A/N: Happy birthday, dearest Abbebi! This one's for you, lovely :)

The Bet

"Four."

"Ha! Come off it, mate. Three, and that's at her best."

"Eyes aren't half bad."

"Yeah, neither is her mouth."

"But everything else..."

"Still wouldn't turn her down inside a broom closet though, would you?"

Scorpius scoffed, one arm lazily draped over the side of his armchair in the Ravenclaw common room as he joined the conversation. "Don't know how desperate you lot are, but I'd shut the door and never look back."

The other boys laughed appreciatively, Al shaking his head with amusement still in his eyes. "You're awful, Scorp."

"Here come a...seven. And six," remarked Teddy Cooper as a pair of fifth years entered the common room, different shades of brown hair in identical pigtails.

"Not bad. Not bad at all. The taller one's got a nice look about her, more like an eight I think." Henry glanced over at the others' reactions before sitting up and paying the girl some more attention.

"Go for it, Henry," advised Scorp with mock solemnity, noticing the look. "You staked a claim. Eights don't come along too often, you know."

Al rolled his eyes affectionately at the hormonal teenage boys, eyes wide open for any potential. "You know this is wrong on so many levels, right? Objectifying women and all that?"

"It's just a bit of fun, mate. It's not like your sister's here or anything." Teddy looked over slyly at Henry, who immediately grinned.

"Though you know, I wouldn't mind it if she were," he added quickly. "She may be only a fourth year, but..."

"Merlin, she got the looks of the family!" finished Scorp with a smirk, reaching over and tousling Al's already messy dark hair.

"A definite ten, I know, I know," scowled Al as he wiped his glasses on the edge of his shirt before righting them on the bridge of his nose. "Let's not go there."

"Shall we talk about Emily instead then?" Scorp said with a satisfied smile, watching as his friend's cheeks tinged with color and a nervous hand shot up in an attempt to flatten his hair back down. "I knew it."

"In fact, here she comes now!" announced Teddy, jerking his head in the direction of the stairs to the girls' dormitories, where Emily Bennet was animatedly chatting with Rose Weasley on their way down.

"Oh, shut it," muttered Al, clearing his throat. "Can't we change the subject?"

"To what, your cousin?" suggested Henry wryly. "Six. Seven when she's smiling, perhaps."

"You think so?" The words left Scorp's mouth on reflex, startling himself as well as the others.

"Well, I did," replied Teddy, a hint of surprise in his voice, "but if you think otherwise, do share. I'm dying to hear."

Al tore his eyes away from the girls for a moment to lift his eyebrows at the blond in anticipation. "You were saying, Scorp?"

"Er, nothing," he said, cursing his impulsive mouth. "Just that a smile doesn't change much, really. Six overall, I think."

"I don't think that's what you were saying at all," began Teddy slowly. "In fact - "

" - if I didn't know better," interjected Henry. "It almost seemed -

" - like you were maybe, possibly, probably - "

" - interested in a particular sort of way - "

" - in my cousin." Al's bright green eyes were piercing behind his glasses, a spark of interest igniting in them.

"I-I wouldn't dream of it," Scorp tried to say with as cool a demeanor as he could muster. "Obviously I couldn't care less for Rose Weasley."

"Obviously," the boys chorused mockingly, shooting each other looks that surely meant Scorpius was in trouble.

"So if you were to, say, woo Miss Weasley, as it were, you would find it...well, rather funny, wouldn't you?" Henry's expression was comically innocent for such a ridiculous question, really. Scorpius snorted at the thought.

"Funny? Stupid, more like."

"Well see here, it would be funny, obviously, because it'd only be a joke, and those are always funny. This wouldn't be any different...right?" Teddy elbowed Scorp, nudging him with a laugh nestled in the corner of his mouth.

"Well, when you put it like that...I suppose not," admitted Scorp reluctantly, silently begging Al to object.

"So if we were to place a wager on how well you could potentially...seduce...dear Rosie - well, it would be quite fun, don't you think?"

So much for being a protective family member, thought Scorpius viciously.

"That would depend on the wager," he said slowly instead, keeping his face empty of any strange feelings that might be forming in his stomach for no particular reason.

"Ten days - "

"Why not just tonight?"

"As if!"

"A week?"

"It's Saturday night, in a week that's already Hogsmeade weekend."

"Perfect then!"

"She'll already have made plans, he won't stand a chance."

"Fine. Five days?"

"Including today?"

"Why not? Put him to the test."

"Right then. Five days - "

"Four really, but who's counting?"

"To convince the Perfect Prefect - "

"Miss Teacher's Pet - "

"Ravenclaw's Princess - "

"Bloody Goody-Two Shoes - "

"Oi, ease up."

"Right. Miss Rose Weasley, that is - "

"To go with you to Hogsmeade a week from today."

"As more than friends - "

"As a couple, in fact - "

"A kiss would be nice - "

"And in return - "

"Ten Galleons - "

"Each."

"I don't need money," answered Scorp, relieved to have a way out of such an intense bet. "There's really no incentive there."

"Your pride's at stake, mate."

"Can't you make all the girls fall at your feet?"

"So they say."

"Perhaps they're lying then."

"Coward."

"We'll do the same," spoke up Al, ending the snickers between Teddy and Henry. "You can pick a girl for each of us, and we'll have to ask them to Hogsmeade as well. Any girl in the school."

Scorp couldn't help it - his eyes lit up at the prospect. Oh, the entertainment of watching Teddy ask out the Slytherin Ice Queen, or laughing as Al finally confronted his feelings for Emily...

"But you'll have to succeed first." Scorp's fantasies ended abruptly as Al spoke again, just as the clock began to chime.

"Six o'clock, Saturday evening." Henry scrawled the time onto a spare bit of parchment, tucking it into his robes. "You've got 'til this time on...Wednesday then. Why, you'll be taking dear Rosie to dinner in a week's time...if you can manage it."

Scorp grimaced as his friends laughed at him, high fiving one another for coming up with such a brilliant idea to watch Scorp humiliate himself.

But he wouldn't, of course. Scorpius Malfoy, sixth year Ravenclaw prefect, top of the class (well...Rose excepted, maybe), Quidditch Chaser, and good looks with a healthy dose of Malfoy pride? Any girl didn't stand a chance.

He looked at his grinning friends, a growing smirk on his face. Challenge accepted. He'd show them.

"Morning, Rose." Scorpius greeted her with a crooked half-smile at breakfast, seating himself across from her in the Great Hall. "Weekend going alright?"

Rose looked at him blankly for a moment. Surely she had been imagining how he seemed to watch her at dinner last night, grey eyes meeting hers far more than usual.

And yet...here he was. Again.

"Er...lovely." She took a sip of orange juice, surveying him over the edge of her glass. "What's up with you?"

His eyebrows were delicately raised. "Who said anything was up?"

"The fact that you're talking to me." Her fingers played with the end of her braid a little, a small frown creasing her face. "It's not about prefect patrols, is it?"

Scorpius winced, his mouth twitching momentarily. "Aren't we friends, Rose?"

She couldn't help but let out a laugh. "Friends? Until yesterday I was fairly sure that we hated each other."

"Hated each other?" he repeated, sounding almost surprised, if Rose didn't know any better.

"Well...privately, I suppose. Civil in general due to common courtesy," she said more thoughtfully. "And because of Al and prefect duties, of course. But not exactly 'hey, let's have a chat over breakfast,' kind of acquaintances."

Scorpius looked utterly crestfallen all of a sudden. "You must be joking."

"Joking about what?" Al nodded to them both, sliding in next to Rose and taking a generous helping of toast and bacon. "You seem a bit tense, Scorp."

The blond grimaced at his friend, ignoring the comment and re-focusing on Rose. "Look, just because our parents don't get on that great and we compete with schoolwork and your mum's a Mudblood - "

Al choked on his bite of sausage as Rose's ears began to flame. "Excuse me?"

"I didn't - that's exactly what I was saying, all that doesn't mean I hate you - "

"How generous of you," retorted Rose, angrily setting down her knife and fork. "It's a shame that I hate you nonetheless."

Al snorted from behind his napkin, green eyes laughing at her when Rose shot a sideways glare at him.

"Oh, you don't mean that," Scorpius replied, his flickering eyes belying the confident tone of his voice.

"Wanna bet?" Her tone was scathing as she stood up to leave, tossing her napkin on the table.

"I think he's got enough on his plate," Al choked out in between more chuckles. "Besides, Scorp isn't one to bet unless he knows he can win, right?"

A subtle look passed between the two unlikely friends, one that Rose attempted to decipher before rolling her eyes and stepping over the bench to leave.

"Please don't go."

Rose automatically froze, turning to look at Scorpius. His voice was soft, almost pleading. She had never heard him sound so...vulnerable before.

"It's just that we hardly ever get a chance to catch up with one another," he continued, flashing Rose a crooked smile. "I'd hate for you to leave so soon, especially after a misunderstanding."

Bewildered as she was by this behavior, her stance softened, and she was almost on the verge of resuming her seat (if only to find out what it all meant) when Al spoke.

"Oh, Scorp! What a charmer you are." He shook his head ruefully at his best friend, a mischievous smile on his face. "Didn't you learn anything from Helena Barlow's refusal the other day?"

She drew back again, stung by this revelation. "I see," Rose remarked, her expression indignant. "Well, you've taken quite a drastic step down if you're going from Helena to me; it's a shame you're going to have the same result, Scorpius."

She stalked off before Scorpius could form any words, tossing her fiery braid behind her and refusing to look back at him as she left. Bloody Malfoy.

"Off to a good start then, Scorp?"

He clenched his jaw in irritation as his friends sniggered at Al's reenactment of the morning's breakfast disaster. This would be more difficult than he had thought.

"Damn it, Al," Scorp grumbled, "why would you tell her something so ridiculous?"

Al shrugged, clapping him on the back with satisfaction. "Can't let it be too easy, right? It's more fun this way."

Scorp gritted his teeth, wishing he was allowed to back out of this. "If you say so."

Henry raised an invisible glass to him, giving a dead-on impression of a Malfoy smirk. "I wish you the best of luck, Scorp."

"No thanks to you blockheads," he retorted, pushing himself off his bed and checking his reflection in the adjacent mirror. At least he was having a good hair day. Not that it seemed to be helping.

"Hot date tonight, Scorp?" Teddy wolf-whistled, tossing him a stick of Drooble's.

"Patrol with Rose," muttered Scorp, pocketing the chewing gum and quickly walking out on his stupid friends.

The door to the dormitory opened behind him, Al pressing another stick of gum into his palm with a whispered, "Make up for earlier. Trust me," before the door closed again within seconds.

"Malfoy, you're late," Rose called impatiently, her voice carrying up the stairs from the common room.

Scorp hastily shoved Al's present into his mouth - it almost tasted like mint toothpaste - and slid down the banister of the staircase in half the time it would have taken him to walk.

"Eager to see me?" he asked hopefully, offering up his most charming grin as he jumped off to land on two feet in front of her.

Rose put her hands on her hips defiantly and opened her mouth, ready to most likely launch into a lecture about the importance of setting a good example.

"We can talk about it on the way," Scorp said hurriedly, grabbing her right hand and tugging them both out of the common room before she could protest.

"What do you think you're doing?" Rose yanked her hand out of his grasp, smoothing down the pleats of her skirt as they set off toward the Gryffindor common room. "And you know you shouldn't be sliding down banisters either, it's dangerous."

Scorp placed a hand on his heart and looked at her with all the sentimentality he could muster. "So you do care."

"Excuse me?" she sputtered in disbelief. "Hardly. I just don't want any first years trying to do the same and getting their necks broken."

"Then you admit I'm an exemplary figure," he pressed her once more, keeping his tone light. Even Rose Weasley had to have a sense of humor.

She huffed indignantly, crossing her arms as they walked. "I said no such thing."

"But you were thinking it." The words slipped out of Scorp's mouth before he could think better of it, and he braced himself for the slap that was inevitable after his teasing.

"You're incorrigible," was Rose's only reply. He hazarded a glance at her, relieved and somewhat surprised to see that her blue eyes sparkled with contained laughter, despite her display of irritation.

"Alohamora," Scorp said quietly as they passed a rather popular broom closet, gesturing for Rose to open it. "Ladies first," he added, lifting an eyebrow suggestively.

"Wishing I was Helena Barlow?" she retorted tersely before throwing the doors open, revealing a rather affectionate couple within. "Ten points from each of your Houses, get back to bed now. Separately, if you please."

Scorp could have sworn he caught a glimpse of Weasley red hair as the pair disentangled in the shadows; his fears were confirmed when Rose let out a startled gasp.

"Lily Luna Potter! Merlin's beard, what do you think you're doing?"

Scorp hid a chuckle behind his hand as the youngest Potter and her beau, a fellow Gryffindor from the looks of his disheveled robes, stumbled out of the closet.

"Oh, come on, Rosie, we were just looking for some privacy!" protested Lily. "It's not as though you haven't done it either, cut us some slack!"

All the hilarity of the situation suddenly disappeared, a laugh dying in his throat at the thought of Rose and...who? Scorpius racked his brains, desperately trying to come up with a name, a person whom he could focus his energy on hating.

"Shut it," Rose replied calmly. "Back to your dorm, Mr. Thomas. And Lily..." She shook her head with a sigh. "I think we need to talk." Rose met Scorp's piercing gaze, the antagonism gone.

"I understand," he said quickly, sensing the opportunity to appear less callous and more compassionate. "You go ahead, I can finish up rounds tonight."

"You're sure?" she asked for courtesy's sake, the relief evident in her voice. "I can call another prefect in for back up too if you'd like - "

"You go ahead," Scorp reassured her. "I wouldn't want anyone other than you by my side," he finished with a grin, daring to wink at her.

Lily giggled as her cousin's cheeks tinged red, enjoying Rose's evident discomfort. "Thanks," the older redhead replied in an odd voice, taking Lily's arm and steering her back toward the Gryffindor common room without meeting Scorp's eye.

"See you tomorrow?" he couldn't help but ask, knowing he would but curious to see her response all the same.

"Perhaps if you're lucky," she called back, her face still hidden from sight.

"I didn't know you liked Scorpius," whispered Lily rather loudly as he turned away, heading in the opposite direction to check on other hallways. "Well done, Rosie! He's gorgeous and sweet to you."

Rose softly murmured something in return, but Scorp couldn't make it out as the distance between them increased. Judging from the fact that he hadn't been slapped or hexed tonight, however, Scorp felt rather pleased with himself. He'd even received Lily's approval, and wasn't that relatively important?

Scorp smiled as he recalled Rose's blush; yes, he surely had to be getting somewhere. At the very least, she wasn't indifferent.

He might have a chance after all.

"The Draught of Living Death," said Professor Bluebell with great anticipation in her voice, "is today's assignment. Brew an acceptable one and you will be excused from tonight's homework. You must work in partners...and your time starts now."

"How about you fetch the ingredients, Em, while I get the textbook and the cauldron going - "

"Er," interrupted Emily, causing Rose to look up at her from her schoolbag. "I'm sorry, Rose, but...Al asked me to work with him today, just before class started." She blushed prettily as she spoke, eyes on her partner as he made his way over to her.

Rose couldn't help but grin at this turn of events; her two best friends had been secretly mooning over each other for months, as far as she could tell.

"Well go on then!" she encouraged, playfully shoving Emily toward Al. "Have fun, you two."

"But whom will you work with?" Al's green eyes seemed just a little too wide and innocent as he spoke, setting his things down with Emily's at the cauldron next to Rose's.

"I can help you there," a low voice murmured softly into Rose's ear. She didn't have to turn around to know it was Scorpius again. Desperately, she scanned the room for another partner, but to no avail.

"I suppose you'll have to do," she replied to him tersely, turning around and purposefully hitting him in the face with her braid. "Grab the ingredients, Malfoy, and be quick about it."

A minute later he reappeared by her side, swiftly arranging the ingredients neatly on their counter. "Scorp," he said quietly as she examined a sopophorous bean.

"Excuse me?"

He grinned at her confusion, which made her knees tremble for some strange reason. Rose quickly turned her attention back to the bean, cutting it viciously with her knife.

"Scorp," he repeated. "Not Malfoy, or Scorpius. Just Scorp. Unless," he added with a wry smile, "you'd like to come up with your own special pet name."

"Not on your life, Malfoy," retorted Rose automatically.

"Scorp," he reminded her. "And while we're setting things straight, I'm sorry about the Muggleborn comment. And I'm definitely not interested in Helena Barlow, whatever your idiotic cousin says."

Rose pressed her lips together firmly to hide her delight at this. "Lies, I'm sure. Though it doesn't matter to me either way," she said haughtily, lifting her chin into the air.

"No, of course not," murmured Emily from her other side, letting a laugh escape at her friend's expense as she added wormwood to her cauldron.

"Your cousin seemed to think it might," Scorp said with a slight tremor in his voice, his gaze trained on the roots he was cutting up.

"Didn't you just call him idiotic?" Rose shook her head at Al, who looked up at her familiar irritated tone. "You should never trust anything Al says about me."

Scorp methodically stirred the smooth, currant-colored contents of their cauldron. "I was talking about his sister, actually." He looked up at her suddenly, grey eyes flashing with amusement. "She seemed rather...enthusiastic last night."

Rose felt her freckled cheeks begin to flame. "I have no idea what you're talking about," she replied as convincingly as she could manage, cursing her complexion for betraying her.

"She seemed convinced that we were having a passionate secret affair," teased Scorp, smirking at Rose's discomfort.

"Perhaps all Potters are idiotic."

"Or perhaps you aren't quite as good at hiding your feelings for me as you'd like to think," he retorted with a twinkle in his eye, elbowing her gently.

"I - there's no need to conceal hatred," Rose sputtered stubbornly, the sloth's brain slipping out of her hands and landing with a thud on the table.

Scorp sighed, his expression subdued once more. "No, of course not."

"I didn't mean - well, I suppose hatred is a bit strong. I just...detest you," she said, frowning to herself at the way the words stumbled out of her mouth. "That is - "

"Rose." Scorp rolled his eyes almost affectionately. "Just stir the cauldron."

She accepted the task gratefully, and the pair worked in relative silence until Professor Bluebell walked by and inspected their potion.

"Perfect, of course," she commented as she dropped a leaf in to test it. "I would expect nothing less from my two best students. What a lovely pair you make."

Rose felt the tips of her ears burn at the compliment, her eyes flickering up to meet Scorp's.

"I agree," he said quietly, his hand finding hers and giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Well?"

"What's the plan for the rest of today?"

"Yesterday seemed to be going well."

"Bloody charmer."

"We should have thought this over better," Al said with a hint of resignation.

Scorp stretched his arms out and placed his hands behind his head, utterly pleased with himself. "What, you've all lost faith in your side of the bet?"

"You went from silent hatred to holding her hand over the past two days." Henry shook his head in reluctant admiration. "I don't know how you do it."

"To be fair, she did pull her hand away a second later," Scorp pointed out, grinning nonetheless. "It's a shame she vanished at dinnertime."

"I told Emily to make sure of that," admitted Al, running a hand through his unruly hair. "Didn't want you winning quite so soon."

"Conceding defeat?" Scorp smirked as his friends glared at him, none of them with any response. "Nothing?"

"It's lunchtime," grumbled Teddy, "Free period's over now. Have you even talked to her since afternoon Potions yesterday?"

Scorp shrugged. "Not really. Made sure to smile at her a few times in Transfiguration this morning, but not much else I could do." He pointed at the spearmint gum in his mouth. "But maybe lunch will change that."

Ten minutes later, Scorp found himself sliding into the seat next to Rose on the bench in the Great Hall, Al sitting next to Emily on the opposite side.

"Fancy seeing you here," Scorp said charmingly, tugging on Rose's braid with a familiarity that felt utterly natural. "Been avoiding me, sweetheart?"

"It's Rose," she corrected him with a reprimanding look. "And of course not, it's impossible to escape your obnoxious presence."

"I'd say the same of you, darling, but your constant frustration with me is so deliciously endearing that I end up seeking you out."

Rose rolled her eyes at this over-the-top comment. "Put a sock in it, Scorp. You're reminding me why I despised you for the majority of my life."

"At least it's the majority rather than the whole," he retorted cheekily. "Now we've gotten to know one another so much better."

"Unfortunately."

He leaned in closer to her, checking that she was being more playful than truly irritated with him. Rose blinked her laughing blue eyes rapidly a few times as he drew nearer.

"Do you like my gum, Rose?" murmured Scorp, daring to move another inch forward. "Want a taste?"

"Spearmint," she replied breathlessly, her expression somewhat dazed. "My favorite." Her freckles were delicately sprinkled across her nose, each one visible as he lifted a hand to cup her face.

And right there in the Great Hall, she kissed him.

"Spur of the moment. That's it."

"Rose."

"It was! Obviously it didn't mean anything."

"Of course not. That's why you ran away a minute later, right?"

"Yes! What in Merlin's name was I supposed to say to him after that?"

"Er...'I've changed my mind about you, I'm madly in love with you actually'?"

Rose buried her face in her hands. "I'm not. Don't even joke about it."

"Just go talk to him now," counseled Emily. "You've ignored him all afternoon. He's probably down in the common room."

"With Al," added Rose, lifting her head up to smile at her friend. "You two have been getting awfully cozy."

Emily pushed her off the bed with a blush, leaving Rose sprawling on the floor. "Go on, say hi to Malfoy for me."

"Scorp," Rose corrected instinctively, wincing before shutting the door to the dorm. "Merlin, what's wrong with me?"

"Emily Bennet!" she heard Scorp yell jubilantly from the common room, setting off a chorus of laughter. "Come on, Al, who else?"

Intrigued, Rose Disillusioned herself before making her way downstairs, watching the group of four boys by the fireplace.

"I wouldn't want it to be anyone else," muttered Al, averting his eyes from Scorp's. Teddy and Henry roared with laughter, clapping him on the back with enthusiasm.

"Good for you, mate. I admire that kind of commitment." Teddy made a pouting face, one that Rose assumed was meant to be alluring but simply looked comical. "I, on the other hand, am a free agent."

"Maybe you can ask out McGonagall," joked Henry, blowing an air kiss. "Age difference of only a hundred years or so." Rose had to restrain herself from laughing at this - did boys really talk about such ridiculous things?

"Excellent plan!" Teddy grinned with delight. "I'll ask Scorp for tips on snogging."

"And getting the girl in general," Al added. "Mustn't forget that."

"In what, three or four days?" Henry shook his head in disbelief. "Before the ridiculously short deadline, even. Scorp, I may need some of those tips myself."

Scorp simply laughed, his head thrown back. "Nothing to it, really. Especially when the incentive is so great."

"Even if she's 'only a six-ish kind of girl'?"

"No...Rose's better than six, whatever I may have said on Saturday," said Scorp with a smirk. "Then of course there's the satisfaction of seeing you lot embarrassed. And keeping my pride intact. Excellent wager, mates. It's a win-win-win."

"Don't be so sure." Rose hardly recognized the voice that comes out of her, the tone so bitter and resentful as she restored her usual appearance, revealing herself to the boys.

"Rose," whispered a stricken Scorp, on his feet with hands outstretched to her. "Rose, it wasn't like that - "

"It was exactly like that," she says coolly, cutting him off with a glare before turning to Al. "Looks like you won after all."

Rose turned back and went up the stairs deliberately slowly, holding herself stiff with pride until she could let the tears fall in private.

"Rose."

"I'm not interested in anything you have to say."

"Rose, please. I swear, it's not what you think."

"You're such a liar. How did you even get outside my door?"

"I got Al to levitate me," Scorp admitted, relieved to hear a tiny laugh in between sniffs from the other side of the door. "Rose, please, just come out and talk to me."

"Not bloody likely," she called back. He could have sworn she was enjoying his frustration, her voice sounding more heartened.

"Fine. But you should know I only got roped into the stupid bet in the first place because I thought you were a ten."

"A ten? At…what?" Rose's curiosity won out, her steps toward the door audible through the cracks.

"Just…a ten. You know how guys are basically chauvinistic pigs and rate girls? Well we were rating girls the other night, and someone said you were…"

"Six-ish?"

"Yeah. But you were my ten. And they caught me…so I agreed to this stupid thing to save face. And because…well, I thought maybe it could work. Maybe I could get you to go out with me."

He paused, waiting for a reply. There was only silence.

"Er…anyway, I'm sorry for being such an arse. It's my fault. And…well, you should know it wasn't an act. The past couple days have been just…hilarious and amazing and - "

The door opened. Rose's face was completely red and she held a wad of tissues in one hand, but her bright smile was all that mattered.

"Cut the cheesy crap."

Scorp's eyebrows were raised. This certainly wasn't the reaction he had been expecting.

"I'd never have thought you were a romantic, Scorpius Malfoy." Rose threw the tissues in his face with a grin, causing him to sputter in disgust as he brushed them off him.

"I'm not a romantic, and I definitely don't appreciate snot all over me," he retorted angrily, forgetting that he was trying to earn forgiveness.

"I'm not an idiot, and I definitely don't appreciate pricks who like betting on women," she replied, hitting him lightly in the stomach. Scorp looked down at her with wide eyes, aiming for innocence. "Did anyone ever tell you that you have the worst puppy dog face?"

"Did anyone ever tell you that you have the loveliest smile ever?" Rose couldn't help but smile at that; her lips softly pressed against his. "And the sweetest kisses," he added, tucking a loose strand of red hair behind her ear.

"You're so stupid." She rolled her eyes as he put his arms around her, hugging her tightly. "And Merlin, you're clingy. And awful at making bets."

"You forgot gorgeous and sweet and completely whipped, sad to say."

"Meanwhile I am a perfect ten in all respects." Scorp shook his head ruefully, lightly brushing a finger across her freckled nose.

"You're my perfect ten. Come to Hogsmeade with me?"

"We'll see."

A/N: I hope you laughed ;D If not at the attempted humor then at my awful writing! I'm so horribly out of practice xP Everything's all sped up in terms of action to keep things moving a bit ;P Anyway, I love you, Abbebi, and I hope you have an amazing birthday that's far better than this mess I've presented you with xD Love you, dearest!