The Red Rose That Has Green Thorns

I heard something fall over in the next room and it was only seconds later that the bathroom door burst open.

“Rose! Are you okay?!”

Scorpius stood in the open bathroom door, his hair disheveled and his tie knocked askew. I realized, with a giggle, that it must have been him that had fallen. Disheveled hair looked good on him. Kind of windswept, like we’d just played a match and gotten off of our brooms.

I cleared those thoughts for a moment and looked up at him from where I’d slumped to the floor, skirt fanned out around me. I had just put my own tie on my next when I’d come to the realization that made me scream, so the ends were falling loosely, untied.

“I’m fine,” I said blankly, blinking.

“Th-then why’d you scream?”

“I…I just remembered something that I’d forgotten.”

He looked at me incredulously.

“And what would that be?”

“That today is Friday.”

He slumped against the doorway, face in his hand. “And why does that recollection make you scream and scare the pants off of me?”

I had to jerk my attention from the soft flesh (well, I assumed it was soft…it looked it) that was revealed by his two unbuttoned buttons.

“Because of the Champions,” I murmured to the floor, kind of embarrassed. “They get picked tonight.”

I heard a thump and looked back up. Scorpius was now sitting in the doorway, and he groaned.

“I’d forgotten…” he muttered, peeking out at me from between his fingers. “Today is going to be torture.”

I laughed.

“I know,” I grinned at him. “Why d’you think I screamed?”

“To let out a bit of frustration?” he suggested.

“Actually, no.” I shrugged. “I was just kind of shocked that I’d forgotten, and I kind of wanted to scream.”

He rolled his eyes and got to his feet.

“Oh, well. If it had been to help relieve your anxiety or something like that, I would’ve asked you if it worked and then tried it myself.” it was his turn to shrug.

I smirked, “Well, I guess it does work for that, too.”

He glanced at me, rolled his eyes, but turned his back on me and yelled into our common room. Then he turned around as though nothing had happened, and I waited a few seconds.

“Feel better?” I asked.

“Eh, a little,” he shrugged, not even the least bit breathless from yelling like a dork - like me - and held out his hand. “Let’s get to breakfast.”

I let him help me up and grabbed my robes, pulling them on quickly. I noticed that he did the same thing - apparently, he’d left his in the bathroom, as eager as he was to get back to reading. While I tied my tie back in the common room, sitting on the arm of a chair, he buttoned his two buttons, covering up his pale skin. He then straightened his tie and waited as I straightened my robes and brushed a few dust bunnies off.

Finally, we both picked up our bags and headed down to breakfast, where a fairly full Great Hall greeted us. There were excited murmurs all around, talking and mumbling and everything and an all around eager atmosphere.

“How many people entered, d’you reckon?” I asked Scorpius, looking around.

“Last I knew, thirty-six.”

“That’s eighteen pairs!” I said, rather loudly. A few heads turned to look at me confusedly, but most were too engrossed in their conversations to pay the Head Girl much attention.

“Congratulations, Rose. You’ve learned simple mathematics.” Scorpius said, sarcastically, but with a teasing grin.

“Finally!” I said, playing along. “D’you know how long it took me to figure out that one plus two equals three?”

“Doesn’t it equal four?” he asked, and laughed.

I paused, then asked, “Does it?”

He rolled his eyes, still chuckling.

I grinned and stuck my tongue out as we moved together to the table where Andy was already sitting. She was talking with Theresa and, kind of surprisingly but kind of not, Al.

“What’re you up to, Al?” I asked lightly as I sat across from Andy and Scorpius across from Al.

“Oh, just talking about the Tournament.” Al grinned, and continued. “Andy says she doesn’t really want to participate, but it would be an honor to her family if she or Demitri do get picked - did you know they’re not entered together? I was surprised. And we just agreed that if they don’t get picked, we’re both - and probably Demitri, too - going to root for you and Scorpius. Isn’t that pretty much what we were talking about?”

He looked to Andy for confirmation and she nodded, her blonde hair bouncing in waves around her face.

“Yes. Zair are some people from Beauxbatons zat I do not - and could not - care less for. I would rather root for ze two of you than them.”

She glanced up the table to where a group of three girls and two guys from Beauxbatons sat. just by looking at them, I could tell they were a clique and could see exactly what she meant.

“Thanks, then,” Scorpius nodded to her, adding also, “but we’d have to get chosen before you could cheer for us.”

“I don’t zink ze Goblet eez stupid enough to leave ze two of you out,” she said, kind of playfully but with an undertone of seriousness in her voice.

“We’ll just have to wait until tonight to see, then, won’t we?” I grinned, pulling some bacon and eggs and toast to my plate for my breakfast.

“Yes, we will,” Andy sighed, “but eet will seem like forever!”

I laughed at her dramatics and ate contentedly. It was a nice feeling to be surrounded by friends - both old and new - and the other people that I’d known for years, and gone to school with. Just another normal breakfast at Hogwarts.