Scorpius's Guide to Getting the Girl

Chapter 6 - Rumors & Realities

SCORPIUS

"Will you shut up about finding her, Scorpius?" Albus said exasperatedly, as Scorpius asked for the fifth time where Rose was. They were at the opening feast for their fifth year, and Scorpius hadn't managed to even get a glimpse of Rose at the train station, in their compartment, and he couldn't even see her now through the crowded house tables. "You'll find her eventually."

Scorpius really hoped he did, as he'd been waiting forever for the start of the school year so he could talk to Rose. He hadn't seen her since Ron and Hermione's marriage renewal, when she had hugged him and held his hand, and made him feel like for once the connection he knew they had wasn't completely one sided.

"Just because she's a prefect now and she's got extra responsibilities, doesn't mean she's just going to forget about you." Albus said. "I mean, she might not hang out with you as much because of all the extra homework we'll be getting for O.W.L prep, but trust me, you'll still see her. In fact, we have double potions next week with Gryffindor. So please, stop bugging me about it."

While Scorpius did stop bugging Albus about it, the thought that he had to wait a whole week to see Rose wouldn't stop bugging him. He knew it was going to be a very long and slow first week back at Hogwarts.

***

One week later, Scorpius awoke bright and early with a smile on his face. The day for double potions with Gryffindor had finally come. The day he'd finally get to talk to Rose, and find out if them holding hands had meant to her what it had to him. He'd waited so long for this day, and it was finally here.

Albus was up, too, and he was looking at Scorpius curiously. "You seem awfully happy today," he said, and Scorpius resisted the urge to go, well duh, it's double potions day!  Then Albus continued, "especially considering what you told me happened yesterday."

"What do you mean? What happened yesterday... " Scorpius's voice trailed off as the events of the day before finally caught up with him.

He remembered walking down the corridor to transfiguration as a huge mob of giggling girls rounded the corner at the end of the hall, blocking his path and threatening to trample him. Normally, he would've avoided the situation as best he could by simply turning around and walking around the entire school so he wouldn't have to go through them. Unfortunately, he was already late for class, and had no choice but to try and squeeze through the crowd of gossiping girls. What he heard amongst their mindless chatter hit him like a brick to the face.

"You know who's really cute?" One girl said to her friend, swooning. "That sixth year Gryffindor Jack Fellows. I hear he's on the quidditch team, too."

At this, Scorpius's features immediately contorted in annoyance at the memory of Jack checking in on their compartment last year on the train ride home for christmas holidays. He remembered the tall boy puffing out his chest to show off his fancy prefect badge, and Rose blushing as he waved at her.

"Oh, you can't like him, Liliya," the other girl said to her friend. "He's taken. I heard he's just started dating Rose Granger-Weasley."

Scorpius wished the girl had just slapped him across the face. That would've been less painful than this. His stomach felt like it had just dropped 10 feet and he had a sudden urge to vomit. Thankfully, he was able to contain his nausea, but not the feeling of depression that overtook him.

Throughout the next day, it felt like a heavy sadness had been placed on his shoulders and refused to leave. He carried the weight with him all day, until finally, noticing how unhappy his friend was, Albus pulled him aside to talk just before they entered double potions.

Albus sighed before saying, "Scorpius, you know I'm not great at pep talks, but I'm going to attempt one right now because all day you've been looking like you're in desperate need of one."

"I'm fine, Albus. I've survived way worse than this, remember?"

"Yeah, well, you don't look fine. Listen, I bet you half the stuff those girls talk about are just rumors, and guess what - rumors aren't always true. Do you really think Rose would date a bloke like Jack?" Scorpius opened his mouth to respond, but Albus quickly cut him off. "Nevermind. Don't answer that. Look, you've been waiting to see Rose all week, and now is your chance. Just..." he paused, as if he couldn't believe what he was about to say next. "Make the best of the situation."

Scorpius almost laughed. "Well, look who's finally decided to be positive for a change."

Albus rolled his eyes. "I'm serious, Scorpius. Go in there and talk to her. You can ask her if the rumors are true, if she really is dating Fellows, and who knows - maybe the answer will be different from what you expect."

Scorpius doubted it, but appreciated Albus's attempt to cheer him up. So after thanking him for the pep talk - lousy though it was - he took a deep breath and walked into the classroom. He immediately spotted Rose with her vibrant red hair standing out amongst the crowd, and sat next to her.

They immediately launched into conversation, talking about how the rest of both their summers had been after the wedding, and what classes they were taking this year. All the while, the question of whether or not she was dating Jack lingered in the back of his mind, but he found the painful subject almost impossible to bring up while they were so happily lost in conversation. 

At the same time, however, he hated not knowing for sure if he should really be so depressed about what he'd heard in the corridor yesterday. The  little shred of hope Albus had given him - however small it had been - was now growing and growing with each second Rose kept talking and smiling at him. The question was bubbling inside of him like the now bright blue liquid of the potion they were currently brewing together.

But how was he even supposed to ask it? He had no idea how to approach the subject, or phrase the question. He couldn't just randomly blurt out, "Are you dating Jack Fellows?!" No, that would be too weird and sudden.

Yet, Scorpius being Scorpius, that was exactly what he did. He couldn't help it, though. He'd been dying to get the question out for ages. Now that he had, he felt a sense of relief wash over him, though it was quickly replaced by anxiety as he awaited her answer.

Rose, who was taken aback by the abruptness of the question, asked, "What?" 

It was then that Scorpius realized that she probably hadn't fully understood him, due to him being in a hurry to get the question out and slurring the words together. "It's just -" he began, "I heard a bunch of girls in the corridors saying you were dating that Jack Fellows guy." Seeing the shock on her face, he added hopefully, "Probably just a load of rubbish."

"People think we're dating?" Rose asked incredulously, and Scorpius's heart lifted. It was like a huge weight had been taken off his shoulders, and had been replaced with a desire to jump up and down with joy. He began to smile, bigger and bigger until-

"Already?" Rose finished.

Scorpius paused. "What do you mean already?"

"Well," Rose hesitated. "I've heard that Jack likes me, and that he's going to ask me out soon, but I didn't know people thought we were already a couple."

"Oh," Scorpius's heart remained still - not dropping into his stomach with grief, nor lifting with relief and happiness. "And... what will you say, if he does happen to ask you?" He said tentatively.

Rose hesitated yet again, as if she didn't quite want to tell him the answer. She did so nevertheless. "I think I'm going to say yes. I like Jack. I have for a while now, actually."

He nodded solemnly, turing away from her to face the desk. At least it hadn't come as nearly as much of a shock to him as the last time he'd heard it. But as he gazed into their potion - which had turned a pitch black in the time they'd spent talking about Rose's apparent love life rather than working - he couldn't help but feel that it reflected perfectly how he felt on the inside.