The Red Rose That Has Green Thorns

**Read the PS for important news regarding updates!**

Professor Collins paused.

He paused! At the most dramatic, heart-stopping, sweat-inducing moment of all!

My mind was kicking into overdrive. Maybe it was an illegitimate pair, and that’s why he paused! Maybe two Slytherins tried to enter together and tricked the Goblet? Or maybe two guys entered together, instead of one guy and one girl? Maybe if one of the guys was gay they’d count him as a girl, but - oh, Merlin, Rose. What are you thinking?

The silence was deafening. It was crushing my ears, making me lose all sense of where I was and why I was there and what the purpose of the dramatic silence was. It was crushing me, driving me insane. You could have heard a pen drop. Hell, you could hear a needle drop in this room, if someone had one! I bet, if there was a fly buzzing somewhere up high, that someone in the room heard it, even if I couldn’t. I mean it. The silence in the Great Hall was so much so that I squeezed Scorpius’ hand for moral support. He squeezed back, and neither one of us let go even though both of our palms were getting sweaty with nervous anticipation.

Or was it just mine?! Maybe Scorpius was trying to let go, but I was holding on too tightly? Maybe my hand was the only one sweating and I was totally grossing him out. I shook my head, knowing that it wasn’t the case but not quite willing to believe.

“Just say it already,” I mumbled under my breath. Scorpius let out a nervous chuckle beside me, before it went silent again.

I know it probably only lasted a few seconds, the pause, but for me it seemed like a lifetime. I would not have been surprised, immediately afterwards, to find gray hair on my head. The silence had seemed that long to me.

“…interesting.” Professor Collins finally said. Our Hogwarts team will be…interesting.

That did not calm me down one bit.

“Would you please make your way to the door on the left when I call you up. Ladies and gentlemen, your Head Boy and Girl, Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Weasley!”

“It’s us,” Scorpius’ voice was hoarse and he squeezed my hand more tightly than he had yet done. “Bloody Hell, Rose, it’s us!”

I found it slightly hard to speak through the lump in my throat, but I managed, “Then I highly suggest we go.”

I pulled him up and would have released his hand if he hadn’t gripped it tighter and pulled me along after him as he shook his daze off. A few steps later, he squeezed my hand one more time and let go, grinning kind of shyly. I grinned back, and we both faced forward.

As we passed Professor Collins and the other Headmaster and Headmistress, he nodded at us and gestured toward the door that the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons champions had already disappeared through. I grinned up at him, doing my utmost to ignore the nervous butterflies building in my stomach.

I was also trying to ignore how empty my hand felt after Scorpius had pulled his own away.

I wasn’t succeeding.

I was itching to take hold of his hand again, just to feel the warmth of his larger hand encasing my own. I even felt my fingers twitch when I had realized my hand was inching closer to his and pulled it back. I was thankful yet disappointed when we reached the aforementioned door and Scorpius opened it for me, like a true gentlemen.

“Thanks,” I said as I entered, all too aware of the other eyes upon me as we left the Great Hall and entered the little room.

“Rose! Scorpius! Eet was you!” Andy’s voice wasn’t a shout, or exclamation. I figured she was being quiet because of the silence that had overtaken the Great Hall.

Had I mentioned that there was an uproar when Scorpius and I had been called up? No? Well, there was. Only, I didn’t really notice it until we’d reached the door and Professor Collins hushed them so he could say a few more things.

“Yeah,” Scorpius chuckled a bit as Andy hugged me - this time, not withholding any of her enthusiasm.

We all paused then to listen to what Professor Collins was saying.

“Ah, here are our judges. You just missed the choosing of the champions! No matter, though. Follow me to the side room, if you would, where you can see them for yourselves. Students, I advise you to get your homework done, because tomorrow’s Exhibition match is likely to take a while. Or maybe it will be over quickly? They’re your best players, let’s hear one quick round of applause for all your friends who are playing tomorrow.” there was a lot of applause, and Andy applauded too, grinning at Scorpius and I.

“I will root for you tomorrow, too,” Andy said as the applause began to die down.

“Thank you,” I laughed a little.

“Now, off to bet with the lot of you! Especially you Quidditch players. The match starts at noon tomorrow! Good night!”

We heard people leaving, and then we heard several pairs of footsteps approach the room. My nerves came back and I took an imperceptible step closer to Scorpius.