chapter 2

Scorpius was the first to break the silence at their table. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" He exclaimed as the teachers sweeped out of the Great Hall, Hagrid carrying the unconscious girl. Suddenly everyone was talking.

"How did she apparate in here I thought only certain teachers could do that?!"

"She looked like she rolled around in garbage!"

"Think this was some prank or something?"

It didn't take a genius to guess that similar conversations were going on at all the tables in the Great Hall as the buzzing of conversation grew louder and louder. Albus looked across from his best friend, his face glowing with excitement and intrigue giving his grey eyes a manic look. "I have no idea but let's find out!" he whispered grinning. Scorpius didn't need to be told twice, with all the excitement in the air no one noticed or cared that Malfoy and Potter were sneaking out. "Where are you two headed?" asked a voice Scorpius and Albus would have recognized in their sleep. "You two are returning to the common room like the prefects just said right?" asked Rose as she stared at them with a guileless smile. As she spoke children flooded out of the Great Hall, each diverting to the direction of their common rooms to no doubt make up scenarios that will grow wilder by the moment as to why and how a girl covered in grime apparated into the middle of the Great Hall.

Moving so they stood over to the side of the oncoming crowd on the staircase Albus turned to his cousin "Come on Rose you don't think we'd let this opportunity slide? How often does someone apparated into the middle of Hogwarts?! "
"Don't you want to hear how it happened first hand?" Scorpius asked in his most persuasive voice.

Rose stood there biting her lips contemplating the idea when James joined them on the staircase followed by Fred II, even though they were two years apart in age they could usually be found together. A love of mischief made them inseparable. "What are you guys waiting on?" he asked in disbelieve, as if he could not comprehend why they even had to think about going or not. James stood beside the younger brother towering over Albus' 5ft 9" frame with his height of 6ft 1"; he was even taller than their father. Without another word the group proceeded to the infirmary.

Someone was talking close by, fear thick and heavy slammed down on Rebecca until she thought she would suffocate. She struggled to be free from the confines of her…cotton sheet? Stopping in the midst of her escape to freedom she took in her surroundings. There was a partition drawn around her bed but she could see shadowy figures of several adults on the other side, including a very tall man. Her throat suddenly felt constricted, the small whit bed and the clean smelling surrounding suddenly didn't seem so safe. She awkwardly stumbled off the bed careful not to make any sound and barely concealing a gasp when she saw that she was now in a ankle length cotton nightie. Someone had bathed and dressed her, how long had she been out? "Hagrid maybe its best you leave before she awakens I'm afraid the poor girl might be terrified of you" Said a stern but gentle voice, breaking her out of her out of her thoughts.

"If yer sure professor'' A male voice replied, the voice seemed to come from the giant and he sounded …hurt. Hands poised on the doorknob, Rebecca stood frozen as the giant man who went by the name Hagrid made his way around to where she stood. Even though she felt safer than she had in memory, even though she knew deep down that he would not hurt her, fear had a way of turning your common sense to mush. With a small squeak she opened the door and ran outside and straight into someone's chest.

With an "Oof" Albus was thrown onto his back as a blur of blue black hair ran into him. He heard several gasp around him but was too busy counting the snitches circling his head after it slammed into the floor.

"I'm so sorry!" exclaimed a far away voice; at least it sounded far away. He felt the pressure on top of him ease and knew she had gotten up.

"You have nothing to be sorry for, they should be out here in the first place." McGonagall replied sternly. His brother helped him up to his feet and he looked up to see McGonagall looking at them angrily while his mystery attacker stood beside her biting her lip and looking around as if she would very much like to continue her escape attempt. She finally looked at him and he felt a small tightening in his gut as if he at been hit with a quaffle. Her eyes were the color of amethyst and they seemed to swirl as if liquid while she stared at him, her unruly hair which stuck out at odd angles was so black it appeared blue. She looked away first and as quickly as it (whatever "it" was) began it ended and McGonagall's voice drifted back to him, informing him that they had lost Gryffindor 50pts together. Dejected they turned and slumped up to the Gryffindor tower, Albus looked back to see her being ushered back into the hospital wing, their eyes met and she looked away quickly a slight blush on her pale cheeks. Rose was the first to break the silence as they made their way up "Did you see her eyes?" she whispered as if revealing the holiest of secrets.

"They're beautiful." Albus replied mostly to himself, completely missing the looks he got from his friends.