Raindrops on Roses

Chapter 34: Seventh Year Part 2: Hexotransfigural Reversation

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"So?" Albus asked Scorpius the next morning as he stared down at the class timetable Professor Flitwick had just handed to him. "Did you pass?"

"Must have," Scorpius replied, spreading the parchment on the table next to his porridge. "They're all on there."

Rose craned over her breakfast to inspect his timetable. "Well we knew you would," she said happily.

"There's a lot of free time on this," Scorpius said, frowning and turning it over as if it was some kind of trick.

"It's to give us more time to do our coursework," Rose explained. "You know, the special NEWT projects."

"Oh, yeah." The look on his face was one of anxious realisation.

"Have you thought about them at all? You know we were meant to come up with prospective topics over the summ..." She interrupted herself at the look on Scorpius' face. "Oh. Well, that's fine. We'll help you, right Al?"

Albus swallowed down his last bite of breakfast. "Yeah no problem. At least you only have to do four. We've got to do five each, and I still don't know what I'm doing for Care of Magical Creatures..."

"You could raise a Hippogriff from infancy," Rose suggested impishly. "I bet Hagrid'd love that."

"Or I could get the Scamanders to do it for me," he ruminated out loud. "Did you hear what Peter and Janey found in Lysander's trunk last night?"

"No," Rose's eyes widened.

"A half dozen pixie eggs. They were all curled up in his robes like a little nest. He has to do detention with Filch for a week."

"Lorcan too?"

"Nah, they didn't find anything on him."

"Well that's not very fair. They must know they were in it together, they always are."

"That's just what Peter said, right Scorp?" Albus turned back to his friend. He was bent slightly over his porridge, his spoon gripped too-tightly in his right hand. "Scorp? You all right?"

"Fine," Scorpius grunted, his head jerking suddenly as if he'd been woken from a particularly deep daydream. Rose put a hand on his arm and he smiled weakly up at her. Albus couldn't help but feel slightly jealous, though he wasn't sure that was the right emotion at all. It annoyed him that Rose could make him feel better with just a touch and a smile while all he, Albus, could do was make jokes and try to pretend as though everything was fine.

"We better get to Defence Against the Dark Arts, then," he said after a moment.

"We're early," Rose protested. She still had half a piece of toast left.

"Yeah but..." he made what he hoped was a subtle indication towards Scorpius' wheelchair.

"Stop that," Scorp muttered. "I bet I'm faster than both of you. I don't need pandering. Finish your breakfast."

Rose shot Albus a disapproving look, as though her boyfriend's mood was suddenly his fault.

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Defence Against the Dark Arts, when they got there, seemed to have been turned on its head. Tufty announced that there would be a lot more duelling practice and periodical 'practical tests' all the way up to their NEWTs. It seemed that Neville had made good on his promise to talk to Professor Tufty about including more practical classes into the curriculum. While this was probably a good thing overall, it irked Albus that the tight-lipped old Professor kept looking at him whenever she mentioned these changes. Everyone else seemed a lot more worried by the way she talked about the 'practical tests' analysing their reflexes.