A Forbidden Love (REMASTERED 2022)

CHAPTER 6: Remastered

Rose
Third Year

     It was finally the weekend and I was officially tired of staying cooped up by myself in the dormitory. Everyone else had left to go on with their daily activities and have some fun, meanwhile I had stayed back to do some light reading.
     It was the fourth month of the term and it was snowing outside. We had just gotten back from Winter vacation a week ago and the professors hadn't quite started piling on the work yet. Winter break had been beautiful, all of my family had gathered together for the holidays.
     I had been devastated when Teddy and Victoire had finished at Hogwarts last year, but seeing them at Christmas time and over the summer made it more bearable. The lucky thing was that McGonagall had given Teddy a job at Hogwarts, charged with organizing activities and planning events for the students to engage in. It was almost as if Teddy was still in school with how much we saw him around. Victoire was also at Hogwarts frequently to visit him and us, of course. I suspected a proposal was coming soon now that they lived together outside of Hogwarts.
     Dominique was in her 7th year at Hogwarts now and without her sister's shadow blocking her, she had become much more happy and care free. She could still be insufferable at times, no doubt, but she was more relaxed than she had been in three years.
      Fred and James were in their fifth year at Hogwarts and had risen to extreme popularity as the "Prank Kings" of Hogwarts. They'd put on miniature spectacles in the halls with fireworks and were always testing out something from Uncle George's shop but everyone loved them, no less. They'd taken back the Maurauder's Map from Wulfric a few weeks after he had taken it two years ago and were constantly using it to sneak in and out of the castle and into Hogsmeade. They'd occasionally call on me to assist them with their pranks and schemes, to which I always obliged.
     Hugo and Lily had come to Hogwarts last year and had been loving it ever since. They mostly hung around Albus and I but of course, they had their own crowd of friends.
      As for Albus, Cheyanne, and I, we spent more time together than apart. Albus and I told each other everything and hadn't kept any secrets from each other in the past year. James had finally told him about the Marauder's Map last year and had even enlisted him to sneak out with him and Fred a few times. And to my delight, Cheyanne and Albus had gotten quite close as well. Albus had told me of his feelings for her but he wasn't sure if Cheyanne felt the same way. I knew for a fact she did, but I'd decide to let them figure it out for themselves.  Albus was always saying that Cheyanne had no interest in him which I knew wasn't true but it wasn't any of my business to interfere in.
    I glanced out the window to see James and Fred throwing snowballs at Albus and Cheyanne in the courtyard, all of them laughing their arses off. They had all grown so close, it warmed my heart. I smiled down at them. I put my book down and stared out of the window, suddenly too immersed in my thoughts to read. And then there was Scorpius...
      Scorpius and I had a strictly "irritation" based relationship. We only hung out with each other if he was with Albus or Cheyanne, and when we did see each other, he made it his personal mission to vex me. Albus and Scorpius had become best friends, a friendship similar to that of Fred and James so I saw him around quite a bit.
      He was either throwing insults or flirty comments to get me fired up. He never meant anything he said, including the insults, I knew he was just being an arse. I could handle all of his arrogance but what I couldn't handle was his new found hobby of working his way through every girl at Hogwarts.
      Scorpius had discovered his charm earlier that term and had been using it to snog his way through Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and onto Hufflepuff. Third and even fourth year girls fell at his feet, his looks were the ultimate deception. He'd made the Slytherin Quidditch  team in his second year as well, playing as a seeker. He often played against Fred and James who were beaters for Gryffindor's team. He was rather good at Quidditch and he knew it. It didn't help his over inflated ego at all. Albus, Cheyanne, and I knew Scorpius was a snarky, flirty, cheeky git, but to these girls, he was the perfect guy, a model boyfriend. Until he moved onto the next one, that is.
      Cheyenne and Scorpius had made a habit of  hanging out in the Gryffindor common room every night and I had lost count of how many times I'd come down the stairs to the view of him snogging someone. It was my least favorite part of having his cousin as my best friend, as she was always complaining about who he was with or what girl he'd snogged the previous night. I let out a deep exhale and curled my legs up to my chest, resting my cheek on my knee as I gazed out at the snow.
      I'd tried to forget about Scorpius. I honestly wished I could simply forget I ever met him. But my heart adored him. For whatever reason, whenever he entered the room, it quickened in pace, practically beating out of my chest. The way he laughed, throwing his head back and closing his eyes, was enough to put me into cardiac arrest. He was beautiful, and there was nothing more I wanted then to get to know the real him...until he opened his mouth. Somehow, I knew that wasn't the real Scorpius. Underneath all of that snark and obnoxiousness, I was positive he had a decent heart. And that was the Scorpius I wanted to get to know.
      The exterior he put on in front of everyone, that was Malfoy. I refused to believe that that was all there was to him. I'd seen glimpses of it in class when he would jot down notes and paid close attention to whatever Professor Wulfric was saying, even though he claimed he was an ignorant git. Cheyanne had told me read for pleasure every night before bed and even kept a journal. He engaged in intelligent conversations with Albus and I knew for a fact he got good marks. There were sides to Scorpius no one seemed to notice and that he never cared to show. But I knew he was different, I just wished he'd show that side to me.
      I lifted my head and swung my legs off of the seat of the loft. I had been reading for the past two hours up in the dormitory by myself and I was getting annoyed with myself for being so lazy as to not have showered yet. It was almost lunch time for Merlin's sake. I was normally so much more productive on the weekends but it was so cozy inside and going out into the snow seemed so unappealing.
      I huffed and pushed myself up, pausing to look into the mirror next to my bed. I'd grown, but not too tall. I doubted I was going to get any taller. My freckles had come in swarms, taking up a majority of my cheeks and forehead. My long red hair hung in tangles down my back. Victoire and Dominique had been trying to get me to learn to style it but it wasn't even remotely high on my to-do list.
      Suddenly, I heard a knock at the door. I turned around to see Fred and James coming through the door with their hands over their eyes and grins on their faces. It would have been a nice gesture too, if they both hadn't been peeking through the gaps between their fingers.
      "You decent?" Fred asked teasingly.
      "Fred! James!" I scolded. They took their hands away from their eyes and smiled at me.
      "Dimwits!" I yelled, throwing a pillow at their  faces.
     Fred caught it and laughed,"We figured that would get you going." I scowled at their cheeky grins and then slowly started to giggle too.
      "Forget about it. What do you two want?" I asked.  
       James regained his composure from all of the laughter, "The Quidditch game? Starting in a half hour?  Gryffindor versus Slytherin? You said you were going, you said you'd come see us play! Albus and Cheyanne are already waiting!" James demanded, pointing an accusing finger at me. I rolled my eyes at his hysterics.
      "It's freezing out, can't I just sit by the fire or something?," I groaned, plopping down on my bed. Fred and James shared a look to which I scowled.
      "No, no, and no. This has nothing to do with Scorpius, don't start," I warned. Fred and James (to my annoyance) were the only ones who knew about how much I cared for Scorpius. Not Albus and not Cheyanne, but these two. After our talk that night in my first year after escaping Wulfric, they'd known that I felt this...connection to him, if you could even call it that. And they'd been there for me, letting me rant about his ignorance and tell my sob story about how I wish things were different. And they were fine with it, as long as Scorpius didn't do anything to hurt me.
      "Roseee, you know you've never been to a Quidditch match as long as Slytherin has been playing...not since your first year at least," James urged, sitting on the bed next to me, "You can't tell me that hasn't got anything to do with Scorpius." I frowned, leaning forward to put my elbows on my knees in a pout.
      "I don't want to see him play...it's all so agitating," I told them. It was true, Scorpius was an egotistical arse when it came to Quidditch.
      "You can't let him dictate what events you go to, Rose, forget him!" Fred whined, coming over to pat my shoulder. I screwed up my face at him, knowing I couldn't.
      "Pretty please, only for the match, come on! It'll be fun, and besides, Cheyanne will kill you if you don't come with us, she'll drag you there herself," James warned. I considered this, knowing full and well this was true. Fred and James put on their best puppy dog eyes and pouty lips.
       I looked back and forth between their pleading faces for a minute before rolling my eyes, "Fine, fine, I'll go."
      "YAY, Rosie!" they shouted as they pounced on me, squeezing me in a tight hug.
      I choked out a laugh before slapping them on their backs, "Okay, okay! Let me get ready." They both kissed me on the top of my head with huge grins etched on their faces before leaving. I stood up and stretched with a giant sigh.
      "Here goes nothing."