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Blondie and the Freckled Toad

I'm in detention right now. My first ever detention. Ever!

Jamie said it was only a matter of time. It's only my second year, but I guess he'd gotten about a detention a week during his first. From what I can tell, it's only gotten worse from there.

I'm stuck with stupid Blondie, too. This is totally all his fault.

I mean, sure, I turned him into a newt, but he got better! And he totally deserved it!

Jamie says I should write my mum about it before the school does, and try and play it up like some sort of advanced magic. I've always been good at Transfiguration, though, and it's like my mom expects it of me. Dad's always happily surprised when I get high marks, Mum just nods like she already knew. Everyone else gets chocolate frogs when they get E's and O's.

"This is all your fault, Posie," Scorpius announced from across the room.

"Funny, I seem to recall you pulling my hair, snow-face!"

"I thought it was fire, rose-bud! I was trying to put it out!" One of the things I really hate about him is how quick he is. With anyone else, I can get them to shut up right away, but he just insults me right back.

"Oh, is that why you spilled my cauldron all over the desk? I thought, like most things, it was because you're a palid moron."

"That's sweet coming from you, freckled toad, seeing as it was your blind clumsiness that caused the cauldron to spill and explode."

"It was the cauldron's own fault it exploded! Not that I blame it, one look at you and I'd probably want to explode as well!"

"Oh, you're more than invited, Posie!"

"Shut it, Blondie, or I'll newt you up again!"

"You can't!" he grinned as he said this, the git, "You'll be expelled!"

"Will not, I'll probably get an order of merlin. They were about to hand it to me, but they changed their minds once they saw it wasn't permanent."

This seemed to have done the trick, because Scorpius couldn't think of anything to say after that.

It was one of those silences that seems real snug at first, then grows a bit uncomfortable as time goes on. I just sat there, on my bench across the dungeon, watching him. He seemed weirdly sad. It totally wasn't my fault, though, we say stuff like that to each other all the time, and neither of us gets sad about it, just kinda angry.

"I was only kidding," I told him when he looked up, his big stupid silvery eyes watching me, "They wouldn't really give me an order of Merlin."

He shrugged. "They probably would. Everyone hates me."

"They do not! You've got loads of friends!"

He shrugged again. "All the grown-ups hate me, though. And the older kids."

"Yeah, well, by the time we're grown up, they'll all be dead!" I said this to cheer him up but he just gave me a weird sort of look that probably meant it hadn't worked all that well.

"So? They're probably right," he said gloomily, his stupid pale lower lip making an annoyingly cute little pout.

"Are not!" I disagreed. I wasn't sure if I meant it, because I've hardly ever been on good terms with Blondie, so it might have just been the natural instinct to disagree with him, but honestly he's not that bad.

"Oh?" he asked defiantly, "Then why don't you like me?"

"Well," I tried to think of a good answer, and I sort of realized I didn't have one. Hadn't we always just naturally disliked each other, or something? "Well, because, um, because you don't like me, obviously." I was really satisfied with that answer until I saw that he wasn't. What did he even want me to say, huh? 'Cause he's blond and better at History of Magic than I am?

"But I do like you, Rose." I swear he was probably just disagreeing with me 'cause it comes naturally to him, too.

"No you don't," I corrected, "You always call me names, and pull my hair, and tease me."

He shrugged again, which was getting super annoying. "It's kinda fun," he admitted.

I thought about it for a second, and decided to agree with him, this one time. "I guess sometimes it is."

"Except not when we get in detention."

"Yeah. Not when you get us in detention."

There was one of those silences again, but it was pretty short this time, because then he said, "So, Rose, you didn't say why you don't like me."

Now it was my turn to shrug, and I should point out that my shrug was about a million times better than his. "But I do like you, Scorpasaur."

Scorpius wrinkled his stupid pointy little nose and announced, "Eww, we totally like each other!"

I started laughing and said, "Yeah, wait 'til Al finds out! And Jamie! They're gonna think it's soo gross!"

"Just wait 'til we get married!" Scorpius said,grinning, with his nose still a wrinkled, "My Dad'll have a fit!"

When Professor Spinnet came in and gave us another half hour because we were laughing so hard, it was totally Scorpius' fault.

~x~