Quidditch League Round 11
Position: Beater 1
Prompts:
(word) crimson
(word) freedom
(word) destiny
(quote) "I think I've discovered the secret of life - you just hang around until you get used to it." Charles M. Schulz
Word Count:
A/N: The task was to write about a "vacation". But I say holiday. It is about a vacation, but I just called it holiday. Just so you know :)
Scorpius rubbed his eyes. Where was he? Mere moments ago, he had been running from those men… Running with Rose… Then Rose had got out that strange, gold locket and, winding it around both of us, starting turning the knob at the side.
And now… Now he was lying face down on a cold, grassy floor. He could feel a hand, wrapped loosely round his arm. Rose. He rolled ono his side and grasped her hand in his.
"Rose?" he asked softly. She stirred and mumbled something. Scorpius squeezed her hand and her eyes opened.
"What happened?" she asked groggily. Scorpius recounted everything he could remember.
Rose fumbled at her collar and pulled out the gold necklace. On closer inspection, Scorpius could see a small hourglass in the centre circle. There were rings on the outside that rotated when you pressed the button on the side. It was a beautifully ornate piece of jewellery, and Scorpius wondered where Rose had got it.
He reached out and turned it over in his fingers, staring at it. "What is that?" he asked.
Pulling it over her head, Rose placed it in her lap. "It's called a Time Turner," she said. "It takes us back in time. We were in danger, like you said, and I panicked and started pressing it. I guess something went wrong, though, because it doesn't normally go that crazy."
Scorpius nodded. "I feel like a unicorn sat on my head," he said. "So where are we now?"
They stood up and took in the scene around them. They appeared to be in a dark forest – like they had been before. There was a light layer of snow on the ground. It was snowing softly at the moment, too, delicate snowflakes gently drifting to the ground, where they settled on top of one another.
"We're away from those men, at least," Rose said. She clutched Scorpius' hand. "That's good enough for me, right now." Her crimson hair was already covered with a light dusting of pure, white snow. Due to the cold, Rose's skin was paler than ever and her intuitive green eyes were wide with fear and worry. Scorpius thought, right then, she looked angelic.
He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "Definitely," he said, before turning to face a random direction. "Shall we see if we can go and find civilisation, then?" he asked, trying to keep his voice cheerful, for her sake. She nodded and they set off.
X
X
"Rose?"
Rose sighed and turned to look at Scorpius. "What is it now, Scorp?" she asked. This was the seventh time he had broken the silence in about two minutes.
Scorpius winced. "Sorry. I just don't like silence," Rose rolled her eyes and he continued. "But I was thinking and, well… It's kind of a good thing we're trapped in this forest in who-knows-when. I mean, we finally have some freedom. We could do whatever we wanted, with no pushy, disapproving parents telling us we can't be together."
Smiling, Rose nodded and gave Scorpius' hand a squeeze. "That's right," she said. "But if it's all the same to you, I'd still rather be in my own house right now, rather than covered in snow in the middle of a freezing forest at night," she ended rather sharply and immediately feeling bad for losing her temper with him. "Sorry," she added. "I'm just a bit stressed."
"It's fine," Scorpius assured her. "But listen! I can hear people!"
They both strained their ears to hear ahead. There was the distinct murmur of voices up ahead. Less than a minute later, the couple broke out of the forest and onto a rough, dirt path. A man and a woman, both looking about thirty years old, were standing a few metres away, on the path.
"Dilys retired almost four years ago now, you can't keep procrastinating!" the woman was practically shouting at her accomplice. She was holding a stick menacingly in front of her, pointing at him. A wand.
When Scorpius saw this, his eyes lit up. "Rose, they're wizards, too," he whispered excitedly. Still holding hands, they both stepped out of the shadows.
The couple stopped arguing and turned to look at them immediately. "Who are you?" the woman stepped forward, her wand raised. Scorpius held up his wand. Rose did the same.
"You're wizards," Scorpius stated. The woman nodded slowly, her emerald eyes full of apprehension. "So are we," he added.
The man rolled his eyes. "We guessed that from your wands," he said. "What is your business here?"
Scorpius and Rose looked at each other. Could this couple be trusted to know the truth? Probably not. But what could they say?
"We…" Rose began, her voice wavering. "We come from far off. We are hitchhikers, looking for Hogwarts," Scorpius frowned at her. What was she saying? "Do you have transport? Could you help us get there?"
The woman's eyes widened. "Did you hear that, Archibald?" she asked. "They're going to Hogwarts, too! What a coincidence," she turned her attention back to Rose and Scorpius. "We are travelling by broomstick," she told them. "We could probably-"
Before she could finish, the man – Archibald – pulled her roughly to face the other way and they had a whispered argument for a few moments.
About a minute later, they turned back. The woman was scowling. "Apologies, fellow wizard and witch," Archibald said. "My wife Adelaide can be too hospitable for her own good, sometimes," he smiled warmly at his wife. "Though an honourable trait, it causes us a fair bit of problems. I am sorry, but we cannot take you to Hogwarts," Rose's face fell. "However, we could take you to the nearest town. There may be someone there who can help you. I believe many wizards live there."
Scorpius smiled at the couple. "That would be much appreciated," he said sincerely. Adelaide smiled back at him, then they turned and led them back to their broomsticks.
They were very old models, Scorpius noted. Nothing at all like his sleek, racing broom back home. Home. It seemed so very far away. "You will probably think me very strange for asking this," Scorpius said suddenly. "But might I ask what year it is?"
Adelaide and Archibald regarded him with furrowed brows. Archibald spoke. "It's 1771," he told Scorpius, whose eyes widened.
"What?" Rose gasped. She turned to Scorpius. "This is terrible!" she cried hysterically. "How will we ever get home?"
Scorpius rubbed her back comfortingly. "I don't know, Rose," he said honestly. "I don't know."
X
X
After being dropped off at a town, the pair realised they might not need to go to Hogwarts after all.
"Look," Rose pointed at a sign on the corner shop. Millicaste's – For all your potion needs.
Scorpius frowned. "What about it?"
Rolling her eyes, Rose led him to the door. "We don't know how to get home," she said. "But if there is anyone who does, it would be someone who knows lots about potions. This is our best hope."
As she pushed the door open, a little bell rang shrilly. A short, fat man with a long brown beard and a scarlet cloak rushed forward from the back room and shook hands with Scorpius. Rose held her hand out for his to shake as well, but when he bent forward to kiss it, she retracted it before he had the chance. The man frowned, but a moment later he was smiling happily at them again.
"Welcome, my customers. Welcome to the shop. It is very good that you are here. May I be interesting you with my goods? Over here," he gestured to the right of the shop, "there are ingredients. Just what you are looking for, yes?" Scorpius shook his head. The man bit his lip, before pointing to the right side of the shop. "Ah, I see, I see. Are you looking for a cauldron? State of the art brewing stations, I have."
Rose held up a hand. "Mr…" she paused while she squinted at his nametag. "Mr Millicaste," he grinned, clearly delighted that she could pronounce his name. "We were wondering if you could help us with something…"
X
X
"It is destiny!" Rose and Scorpius frowned at Mr Millicaste. They had just finished telling him their story – kind of. They included the important parts, like how they came from a time long in the future, but neglected to mention why they came back in the first place, or how.
"What do you mean, Sir?" Scorpius asked. "What is destiny?"
Mr Millicaste beamed, his eyes twinkling. "It is destiny, Mr Scorpius, because just this morning, I was experimenting on just the situation you and your lady friend here were describing!"
Rose's eyes widened. "So you know how to send us back?" she asked disbelievingly. She couldn't believe it! What were the chances that the day they were sent back to was the day he had figured it out!
"Well… No," he said.
Rose stopped smiling. "What? You just said you had figured it out, just this morning!"
Mr Millicaste shook his head. "No, I said I was experimenting this morning. It will take me at least another week to figure it out. Two months, tops."
"Two months?" Scorpius all but shrieked. "Are you joking!?" Millicaste shook his head again.
"I will do all that I can to find the answer quickly," he said. "But I can make no promises about a time scale. Are you staying in the village?"
Scorpius looked unsurely at Rose. "I guess…" she said. "if we can find somewhere that will take us."
They both glanced at Millicaste, silently willing him to offer up his house for them. Unfortunately, he did not take the hint. "Right, well, if you give me the address of the place, I will send word once I have an answer. Feel free to drop by tomorrow and tell me. Goodnight," and with that, he turned and walked off, his cloak billowing behind him.
Rose bit her lip. "So what do we do now?" she asked. Scorpius shrugged.
"I guess we just have a holiday in 1771."
X
X
"Hey, Rose," Scorpius called from the lounge. Rose walked in and saw him sprawled across the floor, staring at the ceiling.
"Yeah?" she asked.
Scorpius sat up and leaned back against the wall. "I think I've discovered the secret of life - you just hang around until you get used to it." Rose raised an eyebrow at him, clearly unconvinced. "Seriously! I've been here – what? Two weeks? Yet already, it feels like home. I love it here; I really do. It's like a holiday."
Rose walked over and sat down beside him. "You're just saying that because we can do what we want here without our parents judging us," she teased.
Shrugging, Scorpius put his arm around Rose. "Is that such a bad thing, though?" he asked. Rose blushed and shook her head.
Just at that moment, there was a knock on the door. Or what passed for a door in their "house", which was really more like a shack. "I'll get it," Rose said, and left the room.
Scorpius heard muffled voices coming from outside. Then a loud, high-pitched shriek. "Rose!" he cried, and rushed after her.
When he got there, he saw Rose hugging short man in a scarlet cloak. "Mr Millicaste!" he exclaimed immediately. He turned to Rose. "Good news?" She nodded and beamed at him.
"I have found the correct potion," he told Scorpius. "I have it back at my shop, if you would like to come with me to get it."
"That's fantastic!" Scorpius cried. Despite what he had just said about loving it here, he found he desperately wanted to go home.
Rose tugged on his arm. "Wait, can I talk to you for a moment?" she glanced at Mr Millicaste, "in private?" Scorpius raised an eyebrow, but followed her back inside.
"What is it?" he asked.
Rose bit her lip and glanced at the door to see if Millicaste was listening. He wasn't. "If Mr Millicaste really has found a way to travel in time, don't you think he would be famous? And yet, I'd never heard of him."
"So you think he hasn't actually found a working potion?" Scorpius asked.
Rose shook her head. "Not necessarily. He might have found it, but then something must have stopped him from publicising it."
"I'm not following you," Scorpius said.
Sighing, Rose started back towards the waiting wizard. "Don't worry about it. I've got a plan; I'll tell you about it later."
X
X
As soon as they arrived at Millicaste's shop, the ageing brewer rushed upstairs, giving Rose and Scorpius a hurried, "Stay there."
Once he was out of earshot, Rose turned to Scorpius. "Okay. I think that once he sent us back to our normal time, something must stop him from making any more. That thing must be us. We've got to destroy the recipe."
Scorpius frowned. "But this is such a great discovery! Time travel! We can't destroy the recipe," he sighed. "This is Millicaste's life work. It's not fair on him."
Rose rolled her eyes. "You don't understand time travel, do you?" Scorpius raised an eyebrow at her. "Millicaste only finished it because of us. If we hadn't arrived, he would never have had the inclination to finish it. If we let him keep the potion, we would have altered history. That's not a good thing to do. The repercussions would be terrible."
"Rose, it's like you're speaking a foreign language or something. Seriously. Just tell me what I need to do; I don't need to know why. I trust you."
Rose smiled at him. "Good. This is what I need you to do…"