her action when she heard the small intake of breath that escaped his soft lips as he closed his ice blue eyes.

"Are you going to just go on pretending like that scene in the locker room never happened? I don't really want to do that anymore. Look, I know your dad hates my dad, and believe me, the feeling is mutual." He opened his eyes and looked into hers, smiling. "But from what I hear, Weasleys don't back down from a challenge. Where is that Gryffindor bravery, Rosetta? What's the worst that could happen?"

My dad could murder you and make it look like an accident.

"Why are you doing this, Scorpius?" The words were out of her mouth before she knew she'd spoken. Her cheeks colored in embarrassment. When the silence lasted, she chanced a look up, and the look on his face was unreadable.

"I see."

Two small words, and she felt like she had been torn in half. What do you see, I don't see anything? I'm so confused! She became even more alarmed when he stood suddenly and began brushing sand off of his trousers.

"Just tell me one thing, Weasley," he spit out without even looking at her, "is this because of a ridiculous family history that doesn't even involve us, or are you so blind that you can't recognize how desirable you are?"

"I--it's not that--I just didn't--"

"No, I suppose you didn't. And if the stories my dad tells are true, it sounds like you got your father's courage, not your mum's."

With this stinging comment, he turned to leave. He only got a few steps, though, before he fell over from an unexpected blow to the head.

"Don't you dare insult my father and then stumble away like a coward! You think my father wasn't brave? I've been hearing stories all o f my life, too, you prat! Of the three of them, my dad was the first one to ever risk his life for his friends, in their first year! Did you know that, you arrogant jerk? When my dad was standing up for what was right, your father was hiding behind his daddy's name and money! So DO NOT call my father a coward and expect me not to pummel you!"

She stormed away, ignoring his shouts as she made her way up to the raucous party. I'll show YOU who's a bloody coward, you jerk. Firewhiskey can't be too bad can it?

~*~

RW and the SS Chapter 02 4