I needed more time. That's all I needed, time; and yet it was the only thing that I couldn't have. All hope seemed to have been lost for me, for everyone. Surely I'd be dead before long, give it an hour or so. I wish I hadn't gotten the pendant. I wish I hadn't made myself a target. I wish people hadn't died for me. I wish I hadn't been the cause for this entire ordeal. But there wasn't a thing I could do about that, not anymore. It didn't matter anymore for me. Malfoy had won, and I'd lost. It didn't matter.

It might not have been a bad thing to have a Time-Turner right about now. I could go back and fix this, make everything alright again. Knowing my own luck, the plan wouldn't have worked; just like this plan hadn't. It had all been a waste: the planning, the leaving, the journey, the compromising. It was all for nothing now. The worst part of it? I don't even get to say goodbye to him.

*TWO MONTHS EARLIER*

My eyes idly glanced at my watch, and I noted the time. It was nearly half past seven in the afternoon, just before we normally had dinner at my house. I could smell the strong aroma of Mum's famous spaghetti from the kitchen, even in my bedroom. It only made me feel guiltier about this, about leaving. According to the plan I had previously made, I was to meet him at the local park at precisely seven-thirty; no sooner, no later.

I clutched my rucksack rather tightly in my hand, mentally going over everything that I had packed within it: blankets, clothes, a variety of potions, and a bit of money that I'd saved up. It would be enough for the time being, but not for too terribly long. That's why we needed to move quickly, as quickly as we could. Apparation would get us to our destination in a split second, but that doesn't happen to be an option due to the fact that I'm complete rubbish at the task. If I even tried to Apparate more than a couple of miles, I could very easily be splinched quite badly. It would be enough to get me to the park, but that's practically it. I had never actually attempted to Apparate before, but I was going to have to try my best tonight.

An unsteady sigh escaped past my lips as I took one last moment to glance around my room, my jaw clenched in attempt to keep any tears from conjuring in my eyes. I swung my rucksack around my back, securing it on my shoulders as I walked to the small desk that resided near the far wall in my room. I simply placed a piece of folded parchment on it. The parchment contained – in my own writing – the explanation of my departure. I figured either Mum or Dad would find it; it was addressed to them. I stared blankly at it for a moment, remembering its contents. The words ran through my mind rather quickly:

Mum and Dad,

By the time you've read this, I'll be on my way to end this whole ordeal. I know you told me to stay out if the situation, but it's got to be me that ends it. Please understand, they're after me and the pendant. They're not after you two, or Hugo for the matter, so I'd rather you not be involved. I know the risks of what I'm doing, and I'm far more than willing to face them. I just want to stop Malfoy before he gets to you, and I know that's what he'll do to get to me. Just in case he ends up sending any Death Eaters here, put up protective charms around the house. Do anything you can to protect yourselves. That's my whole reason for going, to make sure all of you are safe. Please don't try and come after me. It'll only make things worse. Just remember that I love you both so much, and Hugo too. Stay safe.

Ultum amor,
Rose

I allowed another sigh past my lips as my glance turned from the letter, and I turned for my door. I slowly reached for the handle, turning it as I pulled the door open. I looked to my left, thankful at seeing that my brother's own door was closed. My feet slowly and quietly proceeded through the hallway until they reached the top of the staircase. I moved as quickly as I could down the stairs without being noisy, making sure I wasn't spotted by my parents. They were both in the kitchen, preparing dinner for all four of us as usual. I clenched my teeth once more as I briefly glanced at them, only seeing the backs of their heads. I could hear them talking, even laughing a bit; but I kept moving. Heading into the living room, I made my way straight toward the front door. I hesitantly extended my hand to the knob, my fingers grazing over it before clutching it. With one swift movement, I turned the knob and opened the door, slipping outside before closing the door back behind me. A cool breeze graced across my face as I peered across the neighbourhood street. The streetlamps were dimly lit in the evening sky, which was a shade of grey by now.

I took one last glance back at my house, taking in its exterior for a few moments. It was probably the last time I would see it for quite some time, if ever again. I turned my glance back to the empty street, reaching down to the top of my boot. I grabbed the handle of my wand, extracting it from the side of my boot; and I clutched it rather tightly. I inhaled deeply and turned on my heels, Disapparating. The next thing I knew, trees surrounded me, and I felt myself hit rather hard against grass. I could tell that I was lying on my back, my rucksack nearly a foot to my side. I groaned as I stood up, dusting any debris off of myself. The back of my head was in pain from my not so graceful landing, and I rubbed it with my hand, cursing under my breath. I wished I'd gotten more time to practise Apparation, but I was glad I had the time to at least learn to Apparate at all.

"You're late," a teasing voice stated from behind me. I jerked myself around, pointing my wand swiftly at whoever had spoken. When my eyes had seen the person's face, my expression softened slightly before turning rather annoyed.

"Bloody hell, Scorpius! You scared me nearly to death!" I nearly shouted, lowering my wand. Scorpius's features kept their matter-of-fact expression, his infamous smirk practically plastered across his lips.

"Well, it looks like you've nearly killed yourself just a second ago," he chuckled.

"Oh, shut up. You know I can't properly Apparate yet. I was lucky to make it this far without leaving something behind…" I stowed my wand back down into the side of my boot, lightly sighing. Scorpius took a few small steps toward me, and I glanced back up at him. A single blond brow was raised at me, the smirk still etched on his lips. My own expression turned to confusion as I spoke once more. "What?"

"I wouldn't be entirely sure of that if I were you," he slightly laughed again, reaching toward my bangs; and he lightly tugged on a strand of them. "Looks like you got a bit of a haircut there."

"What?" My eyes instantly widened as I reached for the strand of hair that he'd gestured. My fingers ran down it until it suddenly ended. "Well that's just brilliant…"

"Oh, c'mon. It's not that bad, Rosie. Just a bit shorter, is all." His smirk changed to a rather genuine smile. "Your hair still looks nice to me." His hand reached up to my bangs once more, only this time he gently swept them behind my ear. I could tell that the shorter strand was just barely long enough fit behind my earlobe. I solemnly shook my head.

"If you say so," I sighed, turning around to pick my rucksack up from the ground and dusting it off. "We need to go. Now."

"Alright, alright. The Leaky Cauldron, right?"

"Yes, Scorpius. You've been told that how many times now?" My face showed annoyance once more as I turned to him.

"Just making sure here. Didn't want to get us somewhere and have you yell at me because it's not the right place." He took another step closer to me, slightly stretching out his hand. I briefly glanced down at his gesture.

"You do remember the name you're supposed to use when we get there, right?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Williams," he stated simply, a minute smile working its way onto his lips. He gestured for me to take his hand again.

"Good." I finally reached my hand toward his, taking hold of it. At that, Scorpius quickly and easily Apparated us to our destination; and the moment I felt my feet hit solid ground, I felt uneasy. My hand let go of Scorpius's, cupping over my mouth. I glanced around frantically, only barely taking notice that we were in an alleyway. I felt myself getting more nauseous by the moment. My eyes spotted a rubbish bin, and I darted rather quickly toward it before becoming quite ill.

As I'd finished, my breath was still uneven, and I turned back to Scorpius. His expression showed a hint of concern.

"Are you alright?" he asked. I paused for a moment before speaking.

"I – bloody – hate – Apparating!" I exclaimed between heaved breaths. Scorpius walked up to me, pushing a stray strand of hair behind my ear.

"You'll get used to it, trust me." The tone in his voice was unusually soft. I gritted my teeth, feeling quite annoyed. From the experience I'd just had, I never wanted to Apparate again in my entire life. It was only the second time, and I was already sick of it – literally.

Scorpius took my hand once more, slightly pulling me. "Come on," he spoke rather quietly, leading me out of the dim alleyway. The two of us walked quite cautiously into the busy London street, stepping onto the sidewalk. A sea of people surrounded us, moving both in the same and opposite directions as we were. My eyes darted around at all of the passing faces as I gripped Scorpius's hand a bit too tightly, becoming anxious as we walked. He glanced at me, a slight reassuring smile on his features. "We'll be fine, Rosie. Stop worrying yourself so much. You're gonna give yourself a bloody heart attack."

"Well I'm sorry for being worried that any one of these people could be a Death Eater! You can never be too careful," I hissed, though attempting to keep my voice low.

"Lighten up a bit, would you? I promise, nothing's gonna to happen here."

"But we still don't know if any of –" My words were cut short by Scorpius.

"Trust me, if I saw a Death Eater I'd recognise them the second my eyes found 'em. You shouldn't worry so much, really." He softly kissed my temple, still walking. I found myself silent as I continued to walk beside him. I knew he was right, but part of me wasn't willing to admit it.

Scorpius could in fact recognise any Death Eater the moment he saw them; he'd been around them enough to do so. I reached my free hand to the pendant around my neck. It was what they wanted, what they were after. More importantly it was what Scorpius's grandfather, Lucius, wanted. Not for himself, but for his own son. Draco had an affliction just as I did, though a different kind. That's why he needed the pendant. It would make him well again. It would make him more powerful again. It would make him able to lead the Death Eaters to a new uprising, just as they'd planned. Scorpius had informed me of this after his father left. It was nearly two months after I'd received the pendant that this had happened, and it was specifically due to that. This whole ordeal had started the moment Dad decided to get me the pendant, after we found out that my body was infected with a severe case of Tuberculosis. I had stopped responding to treatments, and the only other option to keep me alive was a Pendant of Life. They're extremely rare, and only used in cases such as mine. Not to mention, they cost far more than any piece of jewelry should. They're made of pure Lectin, an extremely rare mineral that purifies anything it comes in physical contact with, which is why they cost a fortune and a half. It was the only reason that I was still alive to that day, and also the reason why I was being hunted down like some sort of animal.

My mind became clouded as my fingers toyed with the small pendant, twisting it around. I couldn't help but feel that this was seeming like more and more of a horrible idea, leaving on our own to deal with this. It seemed almost silly now. But it was all for the protection of my family, and Scorpius's as well, though he only really had his mother now. I couldn't even imagine how it would have been for him, going through his situation. He seemed to be rather calm about it though. That was one of the best things about Scorpius. He could handle almost anything with a calm, positive attitude, which was rather the opposite of myself. Even now I was completely freaking out, and we were only walking down a sidewalk.

I almost hadn't noticed that Scorpius had stopped walking, my mind too clustered. He glanced at me, faintly smiling. I returned his smile, though mine was completely forged. I couldn't smile at a time like this. I had no reason to. I almost didn't even see that we'd arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, it's exterior appearance advanced in age. Scorpius gave my hand a gentle squeeze before speaking.

"Come on." He pushed open the main door and walked inside, pulling me just behind him. The familiar area of the Leaky Cauldron came into view, and I glanced around at it. Everything was the same as it normally was. People were sitting around and chatting amongst themselves, probably catching up on the latest news; and probably about Draco. His story was the big one at the moment. Everyone knew about it. But next to no one knew that I was the person he was after.

I felt Scorpius's hand leave mine, and I looked to him. He gave me a rather serious glance. "Williams, right?"

"Yes, Williams." I nodded once.

"Okay, stay right here. I'll be back in just a tick." He gave me a small smile, turning to make his way to the main counter, where the landlady was standing. I recognized her as Hannah Longbottom, and I knew she would recognise me as well. She knew me, along with my entire family; and I had to stay out of her sight. If she spotted my face, she'd know something was up. The same wouldn't have been said for Scorpius since Hannah didn't personally know his family. He and I just needed to stay here for the night, unnoticed and unrecognised. It would be a chance for us to do more planning. By now we had only one plan: to get there and compromise. We needed at least a backup plan in case it failed.

As I waited for Scorpius to return, my eyes scanned through the pub once more. I couldn't help but feel something wasn't right. Something felt strange, almost threatening about it. The thought of any one of these people being a Death Eater wasn't able to slip my mind for even a moment, and it worried me a bit too much. My glance suddenly caught that of a light brown-eyed girl who couldn't have been any older than myself. Her eyes lingered on my face for a few moments before dropping to her drink. I felt my heart rate incline as I looked away, my own eyes finding Scorpius. He was just now turning from the desk and making his way back to me.

"Room fourteen," he said, walking up to me. I simply nodded, keeping myself quiet. Scorpius took my hand once more, leading my to the somewhat deteriorated staircase.

I had never stayed in a room there before, but the interior of ours was as I had imagined it: the large bed was rather antique looking, as was the rest of the furniture, the wooden planks in the floor were quite warped, and the single window was extremely foggy and difficult to see through. Despite of its décor, I found the space to be quite homey. It actually seemed to feel comfortable in a way. This was just what we needed before the journey we had ahead of us. It was to be brutal within itself, I expected.

An exasperated sigh passed my lips as I set my rucksack down on the floor. I took off my denim jacket and tossed in just next to my bag before turning to Scorpius.

"We might as well get comfortable," I said, walking over to perch on the bed. "We probably won't be able to again after tomorrow."

Thanks for reading! The sooner you guys get some reviews up, the sooner I'll get chapter two up!

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