Scorrose

fourteen - edit

Siobhan joined Rose at the Gryffindor table for lunch, although now that the day of the final match was just a day away, Rose could barely eat. She tended to get pre-game jitters before any match, though they were especially intense this time around. She felt a much stronger need than usual to prove herself, and this was her last chance of the year. There were so many people depending on her—her teammates. Her house. Herself.

"Are you okay?" Siobhan asked, her forehead corrugating in concern.

"I'm fine," Rose said. "Just a little nervous about the game tomorrow."

"Don't be!" Siobhan said enthusiastically. "You're a great player. I know you'll win."

Rose gave her a strained smile. "Thanks."

She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder and was surprised to see her brother standing behind her.

"Hugo!"

"Hey," he said. "Albus told me you might need some support."

"He... what?"

Hugo shrugged. "I don't know, something about the ball," he said. "Anyway, if you want to talk, you can come to me." He looked sort of awkward saying it, and Rose couldn't help but feel the same way, wondering what exactly Albus had said to him.

"Er – thanks Hugo. I'll keep that in mind."

"Yeah." He nodded, then walked off to sit by his friends towards the end of the table.

"Who was that?" Siobhan asked.

"My brother."

Siobhan's eyes bulged. "I didn't know you had a brother!"

"Ever since he started his fourth year, he thinks he's too cool to associate with me," Rose said, shaking her head. "He's got his own friends. I usually leave him alone."

"Well, that was sweet of him."

"I suppose."

"What did he mean by support?" Siobhan asked. "Did something happen during the ball? Is that why you left early?"

Rose shook her head. "No! Don't worry about it."

Siobhan didn't seem convinced, but Rose really didn't want to bring up Scorpius to anybody else. Albus was enough; anyway, talking about him was getting old. Even just thinking about him was getting old, but he kept slithering back into her head just when she thought she'd shoved him out.

As if she'd manifested his presence, he walked into the Great Hall with Polly right beside him. Rose initially felt a spark of annoyance at the sight of them before realizing they didn't look quite as loved up as they had the other night. In fact, they seemed to be engaged in some type of argument.

Rose grabbed her book bag and turned to Siobhan. "I should get to class," she said, which was true enough, though she couldn't deny to herself that she was curious as to what the two were arguing about.

She stood up and hurried towards the exit, deliberately taking the route that would cross paths with the arguing couple.

"Well, I thought you had a good time," she heard Polly hiss to Scorpius when she was within earshot. He sighed defeatedly in response.

"I did, I just—I don't know if we are the right—"

He cut off as Rose neared, catching her eye as she passed. She quickly averted her gaze, gripping the strap of her bag as she walked past them, hoping he didn't realize she'd wanted to eavesdrop.

She already couldn't hear them anymore, but she understood the gist of their conversation, and wasn't sure what to feel about it. By the doors, she glanced back and saw the two of them separating, Scorpius going to join Albus at the Slytherin table, and Polly heading towards her friends at Gryffindor's.

Polly shot a look towards the entrance where Rose stood, and though Rose couldn't quite make out her expression, she could've sworn the other girl was glowering at her.

This did quite the opposite of easing her nerves— Rose tore her gaze away and sped to class, her stomach in knots.