The first thing he ever said to her was, "I dare you to kiss that toad!"

It was the first day of class and they were next to each other in Herbology. Professor Longbottom, always the strange man, had at least a dozen toads that he allowed to roam the greenhouses. One of them hopped into Scorpius Malfoy's view and he glanced at the girl next to him. His father had pointed her out before he boarded the Hogwarts Express. She was a Weasley, he'd explained, an unmistakeable note of contempt in his voice.

Scorpius wasn't sure what, exactly, being a Weasley meant, other than having a surname that sounded like weasel and the reddest hair he'd ever seen. He didn't know what her name was, but he tapped her on the shoulder and said it. "I dare you to kiss that toad!"

She looked at him and he gulped, though he wasn't sure why. There was something about her stare, an intensity that made him feel like she was challenging him. "Fine," she said confidently, reaching down and picking up the squirming toad.

He watched in awe as the red-haired girl planted a kiss on its head. "Rose!" scolded Professor Longbottom from the front of the room.

"Sorry, Neville," she replied, sounding thoroughly unapologetic, smirking at Scorpius.

Rose. That was her name.

After their initial encounter, Scorpius made it his personal mission to torment Rose Weasley as often as possible.

She often sat in front of him in class, her long red hair in perfectly symmetrical pigtails, and he felt he had no choice but to tug on them. He wasn't rough; he only pulled hard enough to get her attention. She would turn around and he would start writing innocently, as though the idea of disturbing her had never even occurred to him. But he could never resist catching her eye when she glared at him, because that sharp stare always made his stomach feel light and his heart speed up and he wasn't sure what those feelings were, but he relished them.

Whenever they were in the Common Room at the same time, Rose made a point to sit as far away from him as possible. Since she wasn't close enough for him to pull her hair, Scorpius would ball up spare pieces of parchment and toss them at her, then go back to his homework. Sometimes, she would retaliate, but for the most part, she just frowned at him.

One day, on the way out of Potions, he asked, "Why aren't you in Gryffindor like the rest of the Weasleys were?" He thought it was a harmless, offhand comment.

She apparently didn't think so, because her big blue eyes started to water and she shoved past him, red pigtails swinging as she ran off.

He decided to follow her, wanting to apologize. He hadn't meant to make her cry. Scorpius enjoyed teasing Rose because it was fun, but he hadn't realized he was saying something hurtful. It was just a joke.

"—and he's always pulling my hair, and throwing things at me!" she was saying to Professor Longbottom, while Scorpius lurked just outside the greenhouse, unseen to either of them. "And—and—and, he made fun of me for being in Slytherin. He's in Slytherin too, so—so—why does he hate me so much?"

He didn't hate her! He just liked messing with her.

"He doesn't hate you, Rosie," Professor Longbottom said gently.

"Yes he does!" she insisted, sniffling. "He made me kiss a toad!"

"He doesn't hate you," he laughed. "He likes you."

Two days later, Scorpius experienced the worst thing that could happen to a Hogwarts student over breakfast.

It was a red envelope, and he frantically wracked his brain, trying to think of anything he could have done recently to elicit such anger from his parents. Cautiously, he opened it, and an unfamiliar voice shouted, "IF YOU EVER MAKE MY DAUGHTER CRY AGAIN, I WILL END YOU!"

Mortified, he fled, his face warm; he knew everybody had heard the message he assumed was from Rose's father. Howlers were a large source of amusement for anyone not on the receiving end.

"I'm sorry," whispered a small voice once he stopped running.

He turned and, of course, Rose was standing there. She was smiling but her cheeks were the color of her name.

"How did he know?" he hissed. "You told your dad I made you cry? I was only joking!"

"I'm sorry," she repeated. "I wrote to Mum to tell her that Neville told me—" She broke off, but then shrugged and continued confidently, "That Neville told me the reason you're mean is because you like me."

"I don't like you," he snapped. "I don't hate you, though," he added. "It's just fun to watch you get mad."

She seemed awfully smug, as though his response only confirmed her suspicions.

On the train ride at the beginning of their second year, Rose found him alone in a compartment and sat down without waiting for an invitation. "Can we be friends?" she asked.

He looked at her. Her bright hair was in a single long braid, but he no longer had the urge to yank it. There was a loose strand falling over her forehead that she kept determinedly blowing out of the way. He deduced that she had spent a good amount of time outside over the summer, as her face was peppered with new freckles. She still had the same look in her eyes, a piercing and harsh stare, and he felt his stomach do a somersault. "I'd like that," he said at last.

"Good. Mum said I need to do a better job at making friends, since Al and Neville are the only people I talked to much last year, and she thinks it's time I branched out because I need friends that aren't my cousin and a professor," she babbled.

Scorpius noticed that she waved her hands a lot when she talked, and he found himself mesmerized by the way her long fingers seemed to dance in the air.

"You know," Rose said mildly. "You're already to proving to be a rather lousy friend. You're not listening to me at all!"

"Sorry," he muttered, shaking his head. "What were you saying?"

"I was saying that I can't believe Binns gave us such a boring essay for the summer. I fell asleep writing the first sentence!" She looked at him, expecting an agreement.

"I like History of Magic," he mumbled. "I thought the essay was interesting." Professor Binns was terribly dry, but the content in the books was fascinating, he thought.

"Maybe you're the one who doesn't belong in Slytherin," she mused, grinning.

Being friends with Rose proved to be a good decision, indeed. It gave Scorpius plenty of opportunities to poke fun at her, and she often teased him right back, sometimes causing his heart to skip a beat. The girl had a good sense of humor, something he could certainly appreciate. By January, he'd given her a nickname, calling her Thorn whenever she was being particularly annoying. She didn't seem to mind, even smiling slightly whenever he called her that.

Sometimes, he still pulled her hair, though not nearly as often as he had the previous year. She would roll her eyes and trip him in the corridor later, laughing as he tried to regain his balance, and the sound of her laugh was the most beautiful song he'd heard, a melody that echoed in his mind as he was drifting off to sleep, and he knew for a fact that he didn't hate Rose Weasley one bit.

Over the summer, Rose grew four inches, and this was the first thing Scorpius noticed when she joined him on the train. He hadn't grown at all. "You're tall!" he exclaimed.

"Shut it," she growled. "That's all I've heard from this one for months." She pointed to the short boy next to her. "This is my brother Hugo," she explained. "It's his first year."

Still gawking at Rose's height, Scorpius extended a hand to him. "I'm Scorpius," he said pleasantly.

Hugo wrinkled his nose in disgust. "Scorpius Malfoy? Dad told me all about you!" He turned to his sister. "You're friends with Malfoy?" he accused.

She sat down and grinned. "I wouldn't go that far. We're casual acquaintances at best."

"Don't flatter yourself, Weasley. We're hardly even acquaintances, really. She just uses me and copies my essays," he lamented to Hugo.

"That was one time!" she yelled defensively. "And I didn't copy it! I put it in my own words! I would never copy!"

"'Oh, Scorpius, I don't even know where to begin on this essay for Binns! Can you help me?'" he mocked. "Every. Damn. Time."

"It's not my fault you cave so easy, and I do not sound like that. Where are you going?" she demanded when Hugo slid open the door.

"I'm going to go find Lily or Al. You two are worse than Mum and Dad."

Rose's face flushed red but she gave no indication that she'd heard him. "So," she said once he was gone. "Hogsmeade this year."

"Right," Scorpius agreed. "Should be fun." He was fighting back a smile at what Hugo had said.

"Well, I was thinking that maybe, since we're friends and all, we should go together."

It was brisk the day of the first trip to Hogsmeade. Rose seemed to take an eternity to get ready. When she finally joined everyone in the Great Hall, Scorpius felt like all the air had been sucked out of his lungs. She was wearing a blue jumper that accented her eyes, and her hair was swept over one shoulder, still damp.

"Sorry I didn't meet you in the Common Room," she said, sighing dramatically. "I overslept and Elizabeth took the longest shower. What are you staring at?" She glanced down at her clothes self-consciously.

He'd been watching a bead of water make its way down her sleeve. "I was zoned out," he lied. "What was that about Elizabeth?"

"I really don't know why I put up with you," she laughed as they made their way to the village. "You never listen to me."

"I do listen to you," he argued. "You think Muggle Studies is silly, but you feel obligated to take it because your mum is Muggle-born. I listened to you talk about that for an hour. I think I know as much about Muggle Studies as you by now, and I'm not even taking the class!"

"Fair point. You don't have to listen to all my rants. You're allowed to tell me when to shut up. I know I can go on a bit."

"A bit?" he teased, not wanting to tell her that he liked when she ranted, because her voice took on a different quality when she was fired up about something, matching her eyes in intensity. "C'mon, Rose, as your best friend, I have to be honest with you: you talk more than anyone I've ever met."

"Well then, as your best friend," she countered, holding open the door to the Three Broomsticks. "I have to be honest with you. You tend to bore me to tears when you talk so much about history."

After they got their drinks, they found an empty table. "History is interesting," Scorpius insisted. "If you read about any of it, you'd understand."

Rose took a swig of butterbeer. "Keep telling yourself that." She waved at James and Albus, who, unlike her brother, accepted her friendship with Scorpius. They weren't too fond of her, but they knew the value of having a close friend in your own house.

"Our parents are all part of history, you know," he said quietly. "My dad, he's on the wrong side of history, of course, and his name won't always be remembered. But your parents, centuries from now, that's who they'll be learning about in History of Magic. Binns will tell the story of the war and the battle that took place at Hogwarts and how your parents helped save the world."

Rose chuckled. "You really think Binns will still be teaching?"

"I know you don't pay much attention," he said seriously. "But surely you've noticed that he's dead. He's not going anywhere."

She grinned. "Your dad came around in the end. That's what Uncle Harry told me. He said that if it wasn't for your dad's mum, they probably wouldn't have won the war that night."

"That was my grandma, not my dad, though. The Malfoys are all about self-preservation. Your dad, he was a hero. Your mum was a hero. Your aunts and uncles and your entire family were heroes. My family only switched sides to save their own lives, not anyone else's."

"Can you just let me try and make you feel better?" she whined. "You don't have to argue all the time. He said the entire world owes their lives to Narcissa Malfoy, and that should be enough for you, okay?"

He expected her to be scowling at him, but she wasn't. She looked concerned, and he softened. "Whatever you say, Rosie."

They both stayed at the castle over Christmas. It was the first year they exchanged gifts, and Scorpius agonized over what to get her. He eventually decided on something funny, because anything that could make her laugh was a good thing.

They were the only ones in the Common Room on Christmas morning. Rose opened hers first and burst out laughing, just as he had hoped. "Are you serious?" she yelped, holding up the stuffed toad with an expression of absolute disbelief.

He just smirked, opening his to find that she'd gotten him the exact same thing.

"I dare you to kiss it!" she shrieked gleefully, still laughing.

Later, Scorpius found himself knocking on the door to Professor Longbottom's office.

"What can I do for you?" he asked kindly, pointing to an empty chair.

He sat down, not meeting his professor's eye. "I need advice."

His brow furrowed. "The homework I assigned isn't too tough, is it? I thought the essay was a little advanced, but—"

"No, no, it's not the essay," Scorpius assured him. "It's, well, you seem easy to talk to, and I—well, I overheard Rose Weasley crying to you a couple years ago and you gave her advice, so I thought you could help me."

"What seems to be the problem?" he asked, doing his best to hide his amusement.

"Well, I like this girl, but—" She's my best friend. I only just realized I liked her this morning. Her father isn't too fond of me. She's a Weasley, for Merlin's sake! "—she's taller than me."

"You're still growing. You'll probably be taller than Ms. Weasley by the fall, so I wouldn't worry too much about it if I were you."

"Really? I— wait, who said anything about Rose?"

Neville's prediction came true; Scorpius had a massive growth spurt that summer and was still getting used to it when September rolled around.

"I reckon I'll have to start calling you Beanpole," were the first words out of Rose's lips when she caught sight of him.

"Nice to see you too, Thorn." He flopped into a seat on the train.

"You know I hate when you call me that."

He nodded. "Why else would I call you that?"

She stuck her tongue out at him. "You will never guess what happened!"

"You stayed quiet for a whole ten minutes?"

"I hate you. No, Michael Goyle asked me out!"

Oh. He hadn't been expecting to hear that. It wasn't a surprise, of course, that somebody else had spotted her good looks, but Scorpius wasn't sure if he'd ever seen the two of them having a real conversation. Had Michael noticed the freckles that dotted her nose and cheeks, and the way she always left a small lock of hair hanging loose, and the ever-present fire in her eyes? "What did you say?"

"I said yes; I'm going to Hogsmeade with him next month. I know we always go together—you don't mind, right?" she asked worriedly.

"Of course not!"

Rose's relationship with Goyle fizzled quickly, but the relief that washed over Scorpius was short-lived. Other boys were starting to notice her, and every time Scorpius thought he'd plucked up enough courage to confess his feelings, someone else beat him to it.

He endured this for the next year or so until she finally started steadily dating a Hufflepuff named Alex. He didn't have a problem with Alex—in fact, they got along great. Still, he often wished that he hadn't waited.

"I should've told her sooner," he sighed.

"Scorpius," said Neville sternly. "We've been over this; I'm happy to give you advice—"

"As long as I make myself useful," he finished, picking up a spray bottle and misting the nearby plants. "What am I supposed to do?"

"You wait. If you really like her as much as you say you do, you'll wait. Don't try to sabotage—not that you would; you're better than that. But if they break up, just be there for her as her best friend. Don't try to rush anything. Eventually, you're going to have to tell her how you feel, though, because it's your own fault she doesn't know. If you'd admitted it years ago, I'm sure she would've been more than happy to keep going to the Three Broomsticks with you. She just kind of gave up on you."

"How do you know that?" he asked.

Neville laughed. "You don't think you're the only student that comes to me for advice, do you? I'm everyone's favorite professor."

It was September of their seventh year when she caught Alex cheating.

"So we had a quiz in Muggle Studies today," Rose fumed. "And I look over, and Alex is copying my answers word for word!"

Scorpius wasn't sure what to say. "Er—"

"So naturally, I confronted him about it, because what kind of Hufflepuff cheats off of someone, and he said he thought I knew! That since I sometimes get your help on essays, he thought I was okay with him copying directly off me! He said he's been doing it since fifth year! And in other classes, too! And he thought I knew! Merlin, if I'd known, I would've broken up with him ages ago!"

He tried to catch up. "You broke up with him?"

"What was I supposed to do? Stay with that bastard? I would've helped him study if he'd asked! I would've been happy to help him! All he had to do was ask, and he didn't do that, so he took the coward's way out and cheated!"

Scorpius knew Rose took a lot of pride in her work. While he often made fun of how much he helped her out on essays, she worked hard to keep her grades as high as they were. She earned them. So he could easily see why she would make a snap decision and end a relationship over something like that. But as her friend, he had to ask, "Don't you think you should give him a chance to explain himself better?"

"I can't believe you're taking his side!" she snapped furiously.

Scorpius was finishing his patrol when he saw somebody slip through the door leading outside. He frowned; he wasn't really in the mood to give anyone detention, but he had a duty to at least check and see who it was.

As it turned out, it was Rose, stumbling in the dark, clutching what appeared to be a bottle. "Rose!" he called.

When he reached her, he saw what a bad state she was in. The bottle of firewhiskey she was holding was nearly empty. "Do you remember the first thing you said to me?" she asked, her words slightly slurred.

"I dared you to kiss a toad," he replied.

"And I did," she said glumly, swaying on the spot.

"You were eleven. It's not like you knew any better."

She shook her head. "Everyone knows better than to kiss a toad, but I did it anyway. I've kissed a lot of toads."

He had no idea where she was going with this, and could only assume it was the alcohol speaking.

"Michael was a toad. They've all turned out to be toads. Alex is a toad, isn't he?" She made a face. "Mum used to read me this story when I was little, about a princess who kissed a frog, and the frog turned out to be a prince. I guess it doesn't work that way with toads. They always stay the same."

"Rosie, I think you need to get some rest."

"You're not a toad," she said suddenly, and though her eyes were unfocused, she was staring at him. "What happens if I kiss you?"

Her skin was glowing in the moonlight and her hair was just a little messy and her eyes still had their usual gleam and he wanted nothing more than to kiss her, but when she started to lean in, he took a step back. "You're drunk," he whispered. "And if I let you kiss me just because you're sad and lonely and drunk, then I'm just as much of a toad as the rest of them."

"You don't—I thought you l—" She stopped, and Scorpius thought she was going to cry, but she doubled over as the firewhiskey started making its way back out of her system. He instinctively crouched next to her, holding her hair out of harm's way.

"You okay?" he asked after she straightened up again.

Rose nodded and then shook her head. "I don't know," she confessed.

He took her by the wrist and led her back inside. "You'll feel better in the morning, I promise."

"If I was sober, would you want to kiss me?"

The question took him by surprise, though it shouldn't have. "Yes," he said honestly. "I've wanted to kiss you for a long time."

"Then why haven't you before? I waited for ages! Neville kept telling me that, that you were just shy! That you'd admit it eventually. But you never did, so I figured he was just wrong."

He didn't answer her, just kept silently walking alongside her until they got back to the Slytherin Common Room. "I'll be down here for a while if you need anything," he said, watching with concern as she slowly went upstairs to her dormitory.

He wanted to believe what she'd said, but she'd been drinking and more than likely wouldn't remember anything she'd said. So he tried to push the thought of her out of his mind, opening his Charms book.

"Can you braid my hair for me?"

Scorpius glanced up to find that Rose was back. "I sleep with it in a braid," she explained. "But my fingers aren't working right tonight."

He patted the seat next to him on the couch. "C'mon. I'll give it a try."

She sat facing away from him. "I thought the first time we went to the Three Broomsticks together was a date," she said as he combed his fingers through her hair. "But Neville said we had to both know it was a date for it to actually be one. Besides, we were thirteen. We weren't old enough to go on a date."

Scorpius didn't respond. He wasn't entirely sure how to braid hair, but he gave it his best shot.

"I wanted to ask you, but I was scared you'd say no because maybe you were just being friendly. And then after I told you about Michael and you didn't seem even a little jealous, I wondered if Neville was wrong all along. You never tried to kiss me or asked me on a date or anything, and I gave up."

When he finished, he admired the sloppy braid, and then tugged on the end of it, something he hadn't done in years. "Rosie, I've liked you ever since, well, I don't know when I first started liking you, but it's been a long time. I'd love to think that you mean all of these things that you're saying, because that would be one of the best things that could possibly happen, but it's late and you're drunk."

She sighed and stretched out, laying her head on his shoulder. "When I sober up, remind me to tell you something important," she mumbled.

"Wake up!" Rose chirped loudly.

"How the hell are you so chipper?" Scorpius grumbled, his eyes still shut.

"Elizabeth gave me a hangover potion. I've been up for over an hour." She prodded his shoulder. "Get up!"

"What is it?" He was always irritable right after waking up.

"I meant everything I said last night."

Scorpius started to smile. "Was that the important thing you needed to tell me?"

"No, but this is." Rose took a deep breath and grinned. "I dare you to kiss me."

Sorry for the bad description. I hope y'all like this!