Amortentia (a Scorose Fanfiction)

Chapter Twenty-Three

          For some reason Wattpad randomly decided to delete this the first time I uploaded it, so here it is again :( lost all the comments and votes, crying

          Harry Potter stood on the makeshift stage at the far end of the Great Hall.  He was rattling on about the importance of "knowing your stuff", as he had oh-so-unprofessionally phrased it, facing the hall of fifth, sixth and seventh years.  Knowing Harry, he had given the exact same presentation to the younger years that morning. 

          Rose was sat between Albus and James in the back-right corner of chairs.  Robert was on the other side of Albus, the rest of the Gryffindors filling the chairs around them.  They had been ordered to sit in their houses by Professor McGonagall upon arrival. 

          Rose had almost immediately sought out the two Slytherin boys she wished she was with.  She found Scorpius' white-blonde head of hair first, Charlie sitting on his left.  They were across the room, in the front-right group of chairs with the rest of the Slytherin House.  They hadn't noticed Rose, yet. 

          "In reality," Harry Potter was saying, "Practice is key.  It's a lot more than just knowing the theory — something I hope that those who don't intend to become Aurors never have to discover for themselves."

          "Kill me now," James grumbled to Rose.  "How many times does he have to subtly remind us that he fought and defeated Voldemort?"  He rolled his eyes.  "As if anyone could forget."

          Rose shot her cousin a look of sympathy.  She wished he could see it the way she did.  Harry wasn't bragging.  Yes, he should be proud of it and, in his own way, he was, but he was simply using his experiences to demonstrate.  It was why he was here, after all. 

          "When is this ending again?" Rose heard Robert whisper on Albus' right. 

          Albus shrugged.  "No idea.  Soon, I hope."

          If they hadn't grown up with Harry Potter and her parents and the remainder of the Order of the Phoenix, Rose was fairly positive that their attention would be fixated on the man on stage.  They would be enthralled by his stories and his experiences of Dark Magic and defence.  But, alas, they had heard these stories all their lives. 

          Rose had to wonder, again, why Professor McGonagall hadn't granted them permission to miss the presentation.  She knew, as well as they did, that it was fairly pointless for them to be there. 

          From what she could see, however, the rest of the hall — Slytherins included, surprisingly — seemed to paying Harry Potter the utmost attention. 

          Scorpius was bent forward in his seat, elbows resting on his thighs with his large, pale hands clasped in front of him. His silver gaze was trained on the man on stage, following his every movement with the occasional slight narrowing of his eyes.  Rose had to suppress a smile at his antics.  Scorpius really was one of a kind. 

          They were meeting after dinner.  Rose had had to cancel their meeting the night before.  Regardless of how disappointed she had been at not being able to see him — not to mention the suspense that was stacking in her mind over Scorpius' "gift" — Rose had promised Albus that she would help him finish his essay for Herbology. 

          Despite the fact that she didn't actually study Herbology this year.  When she had voiced that fact, Albus had waved it off and promised that she deserved the Cousin of the Year Award.  Rose knew that, had it existed, she did. 

          However, the smugness she gained from her good deed did nothing to diminish the fact that she missed Scorpius.  And, for once, she was not afraid to admit it.  Perhaps it had something to do with the feelings that swarmed her stomach and chest when she thought of his confession in the library two days previous.  Or the sly glances and sneaky smiles they shot each other in class when no one was looking.