Scorpius set his books down angrily on a table in the library. It was definitely one of "those" days, where everything is just going wrong. First, one of the older boys in Slytherin had hidden every last pair of shoes he owned. His father had told him about that trick, and how he had played it on some wacky Ravenclaw girl while he was in school.

Then, he had run into one of the Scamander boys. Apparently, said Ravenclaw was their mother, but they blamed the "nargles" for his lack of shoes.

Talking to Scamander had made him late for his transfiguration class, and earned him detention. He had much more homework than usual, and had to meet Hagrid to roam the forest in exactly an hour and a half. He scanned the text in front of him, barely taking in a word of the chapter he was supposed to read for History of Magic. A loud thump brought his eyes to the other side of the table, where a certain redheaded girl stood.

"Malfoy, why are you in my chair?" Rose Weasley asked him with a kind of apathetic disdain.

He studied her for a moment. "Because I happen to like this spot," he drawled, sounding very much like his father.

She shoved him rather roughly, completely catching him by surprise, and dropping him onto the floor. He peered up at her through his hair as she primly sat herself in the chair he had previously occupied. There was a self-satisfied smirk twitching in the corner of her mouth, and she held herself with a regal air. He pulled himself up, and took a hold of either side of the seat of her chair, leaning very close to her.

Rose's smirk faltered. "What?" She asked testily.

He grinned at her, causing her heart to flutter unexpectedly. His close proximity was making her uncomfortable in a very pleasant way, and she was turning a pretty shade of pink. Scorpius leaned even closer to whisper in her ear.

"You can borrow it this once, but I get something in return."

Distrust filled her hazel eyes. "What do you think you get, Malfoy?"

He didn't answer right away, just pulled back, straightened his robes, and grinned down at her. "You'll see, little Weasley. You'll see."

She watched as he moved his things to the other side of the table. He didn't do anything out of the ordinary, just worked on his homework. She turned back to her own homework, keeping a wary eye on him.

"What did you get for the solution to the potions question?" He asked out of the blue.

Over the course of the next hour, they worked together. 'Keep your enemies close.' Rose reasoned with herself.

When time drew near for Scorpius to go to his detention, he stood and pulled Rose to her feet also. There was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes, and he leaned over and kissed her soundly on the lips. Her head spun, and she almost pushed him away. Her hands wouldn't cooperate, and instead she found herself with them on his shoulders, resting rather than pushing.

He pulled away with a very cocky grin.

"Tomorrow, let's study again. That was payment, by the way. You don't need to expect more. Unless you want it?"

"Y...yes," she faltered. "I mean about the studying, not the..."

He just grinned even wider, and sauntered away, leaving a very confused Rose behind him.