Scorrose

ten - edit

Oliver poured her a drink before grabbing one for himself. They returned to the table she had been sitting at earlier, and she wondered where Siobhan had run off to. She caught sight of her only a moment later, still on the dance floor with the same Hufflepuff boy.

As she pondered whether to take off her heels again to let her feet breathe, familiar voices caught her ear.

"Albus!" She said, waving as he walked by with Shannon.

"Hey," he said. "Mind if we sit?"

"Go ahead," Rose said, gesturing to the chairs. "I haven't seen anybody else claim the table."

Shannon plopped onto a seat beside her. "My feet are killing me," she complained, rubbing her ankle.

Rose nodded sympathetically. She opened her mouth to complain of the same thing when Scorpius showed up, causing her words to falter. She made a point to avoid looking in his direction.

"Did you have a good waltz?" She asked Albus and Shannon.

Albus nodded. She noticed him glance over at Oliver quizzically.

"This is Oliver," Rose said. "Oliver, this is my cousin, Albus, and his date Shannon." She paused. "And that's his friend, Scorpius."

She felt sort of cruel, referring to Scorpius as Albus' friend and not her own. Oliver shook hands with the three of them, smiling pleasantly.

"Nice to meet you," he said.

Scorpius' smile seemed forced. "Pleasure." He hesitated. "You're on the Quidditch team, aren't you?"

"Ravenclaw," Oliver affirmed.

"Right. I've heard about you." It didn't sound like a compliment.

Rose cleared her throat. "He's a beater," she said, mostly to fill the silence.

Scorpius looked at her then, cocking an eyebrow. He seemed less than amused, which ignited a tiny spark of anger in her. He had no right to judge who she danced with, not after being glued to Polly's side all night.

She looked away from him, arms crossed over her chest. She wished Oliver would say something flirty to her just to annoy Scorpius, but he had already struck up a conversation with Albus and Shannon about Quidditch and Rose was in no mood to join in.

When Scorpius quietly cleared his throat, Rose peeked over at him. "Can I talk to you?" He said softly, his words almost lost under the sound of the other's conversation.

There was something in his expression that made her hesitant to say no. She considered it for a moment, then nodded. "I'll be back," she muttered, and Oliver glanced at her to nod in acknowledgement. She and Scorpius walked over to a nearby empty table.

"What's this about?" She asked. "And where's your date, anyway?"

Scorpius shrugged. "She's catching up with some friends," he said, brushing it off like it was unimportant. "And by the way, that boy – don't go out with him."

"What?" She stared at him open-mouthed, immediately taken aback and ready to go on the defensive. "I wasn't even considering going out with him, Scorpius, and even if I was you don't get to dictate who I—"

"No, I didn't mean it like that," he said quickly, shaking his head. She heard a hint of exasperation in his tone. "I just meant, you shouldn't go out with him."

"And why shouldn't I?" She put a hand to her hip, irritated now.

"I heard he's filthy rich and entitled – dad's high up in the ministry."