"Hey, Lorcan, hey Lysander," Rose grinned at the gangly twins as they clambered down the stairs leading to the Ravenclaw tower. "Wow, uh - Rose!" Lorcan stammered. "We can't believe you're helping us find the painting, this is better than finding a nest of nargles!" Lysander grinned at her.
"So, you guys have the records, right?" She asked, laughing a little at Lysander's comment. They were bound to become Magizoologists like their mother, whom Rose admired quite a bit - after all, she had discovered the Lupus Vindico, an animal whose saliva had been found to help werewolves immensely during their transformations. "Yes - here you go," Lorcan said, handing a bundle of parchment over to Rose. "It's all we could find about the portrait, and a list of the places we've looked. We weren't really able to find anything else, but if you need any more information about Newt just ask us," he added.
"Thanks," Rose took the records. "I'll be right on it," she smiled at the boys as they thanked her and rushed down to breakfast, a mouse poking it's nose out of Lysander's robes. Rose wandered down in the direction of the Great Hall and began to read what the twins had collected. From what Rose could tell, the painting had been commissioned in 1923 and gifted to Hogwarts upon its completion. The last record of it was in 1968 when it was reinstalled after being put in for maintenance.
She'd have to check the list she'd made while searching for Professor Snape's painting - at least all that work was finally becoming useful! Rose recalled that she'd gotten up to the Seventh floor before Scorpius had told her about Snape's painting - that meant that she'd only have to search the rest of the Seventh floor plus the four common rooms and any hidden passageways if the painting wasn't on her list.
"Accio," she flicked her wand and continued to walk and readwhile she waited for the scroll to reach her. If the painting wasn't in the school, what would she do then? Maybe the Ministry might have records of its removal - she could ask her mum for access to the Ministry archives. Rose was so busy planning how she would tackle this case that she walked straight past the Great Hall and out into the courtyard.
"Rose!" She jumped as someone called put her name, and blinked when she realised that she was standing outside. She turned around to see Scorpius standing in the doorway to the Entrance Hall, holding something in his hands. "Hey," she replied, and he frowned. "I thought you said you'd join us for breakfast," he said, nodding his head in the direction of the Great Hall. "I - I was coming," Rose blushed. "I just got distracted."
Scorpius looked at her for a second, then beckoned to her. "Well, come on then, come inside and tell us what's so distracting," he grinned and Rose jogged back to him, stifling her laughter as a scroll zoomed past, nearly knocking him over, as she caught the parchment easily. "Okay," she winked as he glowered at her.
"Rose, give that to me and I'll look, okay?" Scorpius wrestled the list out of her hands. "You need to eat," he said, looking pointedly at her plate, which was piled high and had barely been touched. "Hey, what's that?" Al slid into the seat across from Rose. Quickly, Scorpius explained the case to his friend. "And now I'm checking it because Rose needs to eat," he pointed at her still full plate.
"Oh, fine," she replied grouchily. "But for Merlin's sake don't miss anything!" Rose had to admit that she was hungry, though, and Hogwarts breakfasts were always delicious.
Half an hour later, Rose pushed her plate away, completely stuffed with eggs, bacon, toast and pumpkin juice. "Nothing here," Scorpius announced, rolling the scroll up and sliding it over to Rose. "Oh, good," she clapped her hands excitedly at the prospect of a proper mystery, but stopped when Scorpius fixed her with his disapproving stare. "Uh, I mean, damn - this was supposed to be an easy case," she said in a monotone.
"So, what now?" Al asked, a little bemused by their exchange. "We need to check all the passageways and secret rooms on the marauder's map - I'm pretty sure it's not in any of the common rooms or the twins would have found out," she deduced. "Hey, can I help?" Al asked, and Rose looked incredulously at her cousin. "Oh come on Rose, I know the secret passageways back to front! And anyway, I'm bored," he shrugged. "Okay, let's go," she pushed her chair out and strode out of the Great Hall, the boys following behind her. Little did she know that someone else was following her as well.
"Nothing in here," Rose called back to Scorpius and climbed out if the narrow passageway that lead to a dusty cave. Before hers eyes could adjust to the brightness, something crashed into her from the side and she was pushed over, skidding a few feet along the floor. "Rose," she blinked and saw that it had been Scorpius that had pushed her over.
"What did you do that for?" She demanded, and he pointed to a pile of rubble that lay where she'd been standing just seconds before. "Well, I was trying to stop you from being crushed by that falling statue but if you'd rather I hadn't ..." His voice cracked and broke off. Rose lay there for a second, shocked. If Scorpius hadn't reacted so quickly ... She rested her cheek on his chest and closed her eyes. "M - maybe we should finish the search for today," she whispered. "Good idea," Scorpius answered and stoked her hair. "Let's go."
Later, Rose lay in bed, thinking about what had happened. She could have died today. The thought made her shudder, but not as much as what she'd seen right after Scorpius had saved her. She hadn't told him because she knew that Scorpius would just worry, but she was almost certain that she'd seen the Potions Master, Professor Sicarius, hurry around the corner away from them. He'd looked like he was fleeing the scene of a crime.
