The Gazebo

.

Rose was sitting at the gazebo, away from the sun strong midday sun. After all, she was very tan from her trip to Australia. She pulled her journal and a quill out of her bag and, opening the journal up to a blank page, she began writing about the journey on the train and seeing her friends again. Girly stuff.

Having decided to go outside and get away from the loud Gryffindor common room, Scorpius made his way over to the gazebo which was usually empty. With a book under his arm, he walked up the step and then froze. "Oh...sorry. I didn't think anyone would be in here," he said, slightly embarrassed for barging on in when the Weasley girl was quite obviously there.

Rose looked up to see that Scorpius Malfoy had barged in on her. The memory of her and Al talking about him in Diagon Alley briefly flashed through her mind, but she pushed it out when she realized that his words probably deserved a reply. "There are more than just one bench here." She said, pointed across the gazebo where, in fact, there was a second bench. "I don't think it will be much of a problem. Unless you plan on practicing your opera voice. Then I might have to leave." She gave him a small smile before returning to her journal. She couldn't help it, her hot boy radar was going off.

Scorpius hesitated at the step for a moment, for he felt bad for interrupting her solitude. Not only that, but it was Rose Weasley. He had heard plenty of the Weasleys when he had been growing up and tried to avoid them as much as possible over the years. It was just easier that way. Though, being in Gryffindor, it was rather difficult to avoid all Weasleys. It wasn't that he hated them or anything, he just knew that many weren't fond of him or his family. "Well, if you're sure," he said, stepping into the gazebo and sitting down on the other bench. "And don't worry, I definitely won't be singing. My mum had me take singing lessons as a boy once, around the time she exposed me to piano, painting, and poetry, but the singing thing didn't go so well. My father made me stop because he was tired of hiding away in his study to avoid hearing me," he said, toying with the side of his book. "Sorry, I'll be quiet now," he said slightly sheepishly, realizing he was going on about something that Rose probably didn't even care about.

Rose smiled into her journal at Scorpius' nervous ranting. At least she thought it was nervous, because it was doubtful that he genuinely wanted to talk to her. Now she was remembering seeing Scorpius as a little blonde boy waiting for the Hogwarts Express and her dad telling her to beat him in every test. She was suddenly aware of how little they had seen each other over the past six years, even though they were in the same year. "Really." She said in a mildly interested tone, "So the great Scorpius Malfoy can't sing. Who would have thought? You really shouldn't have told me that, Malfoy, I'll have it all over the gossip page by tomorrow." The whole time she was talking to him, her eyes never lifted from the page she was writing on.

Scorpius kept his eyes lightly trained on Rose, watching as she continued to write in some sort of book that she was holding. Whatever it was, it must have been quite interesting since she hadn't even really looked at him when he had rambled to her. "Well I'm sure everyone would love to know how I'm flawed and can't carry a tune to save my bum," he said, knowing that many students weren't all that fond of him or even gave him much attention. "Though if you really want to give people something interesting to gossip about, you'd have to dig much deeper than the fact that I can't sing."

Rose finally looked up at Scorpius. It was partly because she was wondering exactly what gossip he was alluding to, and partly because she couldn't believe he had said 'bum'. She chose the latter to address. "'Bum'? Did you really just say 'bum'? Oh dear Merlin, I thought we graduated from kindergarten." She shook her head in amazement, a small smile on her face. "You really aren't what I thought you were, Malfoy. I'll give you that much." The idea that this was all some kind of game was still flitting around in her mind but she brushed it away. It was obvious he didn't come to the gazebo to stir up trouble.

"Kindergarten?" he repeated, a confused look on his face because he had no idea what the word meant. It sounded rather funny though. He realized that her whole comment though was one that was supposed to be a little insulting and fought a flush from coming onto his face. "Well...I didn't want to just say arse or anything. I wasn't sure if we were at that level of acquaintances where we could be comfortable enough to curse in front of each other," he explained. "If I had known you'd mock me for saying bum though, I would have obviously chosen a different word to use."

Rose wasn't surprised that Scorpius didn't know what kindergarten was. Hell, she may not have even known, but her muggle-born mother had insisted that she go. "Kindergarten. It's like a school before you start school. It's suppose to get you ahead in learning or something." She shrugged, "Look, I'm just teasing you, alright? I always forget that people I don't know well aren't use to my constant teasing." She gave a slight smile and closed her journal, acknowledging that she wasn't going to get much more writing done. Brushing a stray stand of hair out of her face she laughed, "And that was suppose to be an apology for mocking you. Clearly, I suck at apologies too."

He nodded once when Rose explained what 'Kindergarten' meant, understanding now what the weird word was. So really, it had been quite insulting after all for he hadn't meant to sound ridiculously childish. "Oh...well...I'm not really used to teasing," he commented, for he didn't have many friends to joke around with and it wasn't like his mum or dad were jokesters. "It's fine," he said quickly. "You didn't have to apologize. It wasn't as if you said something really awful or anything. I've heard much worse than that," he said, giving her a small smile.

Rose blinked, thinking about how quickly this turned into a sad conversation. She would bet that Scorpius was truly lonely. No wonder he had come to the gazebo to do, apparently, nothing. She could only think of one reason for that. "Do you hate being in Gryffindor?" She came right out and asked, "I mean, I would understand. I think. I wasn't happy being in Ravenclaw for a while, but everyone there is generally really accepting and I grew to be glad of it. Gryffindor... not so accepting, I don't think." She had her fingers crossed behind her back in hopes that he wouldn't get super mad and hex her or anything like that.

Scorpius was slightly surprised by her question, for he really hadn't ever been asked that before. If anything, he more often got 'Why the hell are you in Gryffindor?' He opened his mouth to answer before closing it for a moment and frowning. "I wouldn't say I hate it," he began slowly. "I mean, it'd be much easier if I'd be sorted in Slytherin like every other Malfoy... but that's just not me. I think the hardest thing is that other students don't get why I'm in Gryffindor. Hell, I don't really understand exactly why I'm there either. Whatever the Sorting Hat saw in me...I'm still waiting to find out," he shrugged. "I feel like being in Ravenclaw would have been much easier. I do enjoy reading," he said, motioning to the book on his lap with a grin.

"You know, I read somewhere that the sorting hat does make mistakes sometimes. You might not belong in Gryffindor." Rose said, then realizing that this probably wasn't the most reassuring information, added, "But I doubt that he'd break a family line by mistake. There has to be a reason for it. Take my cousin Albus for example. I didn't think he belonged in Slytherin at all, but apparently around other people he acts just the part." She shrugged, "I guess what I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't let the fact that you were put in a house you didn't expect get you down. Hogwarts is suppose to be one of the best experiences of our lives, and you shouldn't have to suffer through it."

Scorpius' eyes widened a bit when Rose mentioned how he might not belong in Gryffindor. It was a thought that he had had, that maybe the hat messed up, but he had dismissed it for most people were sorted appropriately in the end. He just figured that his big Gryffindor moment would come at some point. "I think Al belongs in Slytherin," he muttered, before realizing that insulting Al probably wasn't the wisest thing to do. He couldn't help it though. He envied Al for getting into the house that he had thought he belonged in, the house his father had undoubtedly wanted him in. Not only that, but Al continuously made him feel worse than dragon shit. "Well, only two more years of this place," he shrugged, knowing he'd be much happier when he was out of Hogwarts. "Any idea what you want to once you're out of school?" he asked curiously.

Rose's eyes narrowed when Scorpius insulted her cousin but she chose to just shrug it off for now. Hadn't she just said the same thing about him? And Scorpius was allowed to have his own opinions. "Two more years of this place," Rose repeated, but hers was a tone of sadness. She loved Hogwarts and wasn't looking forward to leaving it behind and facing the unknown. She smiled at him when he asked what her future plans were. That was a question a friend asked another friend, wasn't it? "Of course I know what I want to do." She had known since she was in her fourth year and paid her first visit to St Mungo's. "I'm going to be a Healer. It's a job that requires you know a little bit of everything, which is just what I want. Plus, I want to help people. What about you," She asked, "Any ideas?"

Scorpius cocked his head slightly to the side as he considered Rose carefully for a moment. "You'd be a good Healer," he said. "I mean, you're extremely bright and patience and you definitely have a personality that your patients will enjoy," he said before quieting. "Just...something I've noticed in classes over the years," he said with a small shrug, for they'd spent the past five years in classes together and he had come to see how Rose was when in that sort of environment. "I'm not really sure what I want to do yet," he said with a small shrug. "I know that I want to work for the ministry, but I'm not sure which branch yet. Whatever it is though, I know that I want it to be a place where I can hopefully make a difference."

Rose smiled, "Thanks, Scorpius. That actually means a lot." She was suddenly aware that this was probably the first time she had called him by his first name. They actually were becoming friends. Al would be so upset when she told him, she'd definitely have to approach the topic with caution. "The ministry, huh? I don't think there are many places you could work in the ministry where you wouldn't make a difference. Except maybe the Department of Magical Games and Sports. But if you like Quidditch, that's an option too." She couldn't remember if Scorpius was on the Gryffindor team or not because she always seemed to be cheering against them.

Scorpius couldn't help but to return the smile Rose gave him, for she did have quite the contagious smile and it made him feel relaxed and eased. There were definitely many places within the ministry where he would make a difference, which was why it was so difficult to narrow down a particular department. He enjoyed learning and studying many different subjects, so it was hard to choose one field to focus on. "Yeah, I don't think that's the Department I'm destined for," he said, letting out a small laugh. "I mean, I enjoy riding brooms and all...but Quidditch isn't quite my thing. I'm much more of a leisurely rider," he told her.

"Good. I tend to make fun of people that plan on joining that department and we wouldn't want another reason for me to tease you, now would we?" Rose was joking, of course. She wouldn't make fun of someone for their future plans unless she knew them really well. "You don't like Quidditch? Do you watch the games, at least?" She never really understood how someone could not like Quidditch. It was almost a family tradition that there be at least one Quidditch game whenever the whole family met. There were so many players that it always got really intense. Of course, she could see how coming from that background and being the captain of her team would make her opinion of Quidditch quite biased. Maybe Scorpius didn't like watching the Gryffindor matches because he had no house pride.

"Yeah, definitely don't need to provide you other teasing material," he grinned. "And well, it's not that I don't like Quidditch, I just don't enjoy playing it. I'm just not an extremely competitive person, so I never really got into playing the game. I do enjoy watching it though and supporting Gryffindor, though I usually don't go to many of the games," he said. Why? Because he hates sitting by himself in the Gryffindor stands. It's so sad and makes him feel lonely and pathetic. So he just doesn't go to many of the games. "The World Cup game last summer was real good though. Did you go to that? I know I saw a large group of Weasleys in passing," he smiled.

Rose could have laughed when Scorpius told her he wasn't competitive. That was a good thing, she supposed, because she was admittedly one of the most competitive people in the school. "Cheering for Gryffindor? I'm almost always cheering against them." She told him, almost word for word from one of my other posts. "They do win a lot, though." She shook her head when he asked about the World Cup, "I wish I could have gone. I go to Australia every summer, though, and it always conflicts with the World Cup. Believe me, I put up a fight. I even tried to run away one year, if I remember correctly." She grinned, "I was grounded in Australia. It sucked."

"Yeah, the team is usually pretty well formed," he agreed, knowing that other teams would have to put up quite a fight with getting the Cup. The Quidditch season was always interesting to see which house would win in the end. "Oh, well that's a shame," he said, for it had been quite a great match. "Why do you go to Australia each summer?" he asked curiously, not really seeing what was done there. "And that's a shame that you ended up getting grounded. I'd hate to be grounded when on a trip somewhere. Definitely puts a damper on the idea of vacationing," he smiled.

"My grandparents live there." Rose told him, "And you know us Weasleys, we're really big on family. I've learned to just accept it and lay on the beach all summer." She wasn't about to tell Scorpius about her boy watching excursions, but that was a big part of laying on the beach, too. "That's how I got this wonderful tan." She told him, pointing to her arm. Then she realized that Scorpius probably didn't care about her tan and continued talking, "Don't you go anywhere over the summer? Visiting family? Fancy vacations?"

"Well that doesn't seem like a bad gig," he smiled, seeing nothing wrong with spending days on the beach. He rather enjoyed to do that with a good book. There was jus something so relaxing about it. "And yeah, you do have quite a nice tan. Must be real good sun down there for you to get one," he said. "Oh... well, my family tends to visit my grandparents as well who have a summer home in France. That's actually why I know French, because I started to learn the language when we began going down to the home."