Our Hearts\' Beat to a different type of Drum

A/N: Hello everyone. I know that this chapter is significantly shorter than the others, but it’s full of information and I didn’t want to overdo it, and make it too complicated. Okay so this will focus on the reasons behind Professor McGonagall teaming the pair up. Also Rose and Scorpius start to realise that maybe they don’t completely hate each other! Anyway I hope you enjoy :)

Disclaimer: It belongs to JK Rowling

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Over the next couple of weeks, things continued in much the same manner; with Rose and Scorpius continuing to keep their distance from each other. There was the occasional spat when an irritated Rose would snap at the Slytherin for losing her only sachet of lacewing flies, or after a misplaced charm managed to singe the both of them, and the pair had to visit Madame Pomfrey in the hospital wing for some anti-burn ointment.

However apart from these few incidents, they both became masters at avoiding any sort of friendly behaviour or even a simple conversation.

As the end of September grew nearer, neither knew the other any better than when they had first been put together. More frustratingly, neither wanted to discover more about their rival. Thus things hung in a strange sort of equilibrium, which although it seemed to satisfy both parties, was of no use to anyone.

Unbeknownst to the two sixth years, Professor McGonagall had been observing their behaviour through reports from the other teachers.

Though perhaps the headmistress should have been pleased that at least Malfoy’s marks in class seemed to have slightly improved, she was aware that this was nothing without a change in his character. Of further annoyance was the fact that Rose had kept up with her stubborn nature.

The question was; what should be done about this? McGonagall was aware that she couldn’t force the two to get along, but this sullen sulking was in some ways worse than their old constant bickering. At a loss, the professor decided to summon the both of them to her office on the fourth Friday of term.


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So it was that at 7:25 Scorpius was able to excuse himself from his weekly punishment of polishing the trophy room, whilst Boarg looked on with a malicious glint in his eyes, and muttered things like “You’ve missed a spot boy!”

Although this was a welcome break from the otherwise strenuous labour, Scorpius could not help but be apprehensive about the meeting with Weasel and the headmistress.

Reaching the stone gargoyle which guarded the steps to McGonagall’s office, the boy mumbled the password (‘Animagus’) and then made a leap onto the moving staircase, once the statue had jumped aside.

When it finally ground to a halt he arrived in a sort of small atrium in which he spotted Rose, leaning against a wall.

Saying nothing to her, Scorpius moved to the other side of the small room and directed his gaze to the floor, waiting. Thankfully it had barely been a minute when the door to the office opened and the Headmistress beckoned them inside.

Again she had conjured the two hard backed wooden chairs in front of her desk, but this time when the two teenagers took a seat, she remained standing. This simple action had the effect of seeming much more oppressive, and as she leaned across her desk, supporting herself with her hands and studying them over the top of her glasses, Rose almost shrank back.

Even though the girl didn’t think that she had done anything particularly wrong, she also realised that she wasn’t exactly doing the job that she was meant to. A guilty flush crept onto her face, and she had difficulty meeting the older woman’s eye.

“I assume you both know why you’re here?” Rose nodded dolefully, whilst the boy at her side just made a grunt and looked into the distance over the Professor’s left shoulder.

Sensing the tone, McGonagall wasted no time in hesitating before pushing on with the one-sided conversation.

“I must say that you both have disappointed me a little.” There was a slight pause in her speech as the girl made an involuntary twitch as though to say something, but changed her mind. “Neither of you have made any effort in getting along”

Scorpius frowned and interrupted with a “But...” However he was silenced by the stern look on the headmistress’s weather-beaten face.

“No excuses Mr Malfoy. Now I understand that you each have your differences, but ignoring and burying these instead of discussing and then moving past them will get you nowhere.”

“But Professor!” It was Rose’s turn to interject McGonagall’s tirade. Though she wished she could take those words back, the Gryffindor swallowed and carried on; fearful that if she didn’t this might never get said. “Professor, what if we can’t get past those distinctions? Malfoy and I come from such opposite ends of the spectrum that I’m afraid there is no way that we can understand each other, let alone like one another.”

The blonde Slytherin nodded along with this, glad that Weasley had managed to say what he had wanted to. Professor McGonagall however was frowning; her forehead creased in displeasure.

“And this is what the both of you think? That there is no chance that you can ever get along?”

It was the girl who answered again. “Yes. I’m sorry Professor, but we can’t stand one another.”

“It’s a bit stronger than that”. Both the women were shocked that Malfoy had decided to enter the discussion, and they turned to look at him.

“And what exactly do you mean by that Mr Malfoy?” The headmistress was looking more and more furious by the second, and Scoprius half thought that he’d over stepped the mark. Perhaps he had, but if Weasley could say something then why couldn’t he?

“I mean that we despise each other” McGonagall raised her eyebrows so high in her shock that they seemed to disappear entirely underneath her tartan witch’s hat. Rose meanwhile just scrutinised her fellow sixth year.

“Oh come on, you know what I mean!” the Slytherin protested “I’m sure you can’t think of anything good about me, and I certainly can’t think of something about you” at this Rose had to admit that he was right, and she nodded along.

Professor McGonagall looked as though her gast had never been more flabbered. After a couple of attempts, she finally managed to spit out “W-well th-there must be something”

Neither party could think of one immediately, but the teacher would not be defeated. Instead she pressed on “There has to be one good point that you can find about each other!” she rounded on Rose primarily “Miss Weasley, there has got to be something you admire about Mr Malfoy ...”

The red-head was at first averse to thinking of anything. However she realised that it was perhaps unhealthy to so condemn a person as she had Scorpius. So, she wracked her brains for something, indeed anything that she actually respected about the boy. After a minute or so, she raised her dark eye’s to the headmistress’s bespectacled pair and said “Quidditch”.

There was a momentary haze of confusion as the professor merely contemplated the girl before asking “Pardon?”

Rose, although feeling more than a little uncomfortable, raised her shaking voice. “I...I said Quidditch...Malfoy’s a good player... a-a-and um, an inspiring captain” the last part trailed off into a mumble and she turned her head to look out of a nearby window, lest either of the pair would notice her blushing.

Scorpius was stunned that the Gryffindor had just admitted to admiring his flying, albeit under duress. He supposed that this must be a significant compliment coming from her. So lost was the boy in his own thoughts, that he hadn’t noticed that McGonagall was now fixing her attention on him. Rose still kept her face resolutely pointed towards the window.

“Well Mr Malfoy?”

Scorpius took just a moment before he also, to his great surprise, discovered something about his ‘mentor’ that he admired.

“Her bravery”

“What?” Rose snapped her head away from the window and turned it towards the boy at her side. His brow was furrowed into a frown, but he still decided to elaborate.

“You’re brave; you’re never afraid to stand up for what you believe in, and I guess that I respect that.”

A hint of a smile was curving on the Headmistress’s lips, but this disappeared at Malfoy’s next comment.

“Don’t think that means we’re going to be friends though. We still can’t stand each other....it doesn’t change anything.”

Rose scowled back at him. “Fine, I was just thinking the same thing.”

“Fine!”

McGonagall let a small sigh tumble out of her lips before easing herself into a chair, and rubbing at her temples wearily with her wrinkled hands. “Very well, I suppose that I am somewhat impressed” her cracked voice reached their ears “after all, you have made progress”.

She lowered her gaze to the desk before her, over which was strewn many documents, letters and diagrams. “I know that you might not understand why I am forcing you to spend time together” the two sixth years shook their respective heads.

“I believe that time spent working as a pair will be beneficial to you. You each have skills that you can teach the other. Mr Malfoy especially needs to learn from example. Furthermore, you are both missing something that may be found only by cooperating.”

This was all very cryptive, and possibly realising this, the Headmistress thanked the couple and finally dismissed them, knowing full well that once they left the room, they would go their own separate ways again.

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Once the office door clicked shut, the Professor rose and walked to the far side of her room, approaching a sleeping portrait. Clearing her throat slightly, McGonagall narrowed her eyes and said in a tired and creaky tone “You can stop pretending now, I know you’re awake and you just heard the whole meeting.”

The occupant opened one eye lazily and surveyed the current Headmistress. Allowing himself a chuckle, he sat up and twisted his position so that he could face her. “Minerva, nobody said that this would be easy.”

“That” she jabbed her finger at the painted face staring back at her “is a server understatement, and you know it!”

“Then perhaps, it would be better not to meddle?”

“But what would happen then? After 6 years of waiting nothing has occurred, and I would like to add the fact that without help Malfoy will keep on deteriorating, not reaching any potential...”

“Yes, I know all that Minerva.”

“Of course you do, I shared this information with you a long time ago! And besides it’s not just Scorpius...we also have to think about Rose and the implications for her.”

“Even so, perhaps just waiting would be a better course to take.”

The old witch seemed vexed by this comment, and her blue eyes blazed with irritation. “You know very well that I can’t! There is the prophecy to think of!”

“Indeed, indeed. I apologise Minerva. You are right.”

This seemed to offset the Professor even more. “But you never say that I’m right...what trick do you have up your sleeve Albus Dumbledore?”

The wizard in the portrait smiled down on his old colleague, and relaxed back into his seat. “Absolutely nothing my dear. Now if you’ll excuse me...” he gave a great yawn and closed his eyelids. “I must get to sleep”.

Heaving out a groan, McGonagall made her way back to the desk. ‘Well I suppose I ought to sort out all these papers...’


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After making it to the great hall, the two sixth year students parted with a mumbled and somewhat awkward goodbye.

Though the walk from the headmistress’s office had been silent, this wasn’t because they were ignoring each other. Rather it was due to the fact that both were caught up in their own thoughts about the meeting they had just taken part in.

In fact, Scorpius was shocked at himself for even addressing Rose before they went their own separate ways; for it was he who had bade farewell in the first place. As he walked unwillingly back towards the trophy room, he pondered on this action.

It wasn’t usual for him to show that kind of common courtesy, especially to a Gryffindor and a Weasley at that. However he hadn’t been lying when he had said the he respected her courage and fiery nature. It was all true.

Then perhaps he was starting to like the girl? Even though he shook his head fiercely as if to relieve himself of this bothering thought, a small voice in the back of his mind still whispered to him.

After taking a duster from Boarg, who expected all students to clean the muggle way, the blonde boy accepted the fact that maybe his ‘mentor’ wasn’t all that bad.

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Rose was just as pensive.

----

Upon arrival to the Gryffindor common room, she sat herself down on a squishy armchair by the fire near to Frankie and Al, who were struggling over a two foot DADA essay.

Noticing their friend, the boys quickly dropped the incomplete scrolls of text, over which they had just been hunched a muttering. Instead they focused all of their attention on the red-head.

Rose was glad of an audience and proceeded to tell of her encounter with Malfoy and McGonagall, causing a few raised eye brows and a couple of searching looks.

Finally finishing, she fixed the pair with a quizzical eye. “Do you not find it strange that she is trying force Malfoy and I to spend our time together?”

Al wrinkled his nose in concentration. “Well, it is a bit odd...but perhaps she is right and you both need to learn things from each other”

Frankie merely shook his head. “Do you know what I think she’s up to?” the others stared at him imploringly, and he lowered his voice even though the circular tower room was unusually deserted. “I think that even though there might be some truth to that, what McGonagall really wants is for inter-house unity.”

“What?” Rose glanced over at her long-time friend, finding that his round face was full of intrigue and suspicion. Still however, the girl had her doubts. “What does that have to do with Malfoy and I?”

To her surprise, Al agreed with their fellow Gryffindor. “You know, that could be true...”

Frankie nodded before revealing more of his speculative thoughts. “Think about it, Gryffindor and Slytherin have been rivals for as long as anyone can remember.” Rose had to admit that was true, the enmity went back centuries. “Even after the last war, things haven’t been resolved...instead, from what I’ve read things have gotten much, much worse...”

The other two leaned in closer, Al frowning slightly as he asked “How so?”

“Well, now everyone blames Slytherin. After all that was the house that produced Voldemort and his army of deatheaters, the Malfoys among them”

Suddenly Al held up his hand to stop his friend, looking abnormally angry. “Wait a second, Dad told me that Scorpius’ father was forced into the organisation; he had no choice! And his grandmother saved my father’s life! Scorpius may be a bit of his git, but you can’t go saying that the Malfoy’s are evil...” It was a well known fact that Albus Potter believed very thoroughly in justice and fairness. It was the one thing that could shake up his usually passive state.

Frankie was aware of this and instantly looked apologetic. “I didn’t mean it like that mate...I’m just saying that their reputation...and that of Slytherin on the whole isn’t good” calming down a little, the dark haired boy nodded and allowed the Gryffindor to continue, he knew that no real harm had been meant. “Anyway, now all the other houses look down on the Slytherins. All that talk of equality after Voldemort being defeated...well it’s gotten nowhere.”

Rose, who had for the past couple of minutes been listening intently, suddenly found her voice. “That’s true...there is still prejudice, but it’s just swung the other way.”

Frankie was glad that she at last understood. “That’s what I’m saying! So maybe McGongall thinks that if you and Malfoy become friends, then that will be a good starting point for everyone to get over old boundaries.”

The red-head sighed, and stared into the crackling fire. “There’s just one problem with that; Malfoy and I can’t be friends.”

Al seemed to have awoken from his reverie after the talk of death eaters. “I understand that he’s a bit of a bastard Rose, but McGonagall must see something in him.”

The girl shrugged, and kept her gaze on the flickering flames. “I don’t know what...I can’t see anything other than an arrogant, conceited, irresponsible idiot!”

Both boys shared a look, and Frankie laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry you’re stuck with him Rose...I know it can’t be easy.” Rose gave a sniff, still not turning away from the fireplace. “Hey at least he complimented you.”

She screwed up her face, contemplating this. “Yeah, that’s one thing I don’t understand...though I suppose he felt like he had to say it.”

Finally rising out of the armchair, Rose turned to her two most favourite people in the world, and bestowed on them a grateful smile. “Thanks for helping me out”

They nodded and each one pulled her in for a hug, before turning back to the scrolls of parchment and the mountains of books they had left unattended.

Al scratched his cheek with the quill and narrowed his green eyes, trying to make out what he had written already. “I suppose we ought to try and finish this...” Frankie nodded miserably and unfurled the parchment paper.

It was barely half a minute before Rose heaved an exasperated sigh and snatched their work from them.

“Hey what are you..?”

She pulled over a seat and joined them at the round table. “I’m going to help you with your essays as a thank you” Wide grins formed on the boys faces.

“Thanks Rose! You’re the bes-“

“Okay okay” she waved off the compliment “Just remember that I won’t write the whole thing for you, or how on earth-“

“-Will we ever learn” Al finished with a chuckle “We know!”

The girl tutted and prodded her cousin with her wand. “Fine, what do you have so far?”


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A/N: Gosh so what’s this about a prophecy? Also now Slytherin is being prejudiced against...how has this affected Scorpius? Does McGonagall really want the pair to be friends to break down old barriers? I wonder...

Yay the first appearance of Dumbledoor...though I bet you all guessed when McGonagall approached the portrait. I wonder if he has got a trick up his sleeve.

Scorpius and Rose are still clinging on to their old ideas...but are they being completely honest? How will their relationship progress?

Hmm...a lot of questions to be worked out!

I hope you liked this chapter...it was difficult to write because I wanted to put a lot of information and questionable things in there, but I also wanted to make it interesting and easy to read, I didn’t want it too cluttered...hence the shorter length.

The next chapter will be more from a students perspective than this one, and I’m thinking of putting in some Quidditch, yay!

So anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please let me know what you liked/didn’t like and what you’d change. Suggestions for future chapters are more than welcome. Most of all thank you very much for taking the time to read and review this story :)

Phew long author’s notes...but I felt that it was needed. So thanks again, and until next time

Arabella xx