A/N: So, here's a story that has been resting in my computer for quite a while. I got a burst of inspiration awhile ago and decided to finish it. I know, you've probably seen loads of stories such as this, but it won't hurt to read and review, right? Sweet fic!
I don't own HP.
Scorpius just got kicked out of the Slytherin Quidditch team. Until now, he still couldn't believe it. It shocked him to the core, he was surprised he didn't fall on his knees and just die already. He was sitting on a bench with his knees to his chest and his head on his hands, thinking about what happened today. He was so deep in thought that he jumped at the sound of a voice above him.
He looked up and had to squint to see a girl standing in front of him, looking at him expectantly. "I'm sorry, did you say anything?"
"I was asking if there was anyone sitting beside you. All the benches are full."
"No, but that doesn't mean you can."
She looked surprised at his reply, and looked closer at him. "You look sad."
He snorted at this. "Understatement of the century, everyone, let's give it a round of applause."
Now she was getting a bit annoyed. "What is it with you? I'm here, politely asking if I could sit on this bench, which, I might add, does not even belong to you and you're all snappy and sour with me. I didn't do anything wrong to you."
God, this girl was giving him a head ache. What else could go wrong today?
"I've had a really, really bad day today and I don't care if I'm rude or snappy or whatever with you but I just really need to be alone. If you want to sit here, then do so at your own risk, but I warn you that nothing good will come out of this. Gosh, you're so daft, other people would simply and politely leave when I say they can't. Seriously, woman, I don't even know who you are, but take the hint and leave me alone."
This time, she was so affronted at his behavior. How could he? The bench wasn't even his! She defiantly put her chin up and said "Fine, I'll leave; I have so much better things to do than stand in front of a rude guy. I'm so surprised someone could actually be that rude! I've also had a bad day and I don't want it to get worse, if that's even possible." But even after saying this, she still did not leave.
"I promise you, your day cannot be worse than mine." He replied.
"Oh really? Let's hear it then." And without asking, she sat beside him.
"I got kicked out of the Slytherin Quidditch team." He said this as if his mother died or something. He sounded so pathetic she had to use all her strength not to burst into laughter.
"Oh so it's you then? The one I've been hearing about in the halls. You had a brawl with another guy over a girl? Typical clichéd love story, if you ask me. You always see those in movies." She scoffed. He was looking at her like she grew a second head. How could she take this lightly? And what on Earth are movies?
"Did you not hear me? I got kicked off-"
"The Quidditch team, yes. I heard you. I'm not deaf." She interrupted.
"And that's your reaction? 'Typical love story?' do you know how much Quidditch means to me? And how much she means to me? I've just lost two of the most important things in my life!"
"Oh, stop being a drama queen. Thousands of people are sad because their mothers died or their fathers left their family or whatever, but you're crying over a girl."
He looked annoyingly at the girl. Seriously, what was her problem? Couldn't she leave him in peace? He didn't need someone to tell him what he should think. And he was not crying, for Merlin's sake! He told this to her.
She shrugged nonchalantly. "I was just stating my thoughts. It's up to you whether you would ignore it or anything. I'm not telling you what you should think."
"What are you still doing here? Who are you anyway?"
She looked wistfully at the distance, drowning in her own thoughts to hear him. He nudged her with his elbow. "Hey, you didn't answer my question."
She came back from her thoughts. She looked disoriented. "What? Oh, what were you asking again?"
He rolled his eyes and repeated his question.
"I'm sitting here, you dimwit. And I'm Rose Weasley. I know you, you're Scorpius Malfoy. Fifth year Slytherin, used to be Slytherin's seeker."
"You're Weasley?"
"You're Malfoy?" She asked, with a roll of her eyes. He caught her sarcasm. She made a show of looking up at his bright blond head. "Malfoys have their signature bright blond heads, arrogant auras, and rude remarks."
He glared at her. "You're no better, Weasley. You have red hair, freckles, and you stick your nose into everybody's business." He sighed and ruffled his hair. "Can't believe I've run into you now of all the days and places in Hogwarts. Why haven't I noticed you before? I've been studying here for five years and I've never seen you around. I've seen loads of redheads, though. Probably your cousins or something."
"Maybe it's because you haven't bothered looking. You're too busy talking to your mates or your girlfriend." He glared at her. "I mean your previous girlfriend. We hardly have any classes together. I mean, I know you, but I'm not as famous as the rest of us. I'm just usually in the library or something. No reason to be known. You only know Al, James, and Fred, and the older girls."
"Well, okay. Now that I know you, you may leave."
"No."
He was getting really irritated with her. "Then I will." He said, and stood up. He felt someone grab his wrist and yank him down.
"Ow! What the hell? What is your bloody problem?" He said, glaring at Rose.
"Stay." She said quietly, her eyes tearing up as she looked away.
Surprising not only Rose but also himself, he sat back down. "Why?"
"I need to talk to someone."
"And why would that someone be me? Go talk to one of your cousins or something."
Rose shook her head. "They're the reason I'm having a bad day."
"Why?"
"I don't know, I mean, James has been made Captain when he's only in his Sixth Year, Victoire was Head Girl during her time, now Dominique is Head Girl, Al's a prefect, and the rest are great Quidditch players. I'm a bloody bookworm, and although I'm a prefect, top in my class and all, best student in Hogwarts, sometimes, I think it's not my life I'm living. I always have to live up to expectations and sometimes the pressure gets to me. Sometimes I just don't want to do these things anymore, but I have to."
Scorpius nodded slowly. "Okay, I have no idea why that is any of my business."
Rose got angry. "Gosh, you're impossible and heartless! Now I know why that girl picked Zabini over you!"
"Shut up about that." Scorpius said menacingly. "You don't know what the hell happened, so stop acting like you do. I did not sign up to be your counselor, so don't expect me to comfort you. Go talk to someone who cares and let's go back to not knowing each other, shall we?" He said, tuning around and walking away.
Rose stared at him angrily, and stomped off.
Really, how could someone be such an ass? She thought he would be the most helpful, what with him experiencing all that, but she was wrong. She never really believed what her cousins said about Scorpius Malfoy being a pompous git, but now she believed them. He was right- they should get back to not knowing each other.
Scorpius, on the other hand, was mentally berating himself as to why he acted like that. The poor girl needed help and all he did was ruin her day. He did not want to admit, but at that time, all he wanted to do was console her and tell her that his father experienced the same thing. Good for him that his father is an understanding man, he was surprised that her parents- Hermione Weasley nee Granger and Ron Weasley treated her like that. Or maybe they didn't. maybe she just wanted to do that all for her. Maybe it's her who was putting all the pressure upon herself. Ugh, stop it Scorpius. Stop assuming things and forget her. He then took it out of his mind and instead thought about Zabini and Andrea Goyle.
How could his best mate and girlfriend do that to him? She cheated on him with his best mate, for Merlin's sake! But that was not his problem anymore-let her be with him for all he cares- his problem was Quidditch. Quidditch was his life, his escape from everything, and now, he got kicked off the team. What would his father say?
The thought brought him back to Rose Weasley. She didn't just leave his brain! Huffing loudly, he turned around and looked for her. She needed to leave his brain so that he could think properly! Thankfully, he knew where she was.
Not surprisingly, he saw her in the library. She was sitting in a corner, reading an extremely thick book. He stealthily went over to her and loudly moved to sit. Rose jumped in her seat and shrieked. Scorpius laughed.
"Malfoy, what the hell?"
"Hey, Weasley." He said, propping his feet on the table.
"Malfoy, what do you want?" She said with gritted teeth.
"Relax, Weasley."
"Relax? Relax after what you did to me awhile ago?"
"Look, I'm sorry about that. I wasn't thinking straight."
Rose rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Just say what you need to say and leave me alone."
"Okay, so I know we didn't head off with a good start." With this, Rose snorted. "BUT, I just wanted to say that if you needed anyone to talk to, especially about that expectations thing, I'd be glad to help."
Rose looked at him with a bewildered look. "Who are you and what have you done with Scorpius Malfoy?"
Scorpius rolled his eyes. "I'm not as evil as you may think, you know. I'm not like my father, although I can say he's a changed man already."
"So why would I believe you? What if you're just doing this to embarrass me in front of all your friends? What's in it for you?"
"I swear this will only be between us. I have a conscience, you know. I want to help."
Rose regarded him doubtfully. Finally, she extended a hand. "Okay."
Scorpius smiled and shook it.
Soon, they became good friends. Some of her cousins told her not to hang around with Scorpius, but she didn't care. He taught her to just be herself and forget what everyone was saying. Being around him made her feel free, as if she could do anything in the world. Her grades were perfect, as usual, but it wasn't because she was pressured to perfect them. She had a higher self esteem and seemed to be getting out of her shell. Seeing this positive change, her cousins realized that Scorpius Malfoy wasn't a bad guy, and soon, they also had a good relationship with him. He even taught her how to ride a broom, and would usually have a fun game of Quidditch with Al, James, Hugo, and Fred.
Rose also helped Scorpius out. She helped him move on from Andrea and taught him that there's more to life than Quidditch. They would hang around always and, her parents even invited him to spend the Christmas break with them.
Scorpius and Rose became the best of friends, until one day, on the first month of their sixth year, something changed everything.
Scorpius was walking in the hallway after lunch in the Great Hall but stopped abruptly when he heard muffled sobs coming from an empty classroom. He looked inside to see the Rose was hunched in a corner, crying.
"Rose? What's wrong?"
"M-McLaggen."
"What did the git do now?" He growled.
Lucas McLaggen was Rose's boyfriend for quite a while, much to Scorpius' dismay. He was also in his fifth year, and they started dating two months ago. Whenever Rose would mention him, Scorpius would get irritated, not only because the boy was a cocky git, but also because of the look in Roses's eyes- a look that said that she was really in love with him.
"He was kissing some random girl in this classroom!" Rose said, still sobbing.
Scorpius saw red. He felt white-hot anger rush through him, and, pushing Rose aside, he left the room and searched for McLaggen.
An hour later, Rose finally found Scorpius in the bench where they first met.
"Scorpius Malfoy, I can't believe you did that!"
Scorpius looked up to find Rose extremely angry, with her hands on her hips. "You had a brawl- in the middle of the hallway, with teachers witnessing it- with Lucas!"
"I got kicked off the Quidditch team again."
"I know! And you wouldn't have been if you didn't start punching him and beating him up!"
He stood up, now angry too. "It was for YOU, Rose! He broke your heart! Did you expect me to just stand there and watch you cry? I don't even know why you're mad! I thought you would be at least thankful!"
"I am!"
"Nice way of showing it." He scoffed.
"It's just that you lost Quidditch again! I don't want you losing something you love over me."
"You are someone I love."
Rose stared at him with her eyes wide. "What?" She asked softly.
Scorpius took in a deep breath. "I said, you are someone I love. Screw the Quidditch team; I'm in love with you, Rose. I don't know since when, but every time I hear you say Lucas, I feel this sudden burst of jealousy, and seeing him break your heart made me hate him all the more. Because he doesn't deserve you. He has you, and he just does that? It's-"
And he was not able to continue, because she silences him with a kiss.
"I know, Scorpius. Love you too."
He smiles down at her. "You do know that I'm not yet done beating McLaggen up to a bloody pulp, right?"
Rose laughs. "Oh stop it, Scorpius. He's not worth it. He's not worth the bruises in your hands." She said, as she took his bruised knuckles and held them there.
"Besides, since my cousins and my brother are giving their fair share of punches, they'll probably get kicked out of their Quidditch teams too. You can form your own Quidditch team." She joked.
Scorpius laughed.
"I hope I won't have a reason to get kicked out next year."
A/N: I know, I know, it's really short, but still! Hope you guys like it! Tell me what you think! Thanks!