In Need Of Some Good Advice

Author\'s Notes: Much love to my betas Libby, Mags and Shannon who turned this into something worth reading!



This was written for the Scorpius/Rose fest (lj comm"smrwficafest") for Lunalovepotter! And of course, I own nothing and JKR owns everything. This is just for fun, not for profit. Some aspects of this fic were inspired by the television show “The Office (US)”, including one of the jokes.



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He should have broken up with Bianca weeks ago.



Next to him, she shifted in her seat, giving a very loud sigh. This was Scorpius\' invitation to ask her what was wrong, he knew that. He just didn\'t care. She was still angry about the row they had before they arrived. Bianca had seen him leaving and asked where he was going. When he told her, she became upset. Over the past couple of weeks she\'d become increasingly possessive and despite Scorpius hardly speaking to Rose (not for lack of trying) Bianca was unhappy that he wanted to go to the match today. When she had told him she didn\'t feel like going, Scorpius informed her he wasn\'t asking for her company. That had only made things worse and his attempts to get away from her ended with her joining him.



He really should have broken up with her weeks ago.



The only thing that had stopped him from breaking up with her today was that Scorpius knew it would take a while and he didn\'t want to be late. After last night\'s dream, the only thing he could think about was Rose.



Trying his best to ignore his not-for-much-longer girlfriend, Scorpius kept his eyes on the match. The Hufflepuffs had just pulled off a passable Porksoff Ploy (he\'d done better) and Cauldwell had launched the Quaffle at Gryffindor\'s goal only to have it blocked by Corny. While watching that prat doing anything well gnawed at Scorpius, he had to laugh at the look on Rose\'s face when the jumped-up jerk usurped her role. After all this time, he doubted she could be surprised by anything Corny did. He knew he couldn\'t. This hard-gained wisdom didn\'t prevent her, however, from calling her team-mate a "bloody fucking wanker.”



The distance was too great for him to ihear/i her say this, but Scorpius had seen her say it enough to know. She seemed to relish saying the word “fuck” in any and all variations. Her upper lip would curl, showing off her two front teeth that were still slightly bigger than the rest despite all the dental work, and she would ball her hands into fists. As weird as it was, he always thought it was endearing when she would swore.



Bianca huffed next to him, her elbow knocking into his as she shifted again. "I don\'t understand why this match depends on you Seekers. It\'s so stupid."



There was so much wrong with that sentence, he almost didn\'t know where to begin. Almost. "I\'m not a Seeker."



"You\'re not?" She looked up at him, brows furrowed.



"I\'m a Chaser."



Bianca rolled her eyes. "Same thing."



"No, they\'re quite different."



"You turn everything into an argument."



"I--" He bit back the rest of his words. He would break up with her today, he\'d put this off for too long. Right after Valentine\'s Day, Scorpius had realized he had to end this thing. She was obviously more serious about this relationship and it was wrong to lead her on. The only reason he\'d waited this long was because it seemed cruel to break up with someone right after Valentine\'s. So he decided he would wait a week and then do it. Just before the week was up, she received word from home that her beloved cat of thirteen years, Beedle, had died. So he waited some more, hoping that two weeks would be long enough to mourn a pet. He assumed it was if she could get on his case about a bloody Quidditch match.



So lost in thought was he, Scorpius was taken off-guard when the crowd roared.



"Smith and Mowbray are both in a race for the Snitch," Harry Page said excitedly, jumping up and down in the commentator\'s box as he did. The Hufflepuff seeker sped off in the distance with the Gryffindor seeker just behind her while the rest of Smith\'s team, seeing this as their chance to tie or win the game, focused on goals. In an obviously coordinated move, the three Hufflepuff Chasers worked together, two of them trying to deflect the attention of the Beaters and pass Quaffles while Cauldwell tried to shoot goals.



"It\'s sister versus sister as Molly and Lucy Weasley face-off!" Page shouted as Lucy dodged the Bludger coming her way in time to pass a Quaffle to Cauldwell. From where Scorpius sat, it looked like a soft hit especially coming from Molly Weasley. He\'d seen her knock blokes twice ihis/i size off their brooms.



"Smith and Mowbray are still chasing the Snitch while Rose Weasley deflects the Quaffle again and again," Page paused as Cauldwell lobbed the Quaffle at the goals for a third time only to have Rose hit it back, right into Corny\'s waiting arms. "And again!"



Not wasting any time, Corny tucked the Quaffle under his arm and flew across field, the Hufflepuff Chasers hot on his heels.



Scorpius wasn\'t sure what happened next, because he found his eyes drawn to Rose. Perched on her broom, her hair a mess and her face still flushed, she looked tired but happy. The entire effect was quite fetching. He kept hoping she might turn and see him but she never did.



"And it\'s all over, folks! Smith has caught the Snitch but not in time to save the match for Hufflepuff! Final score is 310 to 300! Congratulations, Gryffindor!"



A cheer erupted from the Gryffindor crowd around them; and next to him, Al lept up from his seat and glanced at Scorpius. "I\'m heading down, you coming?"



"Sure," he replied, but before he could stand, Scorpius felt a restraining hand on his arm. He arched an eyebrow at Bianca.



"Where are you going?"



"To congratulate Gryffindor for winning?"



"Why? You\'re just going to see Rose, aren\'t you?"



"As she\'s my friend, yes, I am."



Bianca removed her hand, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at him. "Fine. But don\'t expect me to be here when you come back."



"I won\'t," he replied coolly before turning to leave.



As he reached the bottom of the steps, Scorpius saw a small crowd of people on the pitch. Mostly members of the Gryffindor team along with their friends and family. He spotted Al as he stood with his Aunt Audrey and Lucy, from the looks of it, Scorpius guessed that Al was trying to reassure his cousin. (Lucy looked too annoyed to care.)



He couldn\'t see Rose anywhere but if he had to guess, he\'d wager she was somewhere in the small sea of red-headed people and Gryffindor team members. Unsurprisingly, it looked like most of her family had turned out for the match, the Gryffindor team being half-Weasley. Scorpius passed her Uncle Percy who was guiding a churlish-looking Molly towards her mum and sister. A few steps more and he spotted the Potters and, as he expected, Rose\'s mum and dad right next to them.



But Rose was nowhere to be seen.



She may have already headed to the showers. Scorpius would be willing to wait, he just wouldn\'t have any good explanation for why he did other than wanting to see her. Not that he would let that stop him. Turning and fully intending to wait all afternoon if that\'s what it took, he stopped dead in his tracks when he caught sight of Rose.



In Finnigan\'s arms.



Her arms around his neck and his around her waist, Finnigan had lifted her clear up off the ground and she was beaming at him in a way that made Scorpius\' heart ache.



He looked away when the couple kissed, though not as quickly as he should have. His eyes had lingered on the pair and he couldn\'t help but wonder: What would it be like to just kiss her with abandon in front of everyone and not care? Would she ever look at him the same way? Did she ever, even if only for a brief while, feel the same way about him? Could she? Would he ever be able to hold her that close, tell her everything he wanted to? Scorpius couldn\'t help but think he deserve this in some way for wasting so much time, his and Bianca\'s, while he tried to screw up his courage.



Shoving his fists in his pockets he glanced up again at Rose and Finnigan, knowing he should walk away but unable to make his feet move. When Scorpius looked away again, he did so just in time to catch Rose\'s father watching him. Heat flooding his face, he wondered if Mr. Weasley had figured out his feelings for Rose. Though the look on Mr. Weasley\'s face was inscrutable, he just knew the other man could read him like a book.



Arms wrapped around each other, Rose and Finnigan walked off the field. Not even thinking, Scorpius followed. He had no idea what he was going to say. He just missed seeing her, missed talking to her and wanted her to spend time with him and not see Finnigan anymore. Maybe he would say all that and damn the consequences!



Before he could do that, however, he ran into a brick wall in the form of Rose\'s father. Literally.



"Sorry, sir, I was just going to see Rose--"



"I know. Maybe you could give her-- them some space, yeah?"



Scorpius knew exactly what Mr. Weasley was trying to say. Humiliated that he was so easy to read, he couldn\'t do much more than nod. "Right, yeah."



Mr. Weasley\'s expression seemed to soften, if only a fraction. "It\'s just Duncan hasn\'t had a chance to see her in a while, and Rosie\'s mum and I were going to take her out afterwards, to celebrate. Maybe you could catch up with her later?



Scorpius nodded, trying to act nonchalant and hoping he wasn\'t totally failing at it. "Good plan."



Mr. Weasley nodded, giving him a small pat on the shoulder before returning to where his wife stood. Without another glance towards them or Rose, Scorpius made his way back to the castle.



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Scorpius tried not to wince as Madam Pomfrey applied balm to the cut above his right eye. Part of him wished he hadn\'t bothered going to the infirmary at all, as most of the hexes and jinxes had been simple enough that he could reverse them. He\'d just been so anxious to get as far away from Bianca as he could that he hadn\'t thought to undo any of them but the Jelly-Legs Jinx.



"There," she murmured. "That should do it. You\'re free to stay here as long as you like."



"Thanks." There was no reason for him to stay; he wasn\'t badly injured at all and his skin no longer looked like cornflakes. Still, he made no effort to move, in no hurry to return to Slytherin.



He had finally broken it off with Bianca and it had gone about as well as he had expected. She had sobbed, asking him question after question. So many that he finally tripped up at one point: when she asked if he had feelings for another girl. Bianca had wanted to know who it was and Scorpius had tried to take it back but she correctly guessed that he was lying. That\'s when she started throwing hexes and jinxes, too many for him to block. (The wench had started off with the Impediment Jinx.)



Lying back on his pillow, he decided to rest before returning to Slytherin. If he planned this right, he could avoid her for the entire day.



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"Poor dear. I\'m told when he learned his mark for the lesson, he started hyperventilating."



Scorpius opened his eyes, at first surprised by the unfamiliar surroundings till he remembered where he was and why. He looked around for any sign of what time it was and found Al instead, one bed over. Glassy-eyed and smiling, if Scorpius had to guess he\'d say his friend had just been given a Calming Draught.



"Al?" No response. In a louder tone he tried again, "Al? Al! AL!"



Flopping his whole body around like a marionette, Al looked over at him and smiled. "Oh, hi, Scorpius! How are you?"



Stifling a laugh, Scorpius bit his lip and nodded. "I\'m fine."



"I heard about what happened with Bianca." Al nodded emphatically and for a little longer than necessary. "I\'m sorry, mate, but it\'s for the best, right?"



"Yeah. What happened to you?"



"Potions."



"This happened in Potions?"



"No, no," Al giggled, falling quiet for a moment as he stared up at the ceiling.



"Al? Al!"



Looking over again, his green eyes unusually wide behind his glasses, Al stared blankly at Scorpius. "Hmm?"



Scorpius knew he\'d be better off just asking Madam Pomfrey, but this conversation was entertaining him too much not to continue. "What happened in Potions?"



"I did awful. Yeah. Bletchley gave us these projects, we had to make Wolfsbane Potion."



"That\'s incredibly difficult to make."



"Hmm."



After a moment\'s silence, Scorpius was ready to ask more questions but he didn\'t need to. Waving his hand in the air and making a loose circle, Al continued unprompted, "Weeks and weeks I worked on the Wolfsbane and in the end, barely acceptable! Barely acceptable!"



"That\'s rubbish."



"That\'s my future as a Healer," Al answered dreamily, eyes fixed on the ceiling once again.



"Come off it, will you? A \'barely acceptable\' from Bletchley is like an \'outstanding\' from a normal human being."



Another "hmm" but Al drew this one out till like humming some odd tuneless song. Scorpius wasn\'t sure whether to laugh or call for Madam Pomfrey. He\'d never seen Al right after he\'d had a Calming Draught (something that had been given to him a couple times before during his seven years at Hogwarts) but he\'d heard from Rose it was hysterical. The humming grew softer and softer until Scorpius was sure Al had nodded off to sleep.



"Oi!"



Not quite.



As if startling awake, Al looked around at first to his left where there were only rows of empty beds. "Oi!"



"Al?" Scorpius was about to get out of his bed to make sure his friend was all right. Al rolled over to look at him, moving so quickly he nearly fell out of bed, just barely catching himself.



"Oi! After this, you and I should go out and get pissed," he said with an affirmative nod, glasses askew and hair more of a mess than usual.



Scorpius laughed. "I don\'t know if that\'s a good idea, mate, you\'re kinda off your head at the moment."



"Pfft." He made a ridiculous almost fish-like face as he drew the sound out, his cheeks puffed and and lips curled. "This? It\'ll wear off in an hour."



"If you say so."



"You and me, Three Broomsticks, what d\'you say? We\'ll get stinkin\' pissed and forget about birds or lessons or any of that bollocks."



Certain there wasn\'t a chance that Al would be sobered up enough to go drink and that, if he was, he\'d probably want to study, Scorpius acquiesced. "You\'re on."



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Much to his surprise, exactly three hours after that conversation, Scorpius found himself walking up to the entrance of The Three Broomsticks with a completely sober Al beside him.



"Sure you\'re up for this?"



"Yeah, why not? Was I that out of it earlier?"



Scorpius laughed. "You don\'t remember?"



"I never do. I think that\'s another side-effect of the potion."



"Good. Rose and I were reading about this Japanese wizard who figured out a way to project pensieve memories using mirrors. Like Muggle movies. We were going to collect all our memories of you high as a kite on that stuff and show the highlights at your party when you inevitably get hired with St. Mungo\'s." Scorpius wasn\'t entirely joking about this, it was something he and Rose had talked about before.



"I\'m so lucky," Al said dryly, reaching the door first and pushing it open.



"That you are."



The Three Broomsticks was crowded tonight, smoke and the smell of liquor hitting them as soon as they stepped inside. Over the din of the crowd, Scorpius could hear someone drunkenly crooning:



Her eyes they shone like the diamonds, I thought her queen of the land



And her hair hung over her shoulders, tied up with a black velvet band.



Scorpius shot Al a look and all the dark-haired boy could do was shrug as the crowd parted to reveal Finnigan and Rose. She was laughing at him as he continued singing, arm around her shoulders. Surrounding them were other members of the Weasley and Potter clan: James and Fred to the right and Hugo and Louis to the left.



"Sorry," Al said quietly. "When James mentioned meeting up, it sounded like it was just going to be family."



"Finnigan pretty much is, isn\'t he?" Scorpius spat out bitterly, surprising himself with his anger.



"We could head over to the Hog\'s Head--"



"Scorpius! Al!" Rose shot up so quickly, Finnigan nearly fell over. With a parting glance towards the group, she warned James, "No Firewhiskey for these two." Rose pointed towards her brother and Louis "They\'re underage."



Ignoring Hugo\'s protests, she left to greet Al and Scorpius, hugging them both. Giving a lopsided grin as she embraced him, Rose whispered in Scorpius\' ear, "I was hoping to see you tonight. Heard about you and Bianca."



He chuckled, wanting to keep her close but letting go after giving her a loose hug and an awkward pat on the back. "You and half the school, I reckon."



"You can do better," Al piped in sympathetically.



"I never liked her," Rose admitted, wrinkling her nose as she did. "Too clingy."



"You think so?" Suddenly, Scorpius was very interested in hearing her post-mortem analysis of his relationship.



He wouldn\'t get that chance, however, as Finnigan strode over to the group at just that moment, placing an arm around Rose\'s shoulders.



"I think you\'re blocking the bar. If you\'re staying, why don\'t you come sit down?"



Rose smiled expectantly at the pair. "Of course they\'re staying, we have to celebrate Fred\'s new job."



"Congrats," Al said as they came up to table. At Scorpius\' quizzical look, he leaned in to explain, "Fred just got hired by Gringott\'s as their new Curse Breaker."



"Nice."



"Thanks." Fred grinned. While not quite as drunk as Finnigan, he was getting there. "Hey, sorry about your bird. Rose was telling us all about it."



Scorpius looked over at Rose who blushed, shrugging as much as Finnigan\'s arm would allow. Looking back towards Fred, Scorpius shook his head. "Don\'t be, I\'m not."



"Ha! That\'s the spirit."



"Coming through!" James called as he moved through the crowd carrying two enormous tankards of beer. He set one down in front of Fred and kept its twin for himself.



"Are you sure those aren\'t pitchers?" Al exclaimed, eyeing the mammoth mug and looking ready to start a lecture on the responsible drinking. "Christ, it\'s huge. I don\'t know how one person can take that much in."



Instinctively, Scorpius met Rose\'s eyes across the table and they mouthed the words just as James said them: "That\'s what she said!"



Still snickering at his joke, James plopped down next to Fred. "Took me a bit. They were taking the piss out of some idiot who wore orange."



"Aren\'t you glad I reminded you not to wear my Cannons\'s shirt?" Finnigan said to Rose, pulling her close and smiling into her hair. "Good thing too, you look damn fit in that sweater."



She did too, the dark green color looked great on her and it hugged her body, not hiding her curves. Scorpius frowned at once again having front row seats to the Duncan-and-Rose show. As he pulled her in for a kiss, Finnigan\'s hand was perilously close to Rose\'s breast and Scorpius fought the urge to hit him with a well-aimed Stupefy.



"Ugh, Finnigan, please." James grimaced. "I don\'t intend to puke my guts for another three or four hours, so stop mauling my cousin."



Scorpius had never been so grateful for James Potter\'s existence before. Rose stuck her tongue out at her cousin while Finnigan laughed good-naturedly.



"They really go all out for the day," Louis commented, looking at the green shamrocks on the mugs.



"Been this way since McLaggen took over," Fred replied. "Personally, I liked it better when Rosmerta ran it."



"So did I." James voice took on a wistful tone. "She was fit. For an old bird."



While his brother looked over at him in surprise, Rose shook her head and laughed. "You\'re serious?"



"It\'s true!"



"She\'s the same age as Grandmum!" Rose cried.



"Doesn\'t look it. Not close."



Fred nodded. "Got a point there."



"Look, I\'m not saying I\'d fly down to Ibiza or wherever it is she went."



Smirking, Scorpius asked, "Been keeping tabs, have you?"



Only acknowledging the barb with a quirk of his eyebrow and a wider grin, James continued, "But she was a good-looking woman and I\'d much rather be staring at her over my pint than McLaggen."



"Can\'t blame her for leaving though. Been running this place for decades," Finnigan pointed out, arm still stubbornly around Rose. "And that\'s after everything she\'s been through. Not many people would stick around to fight after spending a year under the Imperius Curse."



Never quite sure what to do at moments like these, Scorpius averted his eyes. First, he glanced around the tavern, barely listening to the ensuing conversation between James and Finnigan, then down at the table. Glancing up in time to find Rose giving him a worried look, Scorpius said to everyone, "I\'m heading up to the bar to grab a drink. Anyone want anything?"



"I\'ll take a beer," Al said.



Louis raised his empty bottle. "Another Butterbeer?"



"Me too," Hugo added, with a wistful look at his sister\'s glass of Firewhiskey.



"Anyone else?" Scorpius glanced at Rose.



"We\'re good." Finnigan answered.



It was a petty thing to do, Scorpius knew it, but he ignored Finnigan\'s comment. He hadn\'t been asking him anyway. "Rose?"



With a surprised expression, Rose shook her head. "No, I\'m good."



Disappointed at that, having wanted something that would give him the upper-hand on Finnigan, Scorpius just nodded before heading off towards the bar. The wait was short; McLaggen had a barmaid working the bar with him so the orders went quickly. It wasn\'t long at all before he had the four drinks and was back at the table just in time to hear Rose and Finnigan discuss previous outings.



"We spent ages at the museum last time," Finnigan protested.



"Ages?" She turned in her seat to look directly at her boyfriend. "It was little more than an hour."



"It\'s a museum! How much is there to see?"



"Which one?" Scorpius asked.



Finnigan looked annoyed at the interruption, but Rose didn\'t seem to mind. "The Imperial War Museum in London."



Scorpius nodded, about to mention his visit a few years back when Duncan interjected, "Muggle museum. You probably don\'t know it."



"I\'ve been there."



"Really? A Muggle museum?" Rose must have kicked him under the table because Finnigan gave a surprised yelp, spinning to glance at her quickly then looking back at Scorpius. "No offense, mate, just most people who know about Muggle things are Half-bloods or Muggle-borns."



"And me, looks like." Scorpius forced a half-smile, not sure if Finnigan was fishing for something or if it was his own sour mood coloring his perception.



"Oi, Al," Louis leaned over the table to nudge his cousin\'s arm. "I forgot to tell you, I spoke to Victoire earlier. There\'s been a lot of talk in her department about sending Healers and apprentice Healers to Prague this summer. I told her to get in touch with you about it. Don\'t know if it\'s something you\'re interested in or not."



"It\'s disgusting what\'s been happening there." Rose frowned. "I read in The Wizarding Times that there are almost no Healers left in Prague. People think Koschei\'s group is only after Muggle-borns, but they\'re targeting anyone who opposed them, starting with the more prominent citizens."



"Well, yeah, he wants to get rid of anyone who could raise a group against him. That means the rich, the powerful, the educated," Al ticked the groups off with his fingers. "He might even go after Quidditch players next, I hear."



After flagging down a barmaid, James turned to the group to add, "He\'s already taken over their Ministry."



Each of them could rattle off the crimes committed by Koschei and his followers; the atrocities had made headlines all over wizarding Europe. His rise to power had been sudden and, by Christmas, complete. With the Czech Republic under control, it was said he was looking east. He was said to have many followers in Eastern Europe and wanted to put the entire area from his base in Prague to Durmstrang in northwestern Russia by this time next year. There was no telling what would happen if Koschei did succeed but few believed his claims that he would back down.



Looking around the table, Finnigan declared, "We should go fight them."



The table fell momentarily quiet till Scorpius broke the silence. "Can we finish our drinks first?" Everyone at the table, save for Finnigan, broke into a nervous laughter.



"I\'m serious. We should go fight them. There\'s no reason we can\'t. We are the children of Dumbledore\'s Army after all." A quick, dismissive glance towards Scorpius. "Most of us, anyway."



A dozen retorts, each one nastier than the last, came to mind, but Scorpius bit his tongue.



"Not a bad idea," James mused. "I\'ve got tons of training with the Aurors, Fred\'s an expert on curses, Al\'s almost a Healer. Lots of talent."



"So you speak Czech?" Scorpius asked archly, glaring at Finnigan.



"No, but--"



"Russian then, that would work too, since Koschei and his followers all went to Durmstrang."



"I don\'t need to speak Russian to say Expelliarmus."



"No, but it might help if you want to know when a Killing Curse is coming your way. Latin isn\'t the universal language for spellwork out east. They know it, but Durmstrang also teaches the Slavic and Greek versions that most people prefer for their day-to-day work." Scorpius was never before so happy that his parents had taken him on tours of Durmstrang several years ago. There was never any serious plan for him to go to school there, but they had wanted to appease Grandfather who was rather insistent upon it. "That\'s not all they teach either. You really think Tarantallegra will be enough when the average Durmstrang student knows spells that can pull your bowels out through your mouth?"



With a smirk towards James, Finnigan joked, "Looks like we have our Dark Arts expert here." When he nodded at Scorpius, all trace of amusement had vanished. "Should have guessed you\'d know a little something about that, given your family\'s history."



"Duncan!" Rose cried. Scorpius was both gratified for this and angry that she didn\'t do more. Like dump Finnigan on the spot.



"Don\'t worry about it," Scorpius replied, false lightness in his tone and trying to smile rather than snarl at Finnigan. "My fault really, I should have never expected Finnigan was serious about actually going to fight."



"Are you calling me a coward?"



"One of the brave and the bold? Certainly not," Scorpius drawled, his upper lip curling with the next words. "It\'s just no wonder you\'re looking for something to get you some glory after the season the Cannons have had. Not your fault, the idea that some fresh-out-of Hogwarts rookie could undo years of mismanagement was always ridiculous."



"Why don\'t you shut your face, Malfoy?!"



He sneered, taking a vicious pleasure in Finnigan\'s reaction. "No offense, meant, of course. Why, you\'ve already done wonders for the team. I hear the Cannons have gone up in their ranking. You\'re what, fifty-eight out of fifty-nine this year? Just ahead of the Backwater All-Stars. Well done, Finnigan."



"Maybe we should calm down," Al said, hands out as he looked back and forth between the two. Scorpius barely heard him, because it was the frown on Rose\'s face and the words she said next that had his attention.



"That\'s really not fair, Scorpius."



Finnigan was momentarily mollified by her words but it didn\'t last for long. "Why don\'t you and I go outside and settle this?"



Rose slapped his arm. "You will not!"



He ignored this, smirking at Scorpius. "Unless you\'re scared. I know fighting isn\'t exactly a Slytherin\'s style."



"Why should I be scared? I could always Transfigure myself into a Snitch, you\'ll never get me then."



"If you\'re not scared, then let\'s go," Finnigan challenged, standing up from his seat.



Slamming her hand down on the table, Rose glowered at them. "You two stop this--"



A loud crash from the bar cut off the rest of her words. Turning, Scorpius saw a jet of red light from someone\'s wand hit one of the windows, shattering the glass. The noise grew louder as more people, included McLaggen who leaped over the bar at that point, joined the fray. At the center of the commotion appeared to be a fight between one ruddy-faced bald fellow and a man in an orange jumper.



Ready to play Auror, James stood up from his seat. "I should go see what\'s going on over there. Everything\'s okay here, yeah?"



"We\'re just about to leave," Rose said decisively, her tone and the set of her face broaching no arguments. Finnigan, still standing and still looking sullen, nodded.



"You should head back too," she said to her brother and cousin. "It\'s late and you have early classes."



"Yes, Mum."



Rose ignored this, glancing at Al and Scorpius. "Night."



"Night," Al replied. Scorpius didn\'t respond but it didn\'t matter, Rose didn\'t wait. Taking Finnigan\'s arm, the two walked out of the tavern.