2 weeks earlier
The morning after the sorting ceremony of her sixth year, Rose Weasley was awoken by a pillow to the face and an inordinate amount of shrieking. Her dorm mate and friend, Stella Stone, was jumping on her bed, babbling questions a mile a minute, and brandishing some sort of magazine into her face as though that could clarify the temporary loss of sanity.
"Shut up, Stella!" Fiona Finnegan roared from the other side of the room, tossing shoes and books and whatever else she could get her hands on toward Stella's general vicinity. An errant hairbrush whacked an unsuspecting, still slumbering Helen Macdonald in the head.
"Bloody hell, Fi!" Helen cursed rubbing the back of her head and thrashing about in search of her clock. When she finally managed to locate the thing and figure out the time, she promptly joined Fiona in the tossing of objects.
"Bloody hell, Stella!" she howled, "it's 6 in the morning, don't you have to go sing with birds on the astronomy tower or something?"
Rose-who had been caught in the middle of the crossfire and was now surrounded by an assortment of her dorm mates belongings-was still trying to get her bearings in the chaos that had ensued following Stella's wake up call.
Stella, for her part, completely ignored the grumblings of her friends, holding up her copy of Witch Weekly and practically glowing from her excitement.
"Dominique's engaged?!"
Rose groaned, digging deeper into her blankets. So the article had come out. Part of growing up a Weasley-Potter was the constant media presence and scrutiny and, although she'd gotten somewhat used to it over the years, it didn't make articles about personal family affairs any less invasive and annoying. Truth be told, Rose felt incredibly sorry for Dom. Considering the nature of her and her fiancee's careers, everything leading up to the wedding was sure to be a media circus.
She was incredibly close to Dom—the four-year age gap had never been detrimental to their relationship—and they wrote each other quite regularly. Dom was definitely the cool cousin, reserve Chaser for the Holyhead Harpies, with some modeling gigs on the side, she lived with her pro Quidditch playing friends, Anya Wood and Eliza Flint, in London. Dom had been dating Stefan Krum, beater for the Bulgarian National Team, for 3 years now, and Rose liked him very much. That being said, they were a high profile couple and when Rose finally peeked up at the magazine Stella was waving about, there was Dom's beautiful face beaming on the cover of Witch Weekly.
She groaned again and finally disentangled herself from the blankets. Helen had gone back to sleep, she had very little interest in the goings on of the wizarding elite. Fiona was a Quidditch aficionado but her interest remained in the realm of the actual game so, she too, had buried herself under her blankets.
"Yes, yes," Rose grumbled, shoving Stella and sitting upright, "Dom is engaged to Stefan Krum and yes I will get you an invite, now go sing with birds on the astronomy tower or whatever it is you do during miserable hours of the early morn'."
Stella grinned, pleased with the response, and hopped off the bed and into the bathroom without protest.
Rose sighed and flopped back down on her bed, staring at the ceiling.
Another wedding.
It had been three years since the last family wedding. Everyone had been so happy about it. Victoire and Teddy were perfect for each other.
Teddy had been an honorary member of their family for as long as she could remember. Funny, charming and with an uncanny ability to be friends with everyone, Teddy would light up a room every time he entered it. Head boy and the pride of Hufflepuff house, Teddy had graduated before she'd entered school but his legacy still remained in the series of honors and service awards that hung on the walls. Hufflepuff had won the house cup two years in a row when he'd attended and upon graduation, he'd joined his godfather to train as an auror.
Victoire had also been a member of Hufflepuff house. Gentle, honest and with an intense love of her family, she wasn't quite as witty as Louis or as vivacious as Dom, but she was kind and she treated everyone well. She'd been Head Girl in Rose's first year. She loved all magical creatures and the sea, and she got along splendidly with Hagrid. After graduation she had gone to work on a magical creatures reserve.
Teddy and Victoire were so in love it was almost repulsive. Their relationship had been the stuff of fairly tales. Ted actually teared up when he saw Vic on their wedding day. It had been all sorts of gorgeous, a lovely day that brought up warm memories whenever Rose recalled them.
And now Vic was pregnant with their first child. There was loads of excitement over that.
An incessant tapping at the windows shook her out of her musings. Dom's owl, Hera, was tapping politely on the glass, a letter tied to her foot. Rose arose, unlatching the window and letting poor Hera inside. Taking a seat by the window, she unfolded the letter.
Dear Rosie,
Hope you are well, and ready for another spectacular year at Hogwarts. I know you're going to be terribly busy, Prefect duites and Quidditch and academic rigors considered. But we have a wedding to plan and you better believe that's a family affair!
Vic's maid of honor, naturally, but she's quite sore she's got to help plan a wedding while incredibly pregnant. On the bright side, little lupin will be out and about by the time the wedding comes around.
You are a bridesmaid, obviously, and I'll be announcing the bridal party at a little get-together at your first Hogsmeade weekend! You probably have a general idea of who's going to be involved. You, Molly, Eliza and Anya are definitely bridesmaids. I'm debating about Lily, Roxy and Lucy. They're awfully young at 14 and 15 and it seems strange to have 14 and 15 year olds as my bridesmaid. With the size of our family, it's not like it will be their only opportunity. You think they'd be upset? You know I love them to death, but there are so many friends and teammates to consider. The price of being popular eh?
I feel a little ridiculous telling you this, but I'm so happy it feels like I'm floating. I honestly never thought I'd be such a sap, but I am stupidly in love and I cannot wait for you to understand what that means.
Can't wait to see you, Rosie, and start brainstorming! We've got the wedding of the decade to plan out!
XOXO and lots of love,
The future Mrs. Dominique Krum
P.S. Don't you dare laugh at me
P.P.S. Don't forget! First Hogsmeade meeting! Will send details when they're concrete!
Rose was all smiles, reading through her cousin's letter. Stella had emerged from the bathroom and Fiona and Helen were stirring awake. Rose quickly folded the letter, planning to respond later in the evening, and took her turn for a shower.
OOO
Down at breakfast, she joined her cousin and absolute best friend in the world, Albus Potter. Albus was, perhaps, one of the greatest people Rose knew. He was a thoughtful boy, quiet, honest and with a true desire to do the right things and stand up for those who could not stand up for themselves. He'd been remarkably shy when they were children, with James being such a huge personality and with Al's own insecurities. But he'd grown into his own at Hogwarts, and she was particularly proud of how far her cousin had come.
He was sitting with a Slytherin boy, a strange sight that had become more commonplace in the last few years. Scorpius Malfoy was one of Albus's closest friends. Three years ago, following a chance shared detention, Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy had become friends. It had been an incredibly surreal time in her life, with many people, including herself, being quite outraged by the burgeoning friendship.
But, eventually, Rose began to see just how positive of a friendship it was. They encouraged each other and gave each other confidence. Albus stood up a little straighter and voiced his thoughts a little clearer and if Al was happy Rose certainly was. Despite her misgivings, she even befriended Scorpius, and the rest, as they say, was history.
"Good morning, Rosie"
"Morning, Al," she replied reaching across the table for a slice of toast and the jar of marmalade, "Morning Scorp."
A noncommittal mumbling.
"Honestly, Scorp, manners," she tutted, "please pass me the eggs."
As Scorpius went to pass her the eggs, his hand brushed against hers and the platter crashed against the table.
"Scorpius!" she exclaimed and even Al turned to him with a questioning look, "are you ok?"
He nodded but he didn't look her in the eye. It was quite bizarre, but he insisted he was ok and she decided to let it go.
"Scorpion!"
James Potter, Fred Weasley, Nigel Longbottom and Simon Wood had arrived for breakfast. If ever there was a group so perfectly poised to rule the school, it was this one.
James Potter was the undisputed king of Hogwarts. Handsome, devastatingly charming, brilliant and captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, it didn't hurt that he was the son of Harry Potter. He was constantly getting in trouble for his pranks and Rose thought he was quite insufferable at times, but he wasn't mean-spirited and even his relationship with Scorpius had reached a level of civility.
"Ah James," Scorpius's voice was all dry humor and amusement, "The sunshine of my existence."
James flounced into his seat, Fred, Simon and Nigel joining him.
"That's a bit weird, Scorpion," James commented dubiously, "Shouldn't you be sitting with the other, snakes?"
"Ha, ha," there was no hint of amusement in Scorpius's voice, "snakes, clever Potter, you come up with that yourself?"
"I'm sorry, Malfoy," Simon, being the normal human being that he was, translated, "James wants to talk with us about Quidditch practice."
Scorpius was the captain of the Slytherin team, it made sense. He sighed, getting up.
"I'll see you later," Al waved goodbye to his friend, turning to James with weary eyes.
James was well-known as the most fanatical of the Quidditch captains. Practices were numerous, long and brutal and, family or not, James would kick you off a game or the actual team if you did not perform. The team was composed of Chasers Albus, James and Simon. Mariella Shoals, a 7th year muggleborn, was the seeker. Rose was the keeper and Fred and Fiona were beaters. Seeing as the team was predominantly composed of Weasley-Potter members, James was particularly adamant at fending off accusations of nepotism.
"Where are Fi Fie Foe Fum and Riri," he mumbled scanning the table, "OI! FINNEGAN!"
Fiona who had been drinking tea, choked. When her coughing had subsided, she turned to glare at James. James, for his part, was unimpressed.
"Come over here!"
When the team had gathered, James handed them practice schedules. Of course the week was jam packed with three-hour practices.
"This is your N.E.W.T. year!" Fiona was outraged, "don't you have to study?"
"Nope," James responded, "I'm currently being recruited, this is my N.E.W.T. studying."
"Come on," Rose nudged Albus, "we have to get our schedules from Sinclair."
OOO
Rose had always loved learning. Everything about her education fascinated her. She embraced almost all subjects, excelling and succeeding to put it mildly. She was the top witch of her class, though she did share an academic rivalry of sorts with Scorpius.
It was why she had been weary of him in the beginning. She was mature enough now to admit, that the fact that there were certain courses where he bested her (just slightly!) grated on her nerves.
In any case, deciding what N.E.W.T. levels to take had truly been a challenge. She still had no idea what she wanted to do when she got older. Her fifth year job counseling session with Sinclair had left her with some reluctant introspection and more than a few doubts. She wasn't like Louis who'd known he'd wanted to go into magical law enforcement since he was a toddler, or James with Quidditch or Vic with care of magical creatures or Roxy with singing. She was still completely unsure, a fact that was a secret source of anxiety for her.
She hadn't completely ruled out healing, so she'd decided to continue with Potions, Herbology, Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts and Charms. Additionally, she decided to continue with Muggle Studies and Astronomy, subjects she thoroughly enjoyed and found quite relaxing.
She was pleased to learn that she would be sharing many of her classes with Albus, but she also learned through Albus, that Scorpius was taking all of the same classes that they were.
"Why?" she wondered, as Al churned away at his Arithmancy homework, "I didn't think he much cared for Herbology or Defense?"
"He wants to be a healer," Albus commented serenely, his eyes never leaving his scroll of parchment.
"Scorpius?!"
Al couldn't stop the faint smile on his face at the alarm in his cousin's voice.
It had really surprised her. She'd never once thought of Scorpius as a healing sort of person. It was unfair that she thought so, she supposed. It wasn't as though Scorpius was ever actively unkind to anyone, but he rarely exhibited any signs of actively wanting to help people either.
Maybe he was interested in the actual magic behind it, the spells and magical theory behind healing. That seemed more likely. Maybe he was less interested in the working at St. Mungo's and more interested in working with the research teams, developing new healing potions and spells. She had to concede his suitability for such a position.
She would have asked him about it, but ever since the first day of classes, she had the feeling that Scorpius was avoiding her. Every class they had together, he did not speak to her save for a few curt phrases and he did not once look her in the eye. She couldn't remember doing anything to upset him and she was rather hurt by the fact that he was blatantly ignoring her. She certainly wasn't as close to him as Al was, but she'd considered them friends or, at least friendly acquaintances.
She couldn't understand it.
"Just talk to him about it," Helen had advised one evening after Rose had confided in her dorm mates, "he might be dealing with stuff that has nothing to do with you."
"It's still weird to me," Fiona mused from across the room, "that you and Albus are friends with him."
"I think it's nice," Stella smiled encouragingly from next to Rose, "I think it's a sign that things are going to a better place."
The next day, at breakfast, Scorpius was noticeably absent from the Gryffindor table.
"Do you know what's going on with him?" Rose asked her cousin. Scorpius seemed to be treating him pretty normally, so she wasn't even sure if Albus noticed the strangeness. She would have tried speaking to Scorpius but, for some reason, she was having a difficult time finding the man to even confront him.
"Is he angry with me, or is there something else going on with him?"
There was a flash in Albus's lovely green eyes, the briefest flash of guilt, before it was replaced with a carefully guarded expression.
"I don't think there's anything wrong, Rosie."
She sighed. Albus was going to keep mum about it, even if he knew what was going on.
Finding Albus to be of very little help, she tried to ask their cousin Lucy. Lucy was a fifth year Slytherin, the only female member of the Slytherin Quidditch team and the equivalent of Scorpius's kid sister with the way he doted on her.
"Acting strangely?"
Lucy paused, thinking, before shaking her head.
"Not that I'm aware of."
Rose sighed, thanking her younger cousin and sending her off to Potions with a quick kiss.
Other than the mysterious case of the disappearing, moody Scorpion, Rose's sixth year was off to a relatively smooth start. She shared Prefect duties with Albus, her courses were challenging and engaging, but fun, she was writing Dom constantly with ideas for the wedding and Quidditch practice was going incredibly well. The Gryffindor team had been playing together for two years, and their level of teamwork was unparalleled.
"Excellent job, Rosie," James graced her with a rare compliment after a particularly tricky save, "alright team, that's enough for the day."
They had finished off practice with shooting drills. Albus, James and Simon were an incredibly synchronized Chasing trio and they had kept her on her toes.
By the time Rose had finished showering, it was getting dark and the locker room had emptied out. It was on her way up to the dorm room, her long, red hair still damp, that she finally encountered the elusive Mr. Malfoy, patrolling the halls for Prefect duty.
When he caught site of her she noted the slight widening of his eyes, the tension in his shoulders and his swift about-face as he turned in to a different hallway. She stared at the spot where he had stood, dumbfounded, before her Weasley temper got the better of her. Absolutely fuming, she marched after him.
"MALFOY!"
Scorpius stumbled, nearly tripping over as her voice echoed against the stone walls. Visibly reluctant, he turned to her, still not meeting her eyes.
"What is it?"
A brusque, disinterred voice incited her anger even further
"What is your problem?!" she exploded. The last few weeks of near silence and tension between them had built up and finally pushed Rose to the breaking point. She hadn't realized the extent to which she'd considered Scorpius a friend. She hadn't realized that, over the last few years, she'd become accustomed to having him around, to his conversation to their bickering. She didn't like the current state of their relationship. She didn't like that he'd just decided he no longer wanted to speak with her. It was such blatant disrespect and Rose Weasley was absolutely not having it.
Scorpius, for his part, seemed ashamed and conflicted. He was, objectively speaking, a good-looking bloke. He was rather tall, with fine features and clear eyes. With that being said, he looked as though he hadn't slept in days. There were dark circles under his eyes and scruff on his chin. There was a beat and a brief emotion she couldn't quite place flickered in his grey eyes, before he responded.
"There is no problem."
"Then why won't you look at me or talk to me?"
He made a concerted effort to look her defiantly in the eyes.
"I am talking to you. I am looking at you."
His non-answers and his reluctance to speak with her sucked the energy and righteous fury right out of her system. She looked him straight in the eye, her voice quiet and sad.
"If you're angry at me and you want to patch this up, tell me. And if you don't want to be friends with me anymore just tell me. I won't get mad. But I really did think we were friends and it's really rotten of you to throw that away without an explanation."
He had winced, almost imperceptibly, when she'd mentioned being friends. She was cold and tired and all she wanted to do now was go back up to her dorm room and sleep. She had turned around, to head back to Gryffindor tower, before Scorpius spoke up.
"Rose!"
He hadn't called her Rose since last term, since the day after O.W.L.S when they'd spoken in the library. Even on a good day, he'd just call her Weasley, or Red or Ginger. Rose meant something.
She turned and he'd jogged up to stand next to her. He still had trouble meeting her eye, but his voice was determined.
"I'll escort you back to your tower," his stance spoke confidence, but his voice suggested otherwise.
It was a ridiculous excuse but she didn't protest. They walked in silence and when they finally arrived by the staircase that led to Gryffindor tower, he spoke up.
"I'm not angry, and you didn't do anything wrong. I'm sorry for my behavior. I would like to speak with you about something, if you have time. "
She paused, graced him with a small smile.
"Yeah, I think that would be a good idea. After Quidditch practice, the day after tomorrow."
He nodded, inclining his head toward the stairs.
"You go up," he offered, "I'll wait until you get inside."
She didn't protest. He really did wait until she'd stepped inside the portrait hole. It made her smile. As she brushed her hair that evening, changing into her pajamas and settling into bed, she didn't know why but there was the faintest fluttering in her chest.
OOO
At Quidditch practice the day she was supposed to meet with Scorpius, Professor Flitwick had come onto the field, looking much more anxious than he normally did.
"Hey Professor!" James called down breezly, flying down so he could speak to the small professor. For some reason, Professor Flitwick was whispering. The team couldn't quite make out what he was saying but James expression was clearly agitated and Professor Flitwick's expression was clearly urgent.
"But practice, Professor!" James moaned audibly enough for the team to hear him up above. Professor Flitwick was unamused and when James flew up, he couldn't quite hide the anxiousness creeping into his brown eyes.
"Practice is cancelled," his voice was clipped, directing, "Simon, Fiona and Mariella, your free to go. Al, Freddie and Rosie you're coming with me, no changing out of your gear."
The team exchanged worried looks. James never cancelled practice. Rose suppressed the urge to protest, because seeing James serious honestly frightened her. After putting away their brooms, they followed Professor Flitwick up to see the headmaster, Professor Ogden.
"Professor," she ventured, "what's going on?"
"I'm afraid, Miss Weasley, it's confidential."
They were silent after that, not speaking a word until they had reached the stone gargoyle where Professor Flitwick gave the password and led them up the spiral staircase. When they arrived in the headmaster's spacious, circular office, the first thing they realized was that the rest of their cousins and siblings were in the room including Louis and an extremely pale Dominique.
The second thing Rose noticed was that the rest of her family was also standing in the headmaster's office, which must have been magically enlarged to accommodate her entire family.
Professor Ogden, the elderly headmaster of Hogwarts, looked more tired than Rose could ever remember seeing him. He spoke in hushed whispers with her Uncle Harry and it was Uncle Harry who addressed the room.
"Quiet everyone!"
The whispering and the reunions that had erupted upon their entrance immediately died down.
"I know you're wondering why we've all gathered here, but something has happened and you need to know."
Rose could feel the dread rising in her stomach. She had no idea what it could be, but this was serious.
"A few days ago, Victoire never returned home from the reserve. She's missing."
A/N: And so it begins. Comments, critiques and feedback would be much appreciated! Cheers!