Why Rose Weasley is always right

Summary: **Next Gen, fairly long oneshot.** Rose and a decidedly Slytherin-Scorpius. Trapped in a cupboard. At work. As you do. Fluff of course! (RW/SM)

Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine; they all belong to JK Rowling. I just like to play with them now and again.

Rating: K+

A/N: Eesh, it's been a while since I've posted a R/S fic! I'm sorry!!! Hope this makes up for it!

The most annoying thing about Rose Weasley, Scorpius pondered, was that she always thought she was right.

About every single bloody thing. It didn't matter if it was a work issue, an answer to a political question posed on the WWN or even an opinion garnered from a gossipy news article in the Daily Prophet: Rose ALWAYS had to be right.

At least three quarters of the time, he had to concede that she actually was right about said subject, but personally he much preferred the rare occasions when she was wrong and he could gleefully challenge her opinion, because then her freckled cheeks would gain a rosy hue and her blue eyes would darken and her breathing would---

"Scorpius? SCORPIUS! Are you actually listening to me?"

Scorpius jerked up his head from his parchment and eyed the red-head who stood over him with her hands on her hips, baleful annoyance oozing from her every pore. Merlin, she could be quite intimidating, even given their height difference. He quickly remembered where he was and most importantly who he was with.

"I'm listening to you Weasley," he finally drawled, tapping his quill and striving for nonchalance he just didn't feel, "your voice has taken on such a piercing shriek I'm sure even bats are able to detect it."

As Rose blew out her breath in a huff, glared at him and went back to discussing that day's agenda with the rest of her team, Scorpius mentally reminded himself not to daydream about the said object of his admiration when he was actually sat in said objects office.

…

As if it wasn't bad enough that the two of them had been in constant competition from their rival houses at school, another annoying thing about Rose Weasley was that she'd eventually been given a promotion- for a job that HE really wanted.

Life really wasn't fair sometimes, was it?

Scorpius had worked his bloody arse off right from the word go when the two Hogwarts graduates had been taken on at Gringotts as the only apprentice curse breakers, but to no avail. So now, three years on to know that he had to sit, day in day out and suffer the indignity of having Rose Weasley as his 'team leader' really was too bad.

If Scorpius was having a charitable day (which were few and far between nowadays), he had to admit that Rose did a good job. She was fair too- fairer than he probably would be in her position. At least she didn't rub his nose in it that he was only second-in-charge. It still stung though that he'd come second best- he'd really wanted that job. To prove he was good at something…

And if it wasn't punishment enough that Rose had to essentially be his boss- and they bickered on an almost daily basis and had done for the last god-knows-how-many-years, Scorpius was also head over heels in love with her, much as he tried to ignore that little fact. It was actually safe to say that he was pretty much obsessed with Rose Weasley.

Things couldn't actually get much worse, could they?

…

Rose Weasley wasn't exactly sure just when she had stopped seeing Scorpius Malfoy as her cousin's annoying best friend- all she knew was that somewhere amongst the constant rivalry, the teasing and his never-ending jibes and insults, she just had- and what was worse, she'd actually fallen for him!

He irritated the hell out of her of course- he always had done and she knew undoubtedly that he always would- no matter how strongly she felt about him, but that didn't make things any easier.

It was actually rather difficult being around him sometimes and not just because of his hostile behaviour. No, it was particularly awkward when she had her frequent 'naughty' thoughts about him unexpectedly in the office, usually when he was right there and had to censor her expression to that of a consummate professional. What was even worse was that he seemed so completely oblivious to her, especially as a woman.

Rose found herself taking her irritation out on him by being snappy in return, especially when he scarcely seemed to be listening to her team briefings or her instructions to him, spending much of the time staring blankly into space like he'd rather be anywhere but ensconced in her office. She wasn't sure what was worse- at least when they were arguing then they were actually communicating and he seemed to notice she was alive for a change.

Things actually couldn't get much worse, could they?

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

Scorpius wasn't actually sure what made him do it, blame the Slytherin in him- though later both he and Rose would look back and admit it was probably the most sensible thing he'd ever done, which was really saying something.

After their team meeting early that Friday morning, Scorpius lingered behind in Roses' office so she could give him some parchments she wanted him to look at. "I need your expertise," she'd told him, and his insides had done a little jump with pride, though he'd maintained a fairly straight face.

As she bent over to find something in the bottom drawer of her filing cabinet, Scorpius caught a flash of wand in her pocket and something- though-he-wasn't-quite-sure-what, made him discretely lift it from her robes and stuff it up his sleeve.

Scorpius wasn't a kleptomaniac you understand. Oh no- he just had plans. Plans he could now fully put into action. He could hardly believe his luck.

When Rose straightened up again, she didn't notice the triumphant gleam in his grey eyes, nor the smug expression on his face. Nor did she notice that her wand was gone from her pocket.

…

"Want a hand?"

Rose nearly jumped out of her skin as Scorpius appeared behind her in the archive cupboard later that day. "Gods, Malfoy! You frightened me!" she exclaimed, looking at his tall frame blocking the light of the doorway.

"Sorry," though he didn't exactly sound apologetic. "Just thought you might need some help finding the records."

Rose looked a little confused, "I come in here every lunchtime and you've never offered to help me before."

Scorpius shrugged evasively. "Well… if you don't want any help---" he turned away.

Rose looked at the mountain of files and folders and the thick stacks of parchment she'd been rooting through. "Malfoy…"

A beguiling smile lifted the corners of his mouth though he hid it well. "Yes?"

"If you don't mind giving up your lunch hour then I'd really appreciate a hand. It will be much quicker if both of us look for the information."

With a triumphant grin, Scorpius stepped inside, carefully closing the door behind him.

Rose was right: with the two of them, she obtained the documentation she needed in half the time, and to her surprise, Scorpius wasn't even a quarter as annoying as he usually was. He even told a joke that had her in fits of laughter. All in all, working in a small cupboard with Malfoy wasn't a bad way to spend her lunch hour after all.

"Thanks," she said with a small smile, tucking a red curl behind her ears as they made to head back to her office, parchments in hand.

He cocked his head. "For what?"

"For helping me, it was nice of you."

He inclined his head graciously then went to open the door. "You're welcome Weasley, I… uh-oh---"

Rose looked up at him. "Uh-oh?" she echoed. That didn't sound good.

Scorpius looked down at her uneasily. "The door's locked," he informed her, testing the handle again, then rattling the doorknob slightly harder and pushing at the strong oak frame. "The lock must have jammed in the other side. Hmm... maybe this is the archive cupboard door that the caretaker was supposed to fix…"

Like he didn't already know.

"The door's locked?" Rose repeated, one eyebrow arching in a sceptical way that even when he was locked inside a cupboard in such a confined, dim space, Scorpius still found to be a complete turn-on.

Down boy, he mentally commanded himself.

"Yes. Locked," he repeated dolefully, straightening his face to an expression he hoped conveyed his usual boredom and distaste. "As in, I cannot open it. As in we are confined, as in---"

"I know what 'locked' means!" Rose was fairly bristling with annoyance by now. "Well, spell us out of here then," she huffed, rolling her eyes and leaning back against the wall, sidestepping piles of old spell books and crinkled yellowing parchments in the process and being careful not to snag her tights in the process. "Hurry up about it. I have a report that needs finishing by five o'clock."

"My wand is in my desk drawer," Scorpius said, the very picture of calm, "I don't carry it around with me when I'm on my lunch hour. Off duty and all that, you know. "What about yours?"

"Honestly!" Rose tutted scornfully, "could you be any lazier? Every witch and wizard knows that they should keep their wand about their person at all times. It was one of the very first things we learned at Hogwarts. Not to mention McGonagall drilled it into us on a daily basis." She reached into the pocket of her robes and the disdainful expression on her face quickly shifted to one of sudden panic. "My wand!"

"What about it?" Scorpius sighed looking beyond bored by now, "just get us out of here, Weasley. You know, Alohamora and all that jazz…"

"I would," Rose exclaimed frantically, "but my wand isn't---" she searched valiantly through her pockets; "I don't believe this--I've lost my wand!"

His expression turned taunting all of a sudden; "oh, really? Well, well. Tut-tut Weasley."

Rose looked positively furious at the malevolent look that had appeared in his mercury grey eyes. Infact, her own eyes were flashing in that dangerous way he liked so much; "don't you dare take that tone with me, Scorpius Malfoy," she hissed. "I don't know how on earth this has happened- my wand is always in my back pocket for easy access and---" the wheels were rapidly turning in her head as she slapped a palm against the wooden door triumphantly; "somebody took it."

Scorpius looked convincingly dubious; "who on earth would take your crappy wand?" he sniffed.

Rose was now pacing, which was difficult given the size of the cupboard and Scorpius had to keep stepping from side to side so she wouldn't crash into him or the multitude of folders stacked beside his long legs. She was a dynamo to be certain, and he wouldn't have been at all surprised to see sparks zapping from her blue eyes- she was definitely angry enough to cause a few fireworks.

Rose looked frustrated; "I don't know! But somebody definitely took it!" she insisted, "I'm careful with my things, Malfoy. I don't just leave them lying around---" she looked suddenly scornful again, "or put them in my desk drawer for people to snatch up on a whim. Besides, that wand isn't crappy. It was my grandmother's old wand and it seemed to do her alright during the battle of Hogwarts when she fought death eaters and the like." Her expression was pointed and Scorpius felt himself shrivel up slightly on the inside.

He wasn't his father and he certainly wasn't his grandfather.

Suitably chastened and feeling more than a bit uncomfortable by now, Scorpius slowly slid down onto a lopsided pile of discontinued spell books. "Oh," he said in a small voice, striving for dignity.

Maybe this had been a mistake.

"Why did you offer to help me today anyway?" Rose asked, clearly agitated as she sat down opposite him, trying to smooth down her robes but failing and growing flustered in her discomfort. "There was absolutely no reason for you to shut the door on us when all we were doing was hunting for old records. I swear Scorpius; I have never ever met anyone as annoying as you."

Scorpius mumbled something inaudible.

"What?" Rose snapped, finally losing patience.

He lifted his head hesitantly and his eyes met hers levelly; "I said: I took your wand. I lifted it from your pocket when you were gave me the parchment this morning."

Rose gaped at him disbelievingly as the words sunk in. "You----you---" she spluttered incredulously, jumping to her feet; "you took my wand? Why the hell would you want to---"

Scorpius got to his feet too, yanked her towards him and cut off the rest of her words with a searing kiss.

Oh, Rose thought, stunned but finally understanding as his lips met hers; so that's why he really came in here.

…

"I'm sorry," Scorpius said softly as he finally lifted his swollen mouth from hers.

Dazedly, Rose met his eyes, aware that she was gripping onto his biceps for dear life. Her usually sleek hair felt frazzled, her cheeks were flaming and her clothes felt rumpled beyond all repair and all they had done was kiss. Merlin, if Scorpius Malfoy was this good at kissing, Rose couldn't wait to find out what else he was good at.

He'd taken her wand and followed her in here, knowing they'd be trapped together with no means of escape. At least, with no way of getting out until a colleague or fellow team member went by- this was unlikely for some hours admittedly. This cupboard was remote and mainly used for archives. They could be in here for hours and hours until the cleaners came to shut up the building.

Scorpius Malfoy had just kissed her.

Roses' eyebrows rose somewhere into her hairline as her brain finally caught up with the rest of her. Her stomach fluttered uncontrollably.

She wet her lips and opened her mouth to confront him, to tell him what an idiot he was, but most unusually for her, no actual words came out.

Scorpius was still talking; "I know---I know you don't like me very much," he admitted ruefully, "I—I know I can be a bit of a pain sometimes and you just see me as your cousin's annoying friend… and I'm sorry I nicked your wand. If it helps- it's locked in my drawer and there's a disillusionment charm on it so no one's going to find it. If I'd known it was so important to you and belonged to your grandmother I never would have---"

"Shut up." Her eyes were steely, not exactly passion filled like he'd hoped. He watched, his heart sinking as she slowly shook her head in disbelief.

"I cannot believe you, Malfoy," she burst out hotly, "I might not have a wand on me but I certainly don't object to kicking you in the balls for this! You've spent the last Merlin knows how many years annoying me beyond measure. You've competed with me, deliberately vanished my homework just so you'd get better marks than me…"

Scorpius gulped in sudden disappointment. Maybe they weren't on the same page after all and he'd honestly thought she actually liked that kiss- she'd certainly responded at least; "ok," he said in a small voice, turning away, his shoulders slumping in despair. He'd take whatever insults she hurled at him: he deserved it. Then after today, he would apparate to a far away place and never ever think of her again.

Or at least try not to think of her.

"Then today was the culmination of everything," Rose continued furiously and now her eyes sparkled and her tone was indecipherable; "you steal my wand and get rid of your own and follow me into a cupboard when you know we're going to be locked in…" her voice was turning silky all of a sudden, he noticed. It still did funny things to Scorpius' nether-regions, even though he knew she was absolutely furious with him. His heart thudded in despair.

"…I think that has to be worth about a million kisses…"

Scorpius jerked his head up in shock, unable to believe what he was actually hearing. What?

"I—I'm forgiven?" he stammered, scarcely believing his luck as he gazed down at her in awe, at her suddenly smiling face. "Really? Because I---"

This time he was the one who was shut up mid-sentence- by Rose standing on tiptoes and pressing her own mouth hotly to his.

"Shut up you prat," she whispered between fervent kisses as she threaded her fingers through his blond hair and pulled him ever closer to her; "I can think of much better things to be doing in here than talking, can't you?"

Today was one time that Scorpius really didn't mind admitting that Rose was right.

HPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHPHP

A/N:Reviews are love!

Also, whilst you're here, I'd like to take the opportunity to tell you that I've just posted the first couple of chapters of my new story "Skin Deep." It's a multi-chapter fic featuring Oliver Wood and Lavender Brown (random ship I know) and I'd love to know what you think!