Dedicated to fantastic Angie, who managed to run a competition from A to Z on the HPFC. I hope you'll like it :)
Not beta-read, but some corrections are made thanks to kind reviewers.
"And it takes no time to fall in love, but it takes you years to know what love is" Jason Mraz
...
It's the first thing he likes about her, her hair. It's shinning and seems so soft he wants to reach and touch it. But he doubts she will like that a boy she doesn't even know touches her hair. So he sits still beside her on the Ravenclaw bench and gazes at his plate of food.
...
The second thing he instantaneously likes about her is her name. Rose, pretty and delicate, just like her. He doesn't tell her though, he is afraid she may run away. He knows quite well that eleven years-old girls are shy, his cousin Marla is the living proof. She can't even talk to Lorenzo, Scorpius' neighbour, without becoming a furious shade of red. He doesn't understand it, but he doesn't want to make Rose uncomfortable.
...
The third thing that strikes him comes a little later, during their second year; it's the first time they have to work together. He notices she has a very organised mind. And he likes it very much. Messy people bother him to no end, he can't understand people without logic, like Lorenzo. The boy has no common sense! But he is glad Rose has.
...
The fourth thing he remarks is her laughter. It is not bell-ringing like and nice and sweet, it's rough and he'll admit it, sounds a little like a pig that is yelling. But it's contagious and it makes him laugh with her. So he likes it.
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The fifth thing he admires her for, is her capacity to stay level-headed during the OWLs. Everyone is stressing out, but she's calm, organised and even finds time to help the others. And he doesn't really need help with Herbology, but working with her appeases Scorpius, so he asks for her help. And he likes very much she accepts helping him.
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The sixth thing he notices about her, well he doesn't really like it, but he can't fight it. She's a very attractive girl. Like in very very very attractive. Beautiful. Except that she is dating that Hufflepuff boy, so he can't make a move. And anyway, he is not sure he would have the guts to ask her out. He doesn't even know how she feels about him. Plus, it's only attraction, right?
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The seventh thing he likes about her is how she breaks up with Anthony. But it's only because she is very diplomatic about it and doesn't yell or cry over the breakup. Because he is dating Melissa and can't think about Rose that way, though he is authorized to like her strength and value her tact.
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The eighth thing that strikes him, no, hits him in the balls and pains him very much is when he realises he actually loves her. It's their departure from Hogwarts and he is not going to see her on a daily basis. It's freaking too late, they are boarding the train and even if he is free of a girlfriend, he is not free about his future, they are not free about it. And it hurts like hell that he needed seven bloody years to come to realisation when, in fact, if he comes to think about it, he fell for her the first time he saw her.
...
The ninth thing he loves about her is her choice of career, because apparently it's not too late and she is sitting in the office next to his.
"So, would you mind to going grab a coffee?"