ROSE AND SCORPIUS were having a good time during their nightly adventures in the Quidditch field. Though, like all good things, it seemed these sessions would have to come to an end. Today was the day for Quidditch try-outs and everyone was abuzz with excitement. The Great Hall was filled with chatter as they ate their breakfast. Everyone wished those who wore Quidditch Robes a good luck today, but the person who seemed to need it the most was Scorpius Malfoy.

Albus and Eloise could only do so much to calm Scorpius's nerves.

"If you don't make the team... well we can just drink a bunch of butterbeers at the Three Broomsticks."

"Malfoy... think about it... would it really be that terrible to not make the team this year?"

Instead of answering the two, he kept his head down and stared at the porridge in front of him.

Scorpius was ready to give up on Quidditch until Rose gave him a sense of purpose again. She was right, if he truly wanted to quit Quidditch he should do it because he didn't enjoy the sport anymore not because he was being forced out.

Normally, Rose would be having an exciting breakfast before the Quidditch tryouts. There would be a time when Rose, Roxanne, and Tiya (her fellow Quidditch Chasers) would chant "Go! Go! Gryffindor!" to distract James from his Quidditch notes until he too was chanting along. Unlike Scorpius, she felt at home with her Quidditch team and had no trouble eating her breakfast. Yet, this year, she couldn't help but look over at the Slytherin table to make sure Scorpius was doing okay. Each time she looked over, he caught her gaze and smiled back at her.

It seemed as though it was only Rose's gaze that managed to calm Scorpius down.

Dominic York, the Slytherin Quidditch Captain, stood up and rallied the Slytherins up and out to the Quidditch field for try-outs. They would go first, then the Gryffindors, then Ravenclaw, and finally Hufflepuff. It was like this every year.

Scorpius took a deep breath as Albus gave him an encouraging pat on the back and Eloise asked if he was sure he really wanted to go through with this. Neither made him feel better.

In the midst of Tiya antagonizing the Beaters, Rose watched the Slytherins getting up to begin their try-outs. Despite the fun she was having with her Gryffindor pals, Rose got up from the table and caught up to Scorpius and the rest of the Slytherins before he left the Great Hall.

He smiled at her arrival and puffed out his chest a bit, "Here to wish me good luck?"

"That's exactly what I'm here to do," Rose said, and without even thinking she leaned towards him and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek. "You got this!"

She left Scorpius standing there, his face burning red until one of his fellow Slytherins had to pull him along.

Once Rose sat back down at the Gryffindor table, she was not only met with James's glare but her whole Quidditch team and then some. "Is... is everything okay?"

"What the bloody hell was that?" James asked, his hand holding tight to the parchment in his hand. Alice snorted as James accidentally ripped some of the parchment.

Rose shrugged, her face growing hot, "I was just wishing him good luck..."

"Why?" James growled.

Alice couldn't help but continue to laugh as she said, "Well, she's been giving him private Quidditch lessons for the past week."

Rose snapped her head at Alice wanting her to shut up. Her roommate just shrugged her shoulders and continued to giggle.

"What?!" The Gryffindor Quidditch captain's eyes were bulging out of his head. "Why the bloody hell are you helping the Slytherin Quidditch team? Malfoy being horrible is one of the main reasons I love playing against the Slytherins."

"He's my friend and he needed help."

Lorcan snorted as he poured more pumpkin juice into his goblet. "Yeah, friends don't kiss each other on the cheeks like that."

"I was just wishing him good luck!" Rose groaned. She did not like this conversation one bit. "Watch-" she pulled Lorcan close to her and kissed him on the cheek "- just a friendly peck."

Lorcan took a big gulp of his pumpkin juice and let out a loud sigh. "Wow, Rose, that was intense. Sorry, I only see you as a friend and a fellow Prefect partner-"

Rose slapped him across the arm. "Oh, shut it!"

The group erupted in laughter and the heat from her face grew towards her neck. She shoved the last bite of toast into her mouth and stood up from the table. "I'll see you on the Quidditch field. Can't be around you immature people for another second." They all booed as she left the table.

Rose was finally able to breathe and be away from the accusations. Her brief peace was interrupted when two Slytherins joined her. She groaned as the two began talking about the kiss on the cheek once more.

"Well, you put on quite a show there."

"Why didn't you tell me you had a crush on Malfoy?"

"I knew you two were hanging out a lot recently, but bloody hell didn't think it was going to lead to this."

"Ha! Wonder what your dad is going to say about this-"

"Shut it!" Rose yelled, once again. She stopped in her tracks and looked at Albus and Eloise who were both on the bridge of laughing. "I regret everything."

Albus pushed Rose along and the three walked together to the Quidditch field. "Oh, Rose, you know we are just giving you a hard time."

But Rose was now thinking of something worse than her friend's poking fun at her. She was now worried about how Scorpius was taking the good luck kiss.

They had been spending a lot of time together, but it was just as friends. Right? Rose was just helping out her friend become better at Quidditch. It didn't matter that they were having such good fun. Or that they were becoming so close. Or that whenever the practice ended she felt sad departing from Scorpius. Or that her heart seemed to jump every time he looked at her. He used to be a bitter rival, now he was someone that made her blush.

But, the kiss was just a friendly gesture. That was her intention and she knew that Scorpius would understand what she meant. Right?

The three got to the Quidditch pitch and took seats up on the stands. The October wind was blowing hard and they pulled their robes close to themselves. The two continued to laugh at Rose, but she ignored them and kept her eyes on the sky trying to find Scorpius. She was worried about the wind and how Scorpius would do. During their nightly practices they never experienced this kind of weather nor went over what to do if a situation like this occurred. Never the less, her heart fluttered as she caught the blonded hair Slytherin flying around with the Quaffle in his arm. He looked over and passed the giant red ball to his teammate, then back again to him. It was quick, but Rose saw, as Scorpius threw the Quaffle through the middle ring past the Keeper.

Her face erupted into a smile watching him succeed. His teammates came up to him and high-fived him. She could hear distant chants of, "Go Malfoy!"

"It's so obvious you're into him," Eloise said softly so that Albus on the other side of her wouldn't hear. "You've never smiled so big watching the Slytherin team succeed in anything."

Rose bit her lip trying to subdue her grin, but it wasn't working. He was amazing! He overcame the weather! He scored a goal! Watching Scorpius confident in a place where he felt left out brought joy to the Gryffindor girl.

Scorpius had never felt better with his Slytherin team. They were actually smiling at him and cheering him on. He felt a sense of pride build up inside that he never felt before. Scorpius caught the Quaffle confident he wouldn't drop it. Flying in formation never seemed so easy. He didn't miss any shots he took. What made him feel over the top with happiness, was the trust he was gaining from Nadia and Steven, his fellow Chasers, with the Quaffle.

They flew down to the ground and huddled around Dominic to get the final results. For Scorpius, this was a new feeling, because he actually felt like he deserved to be on the field. For the past years, he stood in the circle and was ashamed when he heard his name. Now, he was excited to be granted the Chaser title.

Dominic, obviously, stayed as Keeper. Their seeker, Juliette Wood, kept her position. The two new Beaters were, Jackie Willson and Troy Russo, as the last two had graduated. Nadia Samy and Steven Hurron were again Chasers, and before the last Chaser was picked Dominic gave a sly smirk as if torturing Scorpius until finally, he said his name. Scorpius was going to be Chaser once again this year, and this time, his team was thankful for it.

As Scorpius followed his fellow teammates to exit the field, he smiled seeing the one person who made this all possible.

The girl with dark red hair, freckles drawn across her face, and beautiful blue eyes. She stood there in her Gryffindor Quidditch robes with Eloise and Albus smiling behind her. He smiled back at the three and ran up to them.

"Wow," Eloise was the first to chime in. "You were actually decent out there, Malfoy."

Scorpius chuckled, but kept his eyes on Rose. "It's all thanks to her." He looked beyond and saw the Gryffindor team coming down for their turn on the field.

"Are you going to stay on the team?" Rose asked, raising her eyebrows in concern and hopefulness.

He nodded, "Yeah, I'm going to stay on."

The Gryffindor team was now on the field and all were stealing glances at Scorpius conversing with their Rose. James made his stares obvious.

Scorpius's smile grew as he took a step closer to Rose. His heart fluttered, but just looking at her gave him a rush of confidence. Just as it did this morning, and just as it did every nightly practice. "Good luck out there, Rose," and he returned the favor by leaning in and placing a soft kiss on her cheek. "You'll kill it out there."

Rose's face flushed and Scorpius couldn't help but smirk at her reaction. He was proud he could give her the same effect she gave him.

Rose mumbled thanks and quickly walked to her Quidditch mates.

Scorpius puffed out his chest and walked with Albus and Eloise back up to the stadium seats.

This was going to be a good year.