I'm going to hell for this
I 'nope'd so hard while writing it
and I cried at the end
/BOOK THIEF SPOILERS/
some of the events portrayed in this fanfic are not identical to those in The Book Thief, as are some of the characters
I own neither book, they belong to Markus Zusak and JK Rowling
I sat against the brick wall, clutching the book to my chest. The musty scent of the old, yellow paper seeped through my nostrils as I breathed a deep sigh of relief. I was safe, again. I looked down at the tome, the faded red leather of the cover peeling slightly at the corners, and allowed myself to smile. These beautiful works of art, these masterpieces of literature, they were mine. A light chuckle filled my throat, causing my shoulders to shake and disturb the stillness of my crimson curls. I felt at peace, but not for long.
A presence filled the air. Not an unpleasant one, I'll admit, but a peace-breaking presence it was, nonetheless. I looked across the way at the figure walking towards me, obscured by the fog surrounding us. Perhaps it was the familiar scent drifting off the boy, or the worrisome fact that I may have known him long enough to recognise his silhouette, but I was able to identify him straight away. The boy looked down at me, a smirk filling his face and a glint lighting up his silver-blue eyes as he did. He raised an arm, running his hand through his short, platinum blonde hair as he spoke.
"Looks like you finally found a book to match your hair, eh Rose?" He chuckled, slumping down next to me on the floor. Wonderful. "Well, yes. It seems that way, doesn't it Scorpius?" I turned to him, mirroring his smirk. He chuckled lightly, bringing his knees up to his chest. "So, where did you get it?"
"I found it."
"Sure, you did. C'mon, tell me the truth."
I huffed, sticking out my bottom lip. "I am telling the truth. I found it in a pile of rubble, they were going to burn it." He blinked, finally looking as though he believed me. "Okay, okay. So, what's it called, anyway?"
I showed it to him, smiling proudly. "It's the full works of Shakespeare. I remember my mothe- a...woman told me about it. She loved Shakespeare." Scorpius frowned and opened his mouth, about to question me, before closing it again and casting his gaze to the sky.
"Hey, Rose...?"
"What?"
"Kiss me?"
My eyes widened, looking at him with confusion. "What!? No! Why would I kiss you?"
He grinned, his teeth sparkling obnoxiously. "I dunno. Just thought it would be a good dramatic moment. Plus you're quite pretty, you know."
I rolled my eyes, this was just like him. "Wow, thanks, saukerl."
"You flatter me as I do to you. Hey, fancy going to the river?"
I looked at him, our eyes latching onto each other as I nodded, slowly yet surely.
Where's the street? Where is it? Where am I?
Mama?
Papa?
I can only see smoke, are you there?
I'm sorry. I was only reading.
I was trying to escape, but I came back to hell.
Scorpius?
Why aren't you running down to see me
Call me a Saumench
Call me a Thief
Just call my name
We walked along the side of the river, my book tucked safely into my coat pocket. I refused to go into the water, we both knew Mama would kill me if she saw me dirty or wet.
The leaves rustled soothingly with each gentle gust of wind, and I shivered slightly, despite being enveloped in the warmth of my coat. The path was rocky, uneven. I stumbled every few steps, Scorpius chuckling with every toddling step I made. I still managed to trip, a squeak tumbling from my mouth as I fell forward. I expected to feel the cold stone and dirt of the ground, instead welcomed by the warmth of Scorpius' chest and arms. I flushed, cheeks matching my hair, and stood up straight, purposely stepping away from him as I instinctively checked my pockets.
I gasped.
The book was gone.
Frantically, I checked the floor and my other pockets, before I saw a flash of red, floating down the river.
I momentarily mourned the loss of the beautiful book as it tumbled through the icy waves, not allowing the much-anticipated tears to break through in front of Scorpius as I turned to look at him. But he was gone too.
I didn't see much, but I remember hearing a splash and several desperate gasps of breath before I turned on the spot to find the boy, soaked to the bone, on the riverbank. Holding the book in his trembling hands as he swallowed air with the tenacity of a dying fish.
I ran over to him, pulling him back up onto the pathway and wrapping my coat around him. Mama wouldn't be happy about that. I took the book out of his fingers, which seemed to be clasped around it like the red leather held his soul. I analysed it and, after seeing that none of the pages had been ruined nor the ink smudged, I turned back to the blonde.
"Thanks, saukerl."
He grinned, teeth chattering as he made out a few simple words.
"Guess I need a thank you kiss, eh Rose?"
I walk through the empty streets, nostrils filled with the sickening scent of death and smoke
I can barely see a thing, except the men carrying the dead past me
I recognise the faces
All of them
A man brings past my Mama, and I cry
For the loss of her
I want her to smack me on the back of my head
And call me an idiot
A man brings past my Papa, and I can hardly breathe
I need him here
To tell me a story
And comfort me
Telling me it will all be okay
I want him to sing to me
But He can't
Why me
Why us
Why them
I want to live in my book. I want to go to the forests with the fairies and the islands with the wizards
I want the beautiful kingdoms
The laughter
The love
The light
Mama shouted when I came home, calling me dummkopf for getting my good coat dirty. Scorpius tried to explain that he fell in the river and I wrapped my coat around him.
Then he got called a dummkopf, too.
It's sunny, so Scorpius' papa said that we should sit outside to warm up. He tells me a joke that isn't funny at all, so I call him a saukerl, again. This is nice, just the peacefulness of the day.
He's stopped shivering, and he smiles softly as the sun beats down on his back.
As I leave, about an hour later. As I step out the door, he grabs my shoulder. I jerk around to face the blonde, and he gives me what I assume to be his 'handsomest' smile.
"Kiss me Goodbye, Rose!"
I groan in annoyance, turning back to the street and letting Scorpius' father close the door.
I see too many people and yet... There's so few.
There are piles of the dead, lined up with soot-blacked faces
My throat is blocked as I stare around, looking for him
When I find him, I wish I hadn't.
A man brings Scorpius past, and I stop him.
He is like a looming shadow, staring down at me
I ask if I can see the boy, tugging on the shadow's sleeve
The shadow nods, leaning down to let me look at the boy's face
His blonde hair is now matted, and blood clots at the roots
I wipe a trickle of the red off his face, and I move my head to gently press my lips against his
Here you go, Scorpius
A kiss, because the moment is dramatic
A kiss, to say thank you
And a kiss
To say goodbye
Oh god
Crying
whyyyyy
yes I know that red-heads probably wouldn't even technically be allowed in Hitler's reign, but lets just let it slide...