"Hello. What are you doing sitting in the corridor all on your own?"

"Is that any way to greet a well-wisher, Weasley?"

"Well-wishers usually come to the patient, not the other way around. Who are you, anyway?"

"Pardon me?"

"Well, you know my name, so you must know me."

"Rose, what's wrong with you? Are you pulling my leg?"

"No. I'm not even touching you, am I? I've got amnesia, according to the nurse. Some idiot hit me on the back of the head with a badger."

"Bludger."

"Yes, one of those. They told me his name is Slytherin."

"No, his name is Lyle Derrick and his house is Slytherin. Do you really not know who I am?"

"I'm sorry. Should I? Have we known each other a long time? Oh! Are we dating?"

"What?! We – but – No! We're – we're friends!"

"That's a relief – because if you were my boyfriend, I was going to say that you aren't very good at being attentive, are you?"

"Attentive?! I've been sitting out here for hours over the last three days, waiting for news!"

"Have you? Well, I suppose that's sweet. Are you going to tell me your name, by the way? I say, you're not that Derrick boy who threw the badger, are you? Very bad form, if you are."

"I am not! ... It's Malfoy. Scorpius Malfoy."

"Well, that's not ringing any bells. Are you in Gryffindor too? The people in the Hospital Wing told me I was. They said they were my parents, fancy that! And they seemed nice enough, so I suppose I'd better believe them."

"I am not a Gryffindor! Ugh Rose, that's just insulting."

"Is it? Gosh, it wasn't meant to be. Should I stop being one then? A Gryffindor, I mean?"

"You can't. That's your house until you finish school. Should you go back and see Madam Pomfrey? I don't think you're well enough to go back to class yet."

"Oh no, I'll be fine. She gave me a clean bill of health! Sent me to find the Charms classroom, do you have any idea where that is?"

"It's two floors up, but I still don't think –"

"And what do we learn in Charms then? Is it etiquette? General deportment skills? I must say, I think it's very odd to have boys enrolled in a finishing school. Didn't your parents think you were polite enough?"

"What? I am very – that's not –! It's a class for magical charms and enchantments, not which fork to use! Rose, if you can't remember magic –"

"Oh, I do remember some magic. I remember magical cooking, that's always good fun. Throwing everything into a pot and watching it change colour and all that."

"It's not cooking! It's Potions, alright? I'm your partner and we use cauldrons, not pots! And it requires far more precision than just 'throwing everything in'..."

"But it does change colour?"

"Yes, I suppose."

"And it is fun?"

"Yes."

"Were you there when the badger broke my skull, by the way? Did you see me fall? Apparently I was on a broomstick. Flying! Can you imagine?"

"I saw everything. Professor Longbottom levitated you to the ground and Hagrid carried you up here. Then your father charged in and blamed Slytherin for everything, as usual."

"I thought you said the person who did it was a Slytherin?"

"That doesn't make us all evil, though. Some of the finest Wizarding families are in Slytherin, I'll have you know."

"So you're a Slytherin too? Were you on the team? Have you been visiting the corridor because of survivor's guilt?"

"Don't be daft! I wanted to... to make sure you were alright."

"Oh, isn't that sweet of you!"

"Only because we have a Potions competition coming up and I don't want a partner with mush for brains."

"Unless mush for brains was one of the ingredients, of course!"

"Rose, don't say that! It was... well, it was scary, seeing all the blood. Derrick and Montague were fools for pulling a stunt like that. You could have been killed!"

"And then you would have lost the competition."

"If you're being deliberately obtuse, stop it, alright? You're my friend. People are allowed to worry about their friends."

"And I'm your friend even though I'm in this Gryffindor group?"

"You're my friend because – despite being a Gryffindor – you're clever and dedicated and you don't get put off by sarcasm."

"Thanks Scorpius! Scor? Malfoy? What do I call you?"

"You used to call me Ant, actually."

"Did I? And you hated it, I suppose?"

"It was a bit of a reach. Nobody understood the astronomy reference and thought you were making fun of me."

"Gosh. Who doesn't know that the brightest star in the Scorpius constellation is Antares?! This school is obviously failing its students."

"That's what I always say! Definitely not mush for brains, then."

"'Course not! The lady who said she was my mum said I'm the best in my year!"

"Excuse me? She mustn't have been paying attention, because I always score higher than you do!"

"Oh really? Are you sure about that?"

"Positive."

"Let's go and ask Professor Northcutt who brewed the better Invigoration Draught in last year's exam then!"

"You remember Professor Northcutt?"

"Um..."

"Rose! Have you been lying this whole time?"

"Oh, come on! The opportunity was too good to pass up!"

"That's just cruel –!"

"Admit it - you bought it hook, line and sinker! It's just too easy to wind you up..."

"I can't believe you're not a Slytherin."

"Ugh Scorpius, that's just insulting."

"I'll get you back for this, you know."

"I won't hold my breath."

"Just because I'm a gentleman..."

"Scorpius?"

"What?"

"Thanks for coming to check on me."

"Don't mention it. Literally."