Hey guys, I'm FantasyFollower (or F²) and this is my first Harry Potter fanfic. I hope you enjoy it and I would love to hear what you guys think of the story!

Chapter One

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Rose Weasley groaned under her breath as she headed for the first staircase in front of her. How had she let Al talk her into this? She was tired from the long week she had had and descending to the ground floor to fetch a broomstick, just because her cousin had been too dim-witted to remember to go fetch it, was not the first thing on her list of things she wanted to do. In fact, it didn't even feature in the top twenty!

She shook her head as she reached the next floor. Who was she kidding, Al was like a brother to her, one she liked – she wasn't sure she would do the same for her own brother, Hugo – and also one of her best friends. No, her very best friend. If Albus needed her to do him a favour then she would do it for him. Besides, he did have a valid reason. Following in his father's steps and becoming Quidditch Captain had left him a little short of time this time of the year. Rose had more than enough duties as Head girl but at least she had inherited her mother's brain and could easily keep up with schoolwork despite the extra work. Al wasn't as luckily. Yes he was smart, but his expertise was in Defence Against the Dark Arts as his father's had been while Rose, like Hermione, exceeded in anything she did.

Well, almost anything.

Rose sighed as she reached yet another floor. She had long know people thought of her as the smart girl, the person to go to when they needed intellectual help, or simply as the 'know it all' she probably was but as she had grown older she had realised that there seemed to be no one who really knew Rose Weasley other than Al. And even he only knew what she allowed him to. She may be a smart girl, Rose had discovered, but she had realised too late that her social skills were closer to zero than she could have ever imagined.

It had happened one day after class right before the latest Hogsmeade visit. She had been packing away her books when a group of fifth year girls had entered for the next class and had been in mid-planning for the trip. They had giggled and looked like they could hardly wait, like the trip was the best thing that could possibly happen. As Rose picked up her bag and headed for the door she had realised that that had never happened to her. She was in her seventh and final year at Hogwarts and she had never experienced the thrill of a day out with her girlfriends. The main reason of course being that she didn't really have any girlfriends. Al was the person she was always with, the person who knew her the best, and she liked it that way. Al was a wonderful person and Rose knew he was destined to be just as great as his father but he had other friends too. She was his best friend, no one could dispute that, but if Rose suddenly vanished into thin air he'd still have someone else to talk to. Rose wasn't sure she could say the same. Her school career had been spent in the pursuit of knowledge and excellence, not friendship, and Rose was beginning to doubt if that had been such a great idea after all.

She wasn't jealous exactly, just a little worried that something was wrong with her, if she was lacking in some basic skill that others were naturally gifted with. Her mother had only two good friends, but neither of them was family!

She had reached the bottom of two more staircases without even noticing. Alright, maybe she was a little jealous. Maybe she wanted a female friend who she could gossip with about trivial matters. She liked to discuss frivolous topics with someone who would understand and not judge her. Albus wouldn't judge but he was a boy, he wouldn't understand the need for girls to gossip about rubbish and Rose was pretty sure he thought she was above that. Maybe everyone did and that was probably why she wasn't first on their 'go-to' list. She liked intelligent conversation, she wouldn't be Hermione Weasley's daughter if she didn't, but sometimes she seriously wished there was an off button. Sometimes she wished she could run through the castle like a loon and just not care, but she couldn't. She could order herself not to care but her conscious would be screaming its lungs out the entire way.

Another floor went by.

She wouldn't have been like this if anyone had taken the time to get to know her properly. With a little digging they would have discovered she had inherited her father's good humour and her grandmother's soft and caring heart but that was exactly the problem. They would have to dig and most people preferred to judge on first impressions. She was the daughter and niece of the three greatest heroes in the wizard world, everyone knew who Rose Weasley was, therefore she had to be a smarty-pants like her mother and a snob because of her family connections. She was a smarty-pants but Rose could never see herself as a snob. She cared for others and refused to use her parents as leverage in any situation. It wouldn't feel right, just as pretending not to have a brain would have been wrong too. She had one and therefore owed it to herself to use it.

Like the saying goes, use it or lose it.

She froze in surprise as she reached the first floor. That had been unexpected. She had been so lost in her own thoughts that she had climbed down from the seventh floor on auto-pilot. She had even dodged the trick step without thinking, a great feat in her opinion since Professor Longbottom's foot still sunk into the gap each time he came that way. With her mind back on the present she noticed yet another factor. The torches lining the hallway that led to the Great Hall and the Entrance Hall had been extinguished. Probably Peeves on another mission to cause chaos and destruction throughout the castle.

Rose pulled her wand from her pocket and muttered, "Lumos." Instantly a bright light shone from the tip of the wand, clearly lighting the path ahead. Light wasn't the problem, she thought as she reluctantly moved forward. She had never mentioned it to anyone, even Al, but she was mildly nyctophobic. It wasn't that bad, she didn't feel the need to hide under her covers with a light every time night arrived but walking in an unlit passage alone was bad enough to trigger some of that fear. She wasn't afraid of the dark itself but of what she feared could be hiding in the cover of darkness.

Rising her wand in the air she took a tentative step forward, then another, then another. By taking it slowly, and pausing every few seconds to check her surroundings, she managed to persuade her unwilling body forward. The entrance hall was unoccupied – or at least as far as Rose could see it was – and she sincerely hoped it stayed that way. She spotted the broomstick at the foot of the staircase. She should have been slightly surprised that it was still there and that no one had tried to take it but then again, she had been the one who had placed all those security charms on it. She didn't like to blow her own horn but if she did something, she did it right.

Slipping down the stairs as quickly as possible she reached for the broom, eager to get out of there as soon as humanly possible and return to the common room. Her fingertips were mere inches from the broom when a voice suddenly sounded from the darkness.

"Expelliarmus!"

An invisible force hit her wand arm with the speed and strength of a bullet and sent her wand flying several yards away from her. Rose dived to the floor as another spell missed her by inches. Her wand was still ablaze but it laid on the opposite side of the floor from her attackers, leaving Rose feeling weak and defenceless as they drew nearer. Rose was not a fighter, she used brain and not brawn! She had a suspicion her attackers lacked the former and had an excess of the latter.

Think Rose, she thought desperately. Use that brain you are so well known for. She silenced a gasp with her hands as realisation hit her. Her wand was too far away for her to see them but that didn't mean they couldn't see her.

"Nox!" she cried before scurrying forward on her hands and knees, away from her attackers and, as her wand went out, into the darkness. If they wanted to find her now they would have to light their own wands which would surely lose them the element of surprise they had been counting on. They must have seen the broomstick laying there – and Rose sincerely hoped one of them had tried to take it too, her charm would have made him regret it – and must have known Al would come to get it. They had waited in ambush but instead of getting the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain they had gotten his cousin.

"Damn, I can't see her," she heard a rough voice growl. She heard them scurrying around, then a yelp of pain as one of them stubbed their toe against one of the stone pillars in the hall, then a second yelp as he kicked the pillar in retaliation. Her analysis had been correct – no brain, just brawn.

Rose crawled forward, silently and carefully. She had to get to her wand before they could do any real damage. They wouldn't care that she was head girl and had the power to have them tossed out of the school. They were out for revenge and she had stumbled into their way.

"Come on out Weasley!" One of them called from the darkness. "Come now and we might just make this a little quicker for you. You weren't meant to be here but since Potter sent you here we can't just let you go. You see, you're just as bad as he is. Smart little head girl, always top in the class, always miss perfect. I've had enough of your pompous little family and I'm going to make you pay for all the good people your family had locked up!" Ah, Slytherins. The thought had barely crossed Rose's mind when four lights suddenly exploded after a unified cry of "Lumos!" Once more she dived out of the way as several spells shot in her direction, but her luck was wearing out. One lucky spell connected with her left shoulder and she was sent reeling back as white hot pain served through her shoulder and arm. Clenching her teeth in pain she forced herself to leap forward. She landed hard, her fingers mere inches from her wand.

"There she is!"

"Petrificus Totalus!"

Rose shut her eyes, mentally preparing herself for her limbs to snap to her sides and freeze there, but no such sensation came. Instead she heard a yell from the opposite side of the room. Taking the chance she was given she lunged for her wand and this time she got it. Her triumph was short lived as her opposite hand was grabbed and she was pulled to her feet. Rose balled her fist, ready to fight with all her might if need be, but the person was pulling her not pushing her to the floor.

"Come!"

Rose felt relief fill her system as the stranger locked her hand in his and pulled her towards the stairs. Rose followed, adrenaline pumping through her body because of her fear. She paused only to grab Al's broomstick before allowing her rescuer to pull her along. She didn't know how she made it up the stairs, only that she did and that it was all thanks to her rescuer. Her pain took the backseat as the two of them ran for the stairways heading for the different floors. They made it up the first before her attackers came into view.

Rose's rescuer didn't stop, just kept going until they reached the third floor. She hoped he knew what he was doing because her brain seemed to have malfunctioned under the pressure. She wasn't as brave as she though, she wasn't mother and the situation had her in full panic mode. She would have to trust the blond haired boy pulling her away from the trouble.

He picked up speed and Rose followed. They turned a sharp corner before he suddenly pulled her through a door into an empty classroom. Rose was just beginning to panic – they were going to be caught! – when he towed her to the connection office for the professors and miraculously opened the door open. He tugged her inside and silently closed the door just as the classroom door flew open.

Regaining some of her intelligence Rose aimed her wand at the door and whispered, "Alohomora." The lock quietly clicked into place, too soft for their pursuers to hear.

"Where are they?"

"There's another class next door, maybe they went in there?"

"Maybe, what about the office?"

"It's usually locked,"

"Check it."

They heard footsteps then someone tried the doorknob. "Locked."

"Darn, let's check the next class, they can't have gone far."

In a rush of footsteps they exited the room. Rose felt relief spread through her body. She would probably have to spend the rest of the night hiding in the office with a shoulder that was on fire but at least she was safe. When she was sure they were too far away she sank down to the floor and sighed in a mixture of relief and exhaustion. She closed her eyes, wondering why they had wanted to attack her and worrying once more when she realised she hadn't seen any of their faces. They could try it again, but next time she'd be ready. She wouldn't allow them a repeat of tonight because if she did she knew she wouldn't be this lucky again.

She kept her eyes closed as she whispered, "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Her eyes flew open in shock at the cool reply, her gaze meeting with the piercing grey eyes of none other than Scorpius Malfoy.

Please remember to leave a review! =)

For anyone who wondered, nyctophobia is to be afraid of the dark.

Thanks for reading!

There's something I discovered recently that I just want to add. When reading a story – anyone's, not just my own – please take the opportunity to review. Many people – yourself probably sometimes included as well – tend to read stories who received a fair number of reviews. If you find that reading the story until the latest chapter is easy, or you add it as a story alert, or especially if you add it as a favourite, take a few minutes to tell the author what you think. They entertained you for a few minutes, why not give them a few minutes of joy by giving a review? Remember authors don't mind constructive criticism, they welcome it actually because it means you read the story with enough attention to want them to improve on these parts. Just something to think about…

Thanks for bearing with me! =)

F²