Aargh, I don't know what has possessed me. Months of no inspiration, and then bam! I'm churning out stories like a..err..story-churner-outer.

Anyway, the point is that I have started another Scorose multi-chaptered fic! I don't expect it to be be anywhere near as popular as Bodyguard but whatever, it's fun writing! :D

And that Writer's Itch has really been bothering me of late.

So, here goes nothing!

Disclaimer: I do not own the weird and wonderful world of Harry Potter.

Chapter One

"Ladies and gentlemen…witches and wizards. I give you…the scoop of the year."

Rose sat up straighter as did everyone else in the crowded room. There was a series of faint murmurs and then an impatient sort of silence. The man standing at the far end of the room, at the head of the conference table had his arms spread out in a dramatic gesture.

His thin pencil moustache quirked upwards when he spoke. "We, at The Oracle, have received a tip off from a reliable source. The Minister for Magic, Bartholomew Flockton…" he paused here, eyes sweeping over the select gathering with obvious glee, "is a Dark wizard."

There were several sharp intakes of breath at this outrageous pronouncement and then frantic muttering. Notepads were flipped open, feet shuffled and in some cases, fingers crossed hopefully.

Calvert Higgins almost sniggered at the dreamy expressions on the faces of his reporters. He settled for adjusting his tie and smirking. "I am sure you've all realized that this is an investigation which must be handled with extreme delicacy. As such, I will be assigning only the best, the cream of the crop as it were, to this case. Most of you dunderheads would do better not to get your hopes up."

Several envious glances were shot in Rose's direction and she felt simultaneously embarrassed and pleased. She was a strong contender for this job. Merlin, if only she was selected! If the source was correct and it was her, Rose Weasley, who wrote the exposé…Aah, sweet success.

She stifled a grin at the thought and reminded herself to not count her dragons before they'd hatched.

Especially not when it could just as easily (and perhaps even more easily, an unbiased part of her whispered) be that absolute berk, Scorpius Malfoy who was selected.

She gritted her teeth in annoyance at the very thought of him. He'd been impeding her progress at every turn since her first year at school and now, eleven years later he was just as irritating and competitive.

She returned her attention to her boss who was still assessing the impact of his words with impish delight.

"I assign this case, this monumentally important endeavor…" Rose's breath hitched, "to Rose Weasley," she sucked in a huge breath, "and Scorpius Malfoy."

There was dead silence. Rose was vaguely aware of the fact that her jaw had dropped.

Rose Weasley…and Scorpius Malfoy?

She heard someone laugh awkwardly into the blank silence and realized it was her. When all eyes snapped to her, she flushed embarrassedly and cleared her throat. "Mr. Higgins," she began uncertainly, "I think there's been a mistake. Did you just say- I mean, did…" her voice petered off feebly when her boss rolled his eyes and said in a tone which implied intense boredom. "Yes, Weasley. I said that both you and Mr. Malfoy would be covering this case. If you have any objections to my decision then by all means, feel free to turn down the offer. I have plenty of replacements even for you."

Rose was fairly sure that her face was the colour of her hair by now. The tips of her ears probably resembled the Hogwarts Express. "No, sir," she mumbled. "No objections."

"Good. Now, the rest of you are delegated with the responsibility of providing assistance to Ms. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy should they require it, no matter what time of day and no matter how absurd the request. I want this article out as soon as magically possible, understand? Now, get out, all of you. And if you breathe a word of this to anyone- and I mean anyone- outside this room, I will personally rip out your spleens and hand them to you."

There was a mad scuffle as chairs were pushed back and twenty-odd people rushed out of the room, whispering excitedly.

Rose felt vaguely sick. Malfoy. She was to work with Malfoy. Not against Malfoy. Not near Malfoy. With him. As a team.

Speaking of, where was the little gobshite anyway? She couldn't spot the telltale flash of pale blond hair in the rapidly dispersing crowd.

"Ms. Weasley, remain here, please."

Rose nodded, not having bothered to get up.

As the last of the reporters left, carefully shutting the door behind them, Rose turned to face her boss who was examining her shrewdly.

"Where's Malfoy?" she asked without preamble.

"Putting the finishing touches to his last article. I've briefed him already. He should be coming along in…aah."

He looked up, pleased, as someone knocked at the door.

Rose scowled when it swung open to reveal her arch-nemesis…err, colleague.

"Mr. Malfoy! Welcome, welcome! Article all done, I trust?"

"Of course, sir." He smiled charmingly at Higgins and crossed over to hand him the scroll of parchment.

Having done so, he turned his attention to Rose. She felt herself jump slightly when he redirected his smarmy grin at her. "Weasley! Lovely to see you as always. Doing well, I hope?"

"I was, till about thirty seconds ago," she responded drily. "Hmm, I wonder what could have caused the sudden worsening of my day."

"A reminder of your unrequited love for me, perhaps?"

Rose narrowed her eyes at him, and crossed her arms, the better to keep her hands away from her wand.

Do not hex him. Do not hex him. Do not hex him!

Just one little curse, please!

"Been confusing your dreams with reality again, Malfoy?"

He grinned cheekily at her but didn't respond, choosing to get down to business. "Our assignment, sir?"

Higgins who'd finished perusing the contents of the parchment, withdrew his wand and tapped it against the scroll. It vanished and Rose knew it would appear at the editor's desk in about three seconds.

"You'll be working undercover," he said, jumping right into the details. "You will be provided with false identities and documents supporting the same. I expect you to behave like professionals." He narrowed his eyes at them. "Is that clear? Any petty squabbling that endangers your mission or your cover and I will not hesitate to replace you both and then bump you down to the daily horoscopes section."

Rose shuddered at what she knew was no empty threat. She'd rather be eaten by a flobberworm than churn out mindless, false predictions day after day.

"You can expect my full cooperation for the duration of this assignment, sir. I'm sure Ms. Weasley feels the same way?"

Scorpius turned to raise a challenging eyebrow at her and she clenched her fist around the hem of her skirt to stop herself from punching his ridiculously good-looking face. Smarmy git.

"Of course," she ground out through clenched teeth and a maniacal smile. "My full cooperation."

"Excellent. Now get lost."

Rose sprang to her feet at the curt dismissal and was out the door in a flash.

xxx

Scorpius followed at a more sedate pace, with the result that by the time he'd exited the conference room, Rose was nowhere in sight. He smirked at the effect he had on her. Infuriating her was a favourite pastime and never disappointed.

One would think that she'd have built up a resistance to his snark over the course of a decade, but they would be grievously, hilariously mistaken.

He chuckled at the thought of what she'd do once she found out exactly what their undercover identities were.

I know that the chapter is not very long, but hopefully, I'll be able to work myself back up to 3000+ words a chapter. Please do leave a review as I am suffering from serious doubts right now regarding this story. Aaah, I don't know how I'm planning on writing this with college starting soon!

Be my inspiration, yo. xD