AN: Hey look, another chapter! I know I said it would come sooner, but to be honest it took me quite a while to perfect this one. Additionally, I ended up cutting the New Years Party out of this chapter, and making it it's own chapter because it was getting too long and I wanted to give you guys an update as soon as possible.
But I really hope you enjoy this chapter! It was probably my favorite to write so far. Also thank you to all the reviewers. I loved your comments.
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: Anything you recognize is not mine, but belongs to JK Rowling.
Saturday, December 24, 2022
The Burrow, Ottery St. Catchpole, Devon, 4pm
Scorpius was hiding. He had been sitting on the roof outside of his shared room in the Burrow thinking about the past week and, in all honesty, hiding. He sighed. How the bloody hell did it come to this?
The past week had been interesting, to say in the least. The previous Sunday he had finally decided break things off with Ava. Not only had her constant neediness steadily grown tiresome, but she'd owled him fifteen times in between his arrival at the Potter's house Friday evening and Saturday afternoon complaining about not seeing him at the station, further cementing his decision. So on Sunday he'd floo'd over to her house and broken up with her. And like he'd told Lorcan the next day, it had not gone well.
But he was happy that it was done. Because if he was honest with himself, there was another reason that he had been thinking of breaking up with Ava, beside her annoying nature. And that reason was currently downstairs baking pies with her grandmother.
Over the past couple months he'd been unable to stop thinking about her, his best friend's cousin. And for the life of him, he couldn't figure out when it had started. Well actually if he was being honest with himself, he knew around when it had started; third year. Third year was when he'd first started noticing girls as more than just friends. Additionally, other guys had really started noticing Rose around then too. She had always been cute and pretty, but at the beginning of third year, she'd come back to Hogwarts having developed into more of a woman and looking beautiful. It was also the year that they began to spend more time together and gotten to know each other better, mostly while studying for exams. Over the next few years they'd both had their fair share of relationships. While it hadn't phased him too much, he did always feel an unexplainable twinge of annoyance at anyone she dated. Recently, however, that twinge of annoyance had grown into a tight knot in his stomach whenever he saw her with another guy, especially Corner. His initial reasons for dating Ava had been to try and push away those feelings, but the plan had failed.
The pinnacle of it all occurred during the night of the end of term party, after Ava had left to comfort her friend. He'd returned to the party to find all of his friends missing. After a quick chat with Lily, she'd told him they'd all left and that Rose had had a fight with Corner. Not knowing why, he found himself going up to the Astronomy tower where he knew she went when she was angry. There was just something about her that drew him in. There always had been. It was what made him tease her all the time, pick small fights with her, and constantly compete with her. On some level he knew that his attempts at competing with her in classes were a way of trying to prove to himself and Rose that he was worthy of her, that he could keep up.
Their talk in the Astronomy tower had only drawn him in even more. He had enjoyed their conversation and simply spending time with her. She was one of very few girls who could keep up with him, match him wit for wit. And then he'd almost kissed her. He had gotten so close. After Peeves' interruption, he'd nearly gone to find the poltergeist and hex him into oblivion, but had restrained himself. Because admittedly he didn't want his first kiss with Rose, if he ever had one, to be when they were both seeing other people. That would never become a fond memory for either of them.
And yes, she was dating Corner. But according to Al, who she frequently confided in, they didn't seem all that serious. They rarely spent time together at Hogwarts, mainly because Corner was always off with his friends or at Quidditch while Rose was usually found in the library studying. She spent more time studying with Scorpius and the rest of their friends than she did with Corner. That prat isn't good enough for her thought Scorpius. Hell, I'm not even good enough for her, but at least I'm willing to admit it.
And now they were all at the Burrow, where he was around her all the time. He'd always been attracted to her looks as well as intellect, but now it was becoming apparent to him just how physically attracted to her he was.
The entire Weasley-Potter family had arrived at the Burrow on Thursday to begin the holiday festivities. On Thursday night, he, Al, and Rose had been asked to decorate the garden outside with Christmas lights. Ten minutes into their task, Fred and Louis had decided to test one of their products on Al, resulting in him sprouting feathers and a beak for a solid two hours. Scorpius and Rose had been left alone as Uncle George tried to sort Al out. They'd made some small talk nothing in particular and everything had been fine. Until she had reached up to adjust the lights on the tree. As she was reaching, her jumper had rode up exposing the bare skin of her stomach. Suddenly Scorpius had had to suppress the urge to wrap his arms around her and just run his hands over her skin to see if it was as soft as it looked. Physically restraining himself, he'd finished their work quickly and rushed inside and up to his room leaving her looking quite confused.
Then on Friday morning, they'd been the first two awake other than her grandmother. Rose had been helping to prepare breakfast, and as soon as Scorpius walked into the kitchen he'd been tasked with helping as well. Nana Weasley had left the two of them in the kitchen to go pick fresh vegetables from her garden. Rose had been making small talk about NEWTs and studying, but Scorpius hadn't been able to concentrate on a single thing she'd been saying. Instead he'd had to force himself not to stare at her, because all Rose had on was a simple black tank top that hugged her every curve and showed off a bit of her midriff. Her short emerald green pajama boxers his favorite color were slung low on her hips, accentuating her curves and making her legs look extremely long. Finally, after about twenty minutes of pure torture, Lily had joined them in the kitchen. Making some excuse, he'd given his task to Lily and run back upstairs to his room once again, intent on taking a cold shower.
It wasn't that he'd never noticed her physically before. Scorpius had always known that she was beautiful. But until the recent weeks he had never admitted to himself how attracted he was to her. How gorgeous her auburn tresses looked as they fell down her back in soft waves. How bright her sapphire blue eyes sparkled when the light hit them. How the skin around her eyes crinkled in delight when she smiled or laughed. How she blushed so easily, coloring her cheeks so prettily.
He shook his head. You need to stop he mentally scolded himself. It's not going to be an easy night for you if you dwell on these thoughts .
"Scorp?" Scorpius turned to see Al climbing out of the window and onto the roof, sitting beside him. "What are you doing out here?"
Scorpius took a deep breath. He couldn't tell Al about his feelings just yet. Not until he knew more about them. "Just… thinking. House can get a bit crowded."
"You're telling me," Al replied. "I love my family, but there's just so many of them."
"Yeah, but I'd rather have too much family than too little family."
"Well, you don't have cousins that turn you into bloody poultry, now do you?" Scorpius snorted while attempting to stifle a laugh. "It's not funny, I'm still finding feathers all over the place!"
"Well after the yelling your Nana gave Fred and Louis, I reckon they're done testing products on you."
Al smiled in smug satisfaction. "C'mon, let's get inside. Nana said she needs our help setting up some stuff for dinner before the others get here."
"Give me a minute, I'll be right in." Al clapped him on the back before climbing back into the room and leaving Scorpius by himself again. Taking a deep breath Scorpius made a decision. He needed start acting more normal around Rose, maybe stop teasing her all the time, build an actual friendship. There was nothing he could do while she had a boyfriend anyways, so he may as well improve their friendship in the hopes that she would start to see a new side of him. He got up and climbed into the bedroom.
Here we go.
The Burrow, 7pm
A few hours later and the Burrow was bustling with no fewer than twenty people.
"Rosie, be a dear and go help Albus and Scorpius set up the tent and tables outside? Everyone should be arriving soon."
"Sure Nana," Rose answered. Grabbing her coat, she went outside to find Al and Scorpius levitating chairs in the air and smacking them into each other for sport.
"I know we can use magic since they can't detect who's doing it at here, but really? Dueling with chairs?"
Al and Scorpius laughed. "C'mon Weasels, don't be a bore," Scorpius called, his tone playful.
Rose rolled her eyes, but adopted a mischievous look on her face. Taking advantage of the boys' distraction at their resumed fight, she took out her wand. Pointing it at one of the tables, she muttered a quick levitation spell. Moving her wand towards the chairs in the air, she flicked her wrist. The table soared towards the chairs, smacking them straight out of the air and towards the two boys. Ducking and covering their heads just in time, the chairs flew over their heads crashing into the bushes behind them. Al and Scorpius rose to stare at Rose, who was smirking at them. "You were saying, Ferret?"
"Bloody hell woman, those nearly hit us!" exclaimed Al, though he looked slightly amused.
Next to him Scorpius looked at Rose, half in shock half in awe. "Didn't know you had it in you Weasels," he said, tipping his head towards her. "Touché."
"Thank you thank you," she bowed in dramatic exaggeration. "Now come on. It's freezing out here, and I want to slip the firewhiskey into our drinks before the adults all come downstairs." Rose had taken over the duty of spiking their drinks for the evening. Unlike some of her other cousins, namely Fred and Louis, who were carefully monitored by both their mothers, no one suspected Rose of any wrongdoing due to her usual rule abiding nature. However even she couldn't endure an evening of the entire Weasley-Potter clan, with the addition of the Scamanders and Longbottoms, completely sober. "If I have to put up with Uncle Percy reading me his entire pamphlet on broomstick regulations, or Rolf telling me about the latest sighting of a 'Blubbering Humdinger' while sober, I'm going to strangle Ferret."
"Hey!" Scorpius threw up his hands.
"Broomstick pamphlets and 'Blibbering Humdingers' aside," interrupted a voice from behind her, "you'd better make Al's drink extra strong." She turned to see James coming outside.
"Why?" Al asked suspiciously, his eyes narrowing at James. "What happened? Oh Merlin, did you do something and blame it on me?" he accused. "What did you do James?!"
James held up his hands in defense. "Relax little brother, you're not in trouble. But you're still gonna need a lot to drink tonight. Mum's just told me that Sarah's coming with the Scamanders."
Al threw back his head and groaned as the others began laughing. Sarah Scamander was Lorcan and Lysander's fifteen year old cousin. She was home schooled by her parents, but tended to spend a lot of the holidays with her cousins, being quite close with Lysander. Over the years of visiting the Weasleys and Potters, she'd developed quite a crush on Al, one she made no secret of.
"Damn. He's right Rosie, give me a tad extra would you?"
"You sure Al? Wouldn't want you doing anything stupid tonight..."
"Just do it." Grumbling, Al storming off inside, no doubt to complain about Sarah to anyone that would listen.
"Poor guy," Scorpius mused. "Chased after by all the girls except the one he actually wants."
"Eh, Darcy'll come around soon enough. Davies is a prick, she's bound to figure that out sooner or later. " James said confidently. "C'mon, let's get these tables set up before Nana sends my mother after us with a Bat Bogey Hex."
The three of them set the tables and chairs up together, erected a white tent around it, then cast a warming charm inside. Satisfied with their work, they went back inside.
"Neither of you two are to leave me alone with Sarah at any time tonight, got it?" ordered Albus, pointing back and forth between his two best friends. Turning to each other, both Rose and Scorpius rolled their eyes. They were upstairs in the boys' room where Al had dragged them to talk alone.
"Mate, I think you're overreacting."
Albus turned on him glaring. "Overreacting?! Well why don't you bloody well try and "
"Albus?" interrupted a voice from outside the room. Albus' face paled. "Are you in there?" said the small voice again.
"Bloody hell," groaned Albus. "Distract her, I'm going out the window," he ordered them both. Just as he put a leg out the window, fully intent on escaping that way, both Scorpius and Rose grabbed an arm each and pulled him back in.
"Nuh uh," said Rose. "That's a three story drop, don't even try it. It'll be fine, just be polite and avoid her most of the night." Albus groaned again, but nodded in resignation. Stepping outside the room, they were met by a small brown haired girl who immediately beamed upon seeing Albus.
"Albus, hi! I've been looking for you!" Sarah blushed, smiling shyly at him.
"Er hi Sarah. Nice to see you. Say Scorp, weren't you supposed to tell me about that thing with the, uh, other thing? You know downstairs… or outside.. or something?" he pleaded. Sarah looked at the two boys in confusion, while Rose attempted to stifle a snort at her cousin's ridiculous behavior, but failed.
"Nope, no idea what you're talking about Al," grinned Scorpius. Then suddenly his face adapted a look of pure evil. "In fact, Rose and I had to tell Lorcan something. Is he downstairs Sarah?" Sarah nodded, and Scorpius gestured for Rose to head towards the stairs. She stifled a snicker, and both of them left, avoiding Al's withering glare.
They shuffled down the stairs quickly, barely able to contain their laughter. At the bottom, they collapsed in amusement. "Oh that was too good. But you know he's gonna kill us when he finds us," wheezed Rose, out of breath.
"Too right. Which is why we can't let him get us alone tonight." They walked over to where James and Dominique were standing with Lorcan and Emily by the fire.
"Hi Em," greeted Rose, hugging her friend from behind as Scorpius clapped Lorcan on the back.
"Hi Rosie. I got your drink." She handed Rose a cup. "Oh, and thanks for the extra kick," she winked lifting up her cup, the others doing the same and nodding in agreement.
Rose bowed her head and knocked her glass against Emily's. "All in a good day's work. So how was lunch yesterday?"
"It was nice," Emily replied. "Mr. and Mrs. Zabini are definitely going to Greece next weekend, so the party plans are all set."
"Perfect, now we just have to get our alibis with the parents down." Emily nodded and they joined in with the others' discussion of the latest Puddlemere Quidditch game.
"Uh oh, heads up," Scorpius whispered a few minutes later, nudging Rose to look behind. Turning around, Rose saw a seething Al heading down the stairs and over to them. Reacting instinctively, she grabbed Scorpius' hand and dragged him into the kitchen.
"We'll be safe here. I reckon Al wouldn't dare do anything in front of Nana," she said, and Scorpius unconsciously squeezed her hand in agreement. Looking down, Rose blushed and quickly broke their grasp to Scorpius' dismay (though he didn't show it outwardly). "We'd better see if Nana needs help, or she'll kick us out of here."
The two of them went over to Rose's grandmother and were asked to get the dishes ready and start taking them outside.
"You two are in such big trouble," came a voice from behind them. Rose and Scorpius turned to see Molly, the younger, entering the kitchen, trailed by Teddy and Victoire.
Scorpius quirked an eyebrow. "How mad is he?"
"He was fuming," replied Teddy. "I think he's planning his revenge for tonight. Something about you two needing to 'sleep with one eye open.'" The others chuckled.
"He's all talk. There's no way he could survive without either of us," Rose said confidently.
The others laughed. "Anyways, we came in to see if you need any help?" asked Victoire. Rose and Scorpius nodded, and told the three of them what they'd been instructed to do by Nana Weasley.
When done, they went to round up everyone. Once outside, Rose sat down in between Emily and Molly, across from Scorpius, while the rest of her cousins began to fill the other seats nearby. "You two are so dead," Al snapped at Rose and Scorpius, as he and Lorcan took seats next to Scorpius.
Before Rose could reply, her grandfather began talking. "I'd just like to say thank you to everyone for coming. We're glad that you could all make it. And of course thank you to my lovely wife Molly and to everyone who helped her cook dinner tonight. Now, tuck in!" said Arthur. Everyone immediately began eating and chatting.
"Oh come on Al, it was all in good fun," replied Rose, sending him a teasing look. Emily and Lorcan laughed quietly.
Al's glare let up a bit as he quickly glanced down towards where Sarah was sitting with Lily and Roxanne. He sighed. "She's a nice kid and all, I just don't know how to let her down easy."
"Mate, don't worry about it. She'll get over it eventually," said Lorcan while helping himself to food.
"Plus today's the only day you'll have to see her anyways. She's too young to come to the New Year's party, and afterwards we're all going back to school," added Emily.
Al perked up at that. "True. Alright, you guys are off the hook. But,do anything like that again, and I'm never speaking to either of you again," he pointed back and forth between his two best friends in warning.
"That threat might actually be frightening if you were capable of functioning without us," Scorpius said, grabbing a piece of turkey from the platter.
"Ferret don't antagonize him, we just got back on his good side," chided Rose. Scorpius smirked in response.
"Rosie, did I hear Emily mention New Years?" Rose froze and turned to her mother, who was sitting two spots down from her.
"Um yeah mum "
"She's staying with me, Aunt Hermione," interjected Molly confidently. "All the girls are, we're having a girl's night out. You know, doing our nails, talking about boys, the usual. The boys are doing the same with Teddy."
Rose smiled gratefully as Molly got Hannah's permission for Emily to join as well. Molly had spoken so confidently that it actually had a ring of truth to it. "That's nice," said Hermione. "Because we all have to go to the Ministry's party, and I reckon you'd be bored out of your mind there. Now I just have to see about Hugo…"
Hugo looked over at the mention of his name. "No you don't mum. I told you yesterday, Lils, Rox, and I are going over to Max's house."
"Oh that's right. Sorry Hugo, work's got me distracted, it must've slipped my mind," Hermione said. Hugo smiled and went back to talking to Lysander. "Well I guess that's all sorted," said Hermione, turning back to her conversation with Hannah.
Rose sighed in relief. Their alibis were secure. With Hermione convinced, the rest of their parents wouldn't question it. A bit curious as to why her mother had accepted the excuse so easily and without question, Rose pushed the thoughts out of her head and turned to Molly. "So, how's the job going?" The two of them and Emily began talking about Molly's job at the Ministry, and her extremely cute boss.
Scorpius looked over at Rose and smiled slightly. She seemed so happy whenever she was with her family. She always looked so at ease with everything. He sighed and kicked himself mentally. Bloody hell man, get it together. Turning to talk to Al, he didn't notice both Lorcan and Lily eyeing him carefully, then turning to whisper to each other.
"So Scorp, I heard you broke up with Ava?" said Roxanne from next to Lily. "Thank Merlin, she was awful."
"Yeah yeah yeah, I know," groaned Scorpius. "So I've heard only ten thousand bloody times."
"I'm surprised it took you this long. Mels thought you'd get rid of her much earlier." Scorpius' cousin had taken a keen liking to Roxanne when she'd gotten sorted into Slytherin. Not being easily fond of too many people, it was a surprise to most how Mels treated Roxanne like the sister she'd never had. Scorpius, however, wasn't surprised. He could see how alike both Melanie and Roxanne were, and why they got along so easily.
"Yeah well, she'll be happy when she gets back from Spain then," muttered Scorpius, helping himself to more food.
"I reckon she will be. She might even be able to be around you again without taking the mick out of you," continued Roxanne, making everyone else laugh.
"Alright, alright enough picking on Scorp," said Al, taking pity on his friend. The others went back to chatting, and Scorpius looked towards Al gratefully.
The rest of the dinner flew by, with everyone talking and eating heartily. Sometime around ten thirty however, Al disappeared, making a quick excuse as he saw Sarah heading over towards him. Scorpius let him go, intent on eating as much as he could, but about twenty minutes later Rose shot him a look telling him he'd better go see what was up with Al. Excusing himself, he left the tent and walked outside.
"Al? Al! Come on mate, I know you're out here somewhere." Scorpius walked further into the Weasley's garden calling for his best friend. "Merlin's pants Al, where the bloody fu "
Suddenly and arm came out from the tree behind him, grabbing his shirt and yanking him backwards. "Shhhh!" Turning, Scorpius found himself looking into a pair of familiar emerald eyes. "For fuck's sake, do you want her to find me?!"
"Oh c'mon Al, now you're just being a drama queen."
"Easy for you to say, you're not the one she's obsessed with. Scorp, she asked me if I have a girlfriend earlier. This is bloody serious!" Al hissed. Scorpius barely managed to stifle a snort at that, earning a glare from the other boy. "I'm just gonna stay out here for a while. They have to leave soon, right?"
Scorpius checked his watch. "Yeah, it's almost eleven. I reckon everyone will probably be leaving soon."
"Well in that case…" Al trailed off, taking out his wand. Making sure everyone was still inside the tent, he summoned two of the spare chairs that were outside the tent. Grabbing one, he twirled it around and sat down. "Make yourself comfortable."
Scorpius raised an eyebrow. "Who says I'm staying here with you. I've got your grandmother's delicious cooking to get back to." And Rose to stare at more he added mentally.
"Oh come on, Scorp!" Al pleaded. "You're not gonna leave me out here all by myself are you? You're supposed to be my best mate," he added, attempting to guilt the blonde.
Rolling his eyes, Scorpius sat down. "All right, all right. But you owe me. I'm missing your grandmother's dessert for this."
"We'll grab some leftovers later and take it up to the room," Al grinned. Scorpius settled into his chair and faced Al. "So, what's new with you? I feel like we haven't hung out in a while, just the two of us. Especially when you were dating that bloody gi "
"Yeah yeah, I know what you thought of her," interrupted Scorpius, tired of hearing people complain about Ava. "To be fair to her she wasn't always like that. When we first started dating, she was much sweeter, simpler. You know…"
"Yeah I remember. Who knows, maybe she just acted like that to get you to go out with her." Scorpius looked down and nodded. Al looked at him a bit before continuing. "But Scorp, I am sorry about the break up. I may not have liked her, but break ups are never easy. And you know I'm here if you need to talk," Al added, a bit awkwardly.
Scorpius chuckled. Punching Al in the shoulder lightly, he said, "Thanks mate. I appreciate it."
"So any new prospects yet? We've got to get you back out there."
Yeah, but she's dating someone. "Nah. Reckon I'll see how the single life is for a while."
"Seriously? Oh the birds are gonna love that when we get back to Hogwarts. How long do you think it'll take for Lauren to come after you?"
Scorpius scrunched up his face in disgust. Lauren Montague had persistently tried to date Scorpius for the past two years. The only time he was ever free from her was when he was in a relationship, and even then she still flirted lightly with him. "Fuck, I didn't think of that. How bad do you think it will be?"
" Well last I heard she fancied Corner. But of course now he's dating Rosie…" Al trailed off in thought.
Scorpius took a deep breath. He had already decided not to tell Al about his growing feelings for Rose just yet, but that didn't mean he couldn't subtly scope for information. "Yeah Corner… so how serious do you think he and Rose are?" Al looked at him strangely. "It's just… I dunno, it'd be kinda helpful for me if Corner were suddenly free for Lauren to go after," he added hastily.
"Oh, well I'm not sure. I mean they've only been dating for what, three months? I don't think they're too serious." Scorpius rejoiced inwardly. "But I suppose it could get serious soon. I mean he did ask her to meet his parents."
Scorpius' breath hitched. "He what?"
"Yeah, I was surprised too. I mean meeting the parents is way to early for where they're at. But from what Rose told me she said she couldn't. I don't think she felt ready." Scorpius started breathing normally again. "Oh hey, was it me, or did Lorcan look like he was paying more attention to Lily than usual?" asked Al.
"Um, nah mate, I don't think so…" said Scorpius distractedly, slowly recovering. Seeing an opportunity to get Al's thoughts on a similar situation though, he dove straight in. "But how would you feel, if say a friend of yours was to date your relative?"
"Wait, what? Why?" Al suddenly sat up straight looking confused. "Oh man I knew it, Lorcan fancies Lily doesn't he?!"
"No! It's not him "
"Not him? What then, you? Oh Merlin, you fancy Lily?!" Al yelped, his eyes wide.
"What? No, of course not! This is all purely hypothetical!" Scorpius exclaimed, raising his hands in defense. "Calm down Al."
"Sorry," said Al, running a hand through his already messy hair. "It's just, well Lily's only fifteen. And James and I have enough trouble keeping her away from boys her own age, let alone my friends who are older than her."
Scorpius laughed nervously, hoping that Al's protectiveness didn't apply to his female cousins as well.
"What brought this on?"
Scorpius froze. Think Scorp, you have to come up with something! "Oh, um nothing really. Just a random thought." Al didn't look convinced. Suddenly, the perfect excuse came to him. "Well I guess I always wondered how Ella felt about her best friend dating her brother. And seeing as I have no siblings of my own, you seemed like the next best person to ask."
"Oh." Al looked a bit more convinced, and much less suspicious. "Well I suppose it would depend on the person, you know? I mean Ella and Em have known each other for a long time, and it's not like Aiden and Em have some fleeting relationship. They'd fancied each other for ages before he finally worked up the courage to ask her out." Scorpius nodded in thought. "So I guess personally, it would depends on how serious said person is about my relative. I think Ella could tell that Aiden wasn't some passing fancy for Em."
"Yeah, that make sense," mumbled Scorpius. Well at least he's not totally against the idea he thought.
"But man I'd give that person hell for it initially," Al grinned evilly. "Oi, looks like people are leaving. Think it's safe to start heading in?"
Scorpius nodded, trying to act normally. "Yeah, probably. Let's go. You owe me some treacle tart."
Early into the next day, around one in the morning, Scorpius lay wide awake in his bed thinking. While thoughts of Rose and his newly discovered feelings for her filled his mind, it wasn't the main cause for his insomnia. Rather there were four reasons, and they were coming from three different directions all around him.
"Fucking hell, this is ridiculous," he muttered, sitting up in his bed. Around him slept Al, James, Fred, and Louis, all of whom seemed be emitting different levels of snoring from their beds.
Swinging his legs off of the bed, he stood up and made his way to the door. Walking down the hall, he made it to the stairs and descended. Despite it being pitch dark, he never faltered once, having walking the halls of the Burrow many times before. In the kitchen, he was surprised to find the light already turned on and Ron Weasley sitting at the table sipping out of a mug and reading the previous days' Daily Prophet.
"You're up late Mr. Weasley."
Ron jolted and almost fell of his chair in the process of turning around. Clutching his chest, he said, "Bloody hell Scorpius, you scared me!"
Scorpius chuckled. "Sorry, I didn't mean to." He walked to the table and sat opposite the older man.
Despite most people's expectations, Scorpius and Ron got along relatively well. While he had been a bit wary of the Malfoy heir during the first few years of his friendship with Al, Ron's caution had eventually faded. Two things had helped with this; the first was Scorpius' easygoing manner. It was quite hard to hate a kid who was friendly to everyone, and had never once made a negative or derogatory comment towards anyone. The second was their shared love of the Chudley Canons. Ron had even ceased to call him Ferret Junior after his third year, something that Rose had not followed however.
"Cocoa?" Ron offered. "Made it m'self," he said proudly, getting up to get another mug and filling it with a steaming liquid from a saucepan. Scorpius accepted and thanked him. Taking a sip, he let the hot drink warm him up.
"What are you doing up?"
"Your nephews," replied Scorpius, taking another sip of his drink. "Their combined snoring was keeping me up."
"Sorry about that. Two of those boys may be Potters, but they definitely inherited the Weasley snoring gene," Ron chuckled. "But don't you sleep in the same dorm year round as Al? Doesn't it bug you then?"
"Yeah, that's where curtains and a silencing charm come in."
"Well the couch is free, so you can sleep down here tonight if you want."
"Thanks Mr. Weasley."
"Please, it's Ron. Mr. Weasley is my father…. and all my brothers," Ron replied, making Scorpius laugh. "So how's the year going then? Still competing tooth and nail with Rosie?"
"Yeah, although I'm not sure I would call it competing," noted Scorpius. Ron tilted his head in question. "Let's just say that I'm easily the second best in the year, and I'm still quite a bit behind her in most classes."
Ron chuckled. "I wouldn't take it too hard. Gets her brains from her mother, that one. And there was no competition for Hermione when we were at school, not even from older students. She knew spells years before we'd even learned them."
Scorpius nodded in assent. "Yeah that's what my dad says too. I suppose it's a good thing there are two Head students instead of just one, or she'd beat me in that too," he mused, staring down at his mug. "But don't tell her I said that! She'd never let me live it down," he added, shuddering at the thought.
Ron smirked. "Your secret is safe. Although… it looked like you two were getting on a bit better earlier today. Anything I should know about?" he asked suspiciously.
"O-oh well… y-y-you know…. I-I-I…" he stuttered then broke off. He couldn't tell Rose's father that the reason he was making an effort to get along better with her was due to his recently discovered romantic feelings for her.
"Relax kid, I was just joking," the older man interrupted in amusement. "You two dating is less likely to happen than the Tornados winning the championship this year," he said, referring to the Quidditch team that had consistently come in last place for the past ten years. Scorpius laughed nervously, but grimaced as soon as Ron looked away. "Although to be honest, I might prefer you a tad bit more over that Corner kid." Scorpius' head snapped towards Ron, his face a mask of complete surprise, although the older man didn't notice. "At least I know you. From what I've heard from James, Al, and Hugo, Corner's quite a cocky bloke. I dunno what Rosie sees in him, she usually is a great judge of character."
"No argument here, sir." Ron quirked an eyebrow in question. "Let's just say Corner isn't one of my favorite people," Scorpius continued. "But to be fair, he seems to treat her well, so…" he trailed off.
Ron grunted. "I guess… I dunno, I guess I just don't like the thought of my Rosie dating anyone," Inwardly Scorpius hoped that Ron's opinion might change someday. Someday very soon in particular.
Wanting to change the subject, Scorpius asked, "Actually Mr. Weas Ron," Scorpius amended, "I was wondering if I could ask you a question?"
"Of course."
"Well I've been looking into applying to the Auror program for when I finish school, and I was wondering…"
"What it's like?" finished Ron. Scorpius nodded. "Well I can't say I'm surprised. Al's never kept it a secret that the two of you were interested in joining the department. And Rosie's told me that Defense against the Dark Arts is one of the classes you're better than her in."
"She did?" Scorpius asked, surprised that Rose thought so. He had always though they were neck in neck in DADA, although he knew that she tended to have to work harder at it than he did.
"Yeah. Says it bothers her how effortlessly it seems to be for you. But don't tell her I told you that," he added hastily. "So what do you want to know?"
"Well I've done a lot of research on it. And last time Teddy was in Hogsmeade we talked to him about his training. So I guess my question is more… well… more to do with what exactly Aurors deal with these days? I mean it's not like back during the war when there were Death Eaters to fight and Voldemort to stop."
Ron nodded, thinking deeply about the question for a few moments. "You're right, it's not like it used to be. But we deal with more than you might think. While there aren't Death Eaters roaming about like before, we still deal with dark wizards. And contrary to belief, a lot of them still hold ideals that Voldemort used to believe in; blood purity, pureblood supremacy, dominance over muggles, and other ideas." Scorpius shook his head in revulsion. "The difference is they don't have a powerful wizard like Voldemort to lead them anymore, so they stick to hiding in the shadows. A lot of our recent cases have dealt with dark wizards trying to smuggle and collect dark magical objects."
"But what do they do with them?"
Ron looked around warily. "This stays between us, ok?" Scorpius nodded. "Lately we've been finding evidence that a group of people are working together to collect dark artifacts. We're not sure who's leading them or what they intend to use them for, so that's what we've been trying to discover."
"How?"
"Quite a few of our Aurors are undercover now. Infiltrating the smuggling rings and so forth. We're hoping they can discover a trail leading to whoever is in charge of the operation, and what their plans are."
Scorpius leaned back, completely fascinated. "Wow," he breathed.
"Still interested?" Ron asked amusedly.
"Definitely! And I know Al will be too."
Ron chuckled. "Two peas in a pod, aren't you two?" Scorpius grinned. "I can't say much else about our ongoing cases, but if you need any help with the application or have anymore questions feel free to ask me or Harry, yeah?"
"Sure Mr. Wea Ron." Silence hung over the kitchen for a few second before Scorpius said, "So did you catch the last Canons game?"
The two of them immediately dove into a discussion about how good the Canons' chances were against Puddlemere United that year, and how glad they were to have finally gotten a new seeker.
"Would you look at the time, I'd better be getting to bed," Ron said, checking his watch. "Night Scorpius. Don't stay up too late, you know we open presents at eight."
They both walked into the living room where Ron headed towards the stairs to go to his room. After grabbing a pillow and blanket from the hall closet, Scorpius collapsed on the couch and closed his eyes, rejoicing in the silence that surrounded him.
That silence lasted for about ten seconds.
"Ferret?"
Sighing, Scorpius opened his eyes. Of course it would be her. He couldn't seem to escape her, whether in person or in his mind. Although to be fair, I'm staying in her family's house. Sitting up he saw Rose standing by the stairs and groaned so softly that she couldn't hear. She was wearing the black tank top that hugged her curves and emerald green boxer shorts that showed off her legs again. Swallowing, he said, "Rose? What are you doing up?"
"Why are you on the couch?" she asked, walking towards him.
"I asked first," he countered.
She sighed and sat next to him. "Lily's current boyfriend of the week decided that it would be a good idea to owl her at two in the morning. I'm not sure what instructions he gave the owl, but it must've been something along the lines of 'give it to the girl with red hair' because the bloody owl went and pecked me awake since Lily's head was under the covers. And now I can't fall asleep." Scorpius shifted uncomfortably as she moved around to get comfortable on the couch, inching closer towards him in the process. "Now, what are you doing down here?"
Extremely aware of the very small distance that separated them, as well as her arm brushing against his slightly, he gulped and answered. "The snoring I have to deal with on a yearly basis has been magnified. Merlin help the girls that those boys marry, because they'll need it." Rose laughed gently and grabbed the blanket on his lap, pulling half of it over her legs. "Your dad said I could sleep down here."
"My dad?"
"Yeah, he was up too. Went to bed a few minutes ago." Rose nodded and they fell silent for a few minutes. Scorpius forced himself to not look at her as well as to not think about what he wanted to do with her at that very moment. Instead he forced other thoughts into his head. Grandma… naked Al… Grandma and naked Al. He scrunched his face up in disgust at the last thought, though it seemed to work.
"Why are you being so nice?" she suddenly blurted out. Scorpius turned to look at her confusedly, all his other thoughts effectively pushed aside. "Ever since last week you've been teasing me less. Not that I mind of course, but what's the deal?"
"I'm always nice Rose," he murmured in response.
"And that!" she pointed, as though it was something physical. "That too… you stopped calling me Weasels all the time."
Scorpius sighed. Well I can't tell her the real reason, obviously. So instead he told her a half-truth. "Well… I guess there's a good chance that we're gonna be Heads next year. I figure we may as well start cooperating more now itself." He shrugged, still looking down at his hands. "And it's not like we hate each other," he mumbled. "We just tend to tease each other a lot." Lifting his head, he found her looking surprised and flattered.
"Y-you think we're going to be Heads next year?"
"'Course, don't you?"
"Well I guess… I mean you're a shoe in," she said as though it was a fact. "There's not many other boys in our year that work as hard as you do."
"Is that a compliment?" he smirked, nudging her with his elbow.
"Shut up," she said, though she was smiling. "You know what I mean. But yeah, I guess you're probably gonna get it."
"And you?"
"I dunno, I have a bit more competition, don't I? Montague's not too far behind me in marks, and Darcy's also a strong contender. But… but I'd really like to get it. It's the one thing that could set me apart from my mum." He looked at her with a puzzled expression. "Well she was never Head Girl, was she?" Rose continued. "She went back to Hogwarts after the war ended, but she was just there doing the classes that she'd missed, nothing else. It'd be nice to have something that people couldn't use to compare us." she sighed. "But like I said, I have some tough competition."
Surprised that she'd shared such a seemingly private thought with him, he mulled over his answer for a few moments. "You're mental," he muttered. She shot him a look of indignation, but he continued before she could say anything. "You're mental if you actually think that Darcy or Lauren are even close to you in competition for the position. Lauren's not even at my level in classes, and I'm behind you. And Darcy? Yeah she might have a better chance than Lauren for it, but I'm positive that she's going to get the Hufflepuff Quidditch captaincy. She should've gotten in this year really, she's a better player than Christa. And I think McGonagall sees how being Quidditch captain and Head Girl is stressing out Christa," he mused thoughtfully. Shaking his head, he got back to the point. "But none of that matters. You're top of our year, and probably the most responsible and respected Prefect. Teachers love you, and so do other students, even those from other houses. You're gonna get it," he finished confidently.
Rose looked surprised. "Thanks, Scorp. That… that actually means a lot." Her blue eyes twinkled as she smiled at him, then looked down blushing slightly.
He smiled back, captured by her eyes. "Plus I'd rather share a dorm with you. Al would never visit if I shared with Darcy, and Merlin only knows what Lauren would try if we slept in rooms next to each other," he added jokingly.
Rose chuckled. "Yeah, I guess you don't have to worry about that with me," she said softly, missing Scorpius' grimace.
They sat and talked for a little while longer, about nothing in particular, just enjoying the solitude that was rarely found in the Burrow.
Twenty minutes later, she stood up and stretched. "I think I'm gonna go try and sleep. We have to be up in a few hours. Night Scorp," she said as she walked towards the stairs.
"Goodnight, Rose" he murmured as she climbed the stairs. Laying back down he stared at the ceiling smiling. Thoughts of Rose dominated his thoughts once again, but this time he found himself falling into an easy sleep, filled with dreams of her sparkling blue eyes.
The Burrow, 9am
The next morning the entire family, Scorpius, and Teddy's grandmother Andromeda, who had arrived earlier, sat around the living room, opening presents.
The parents all sat on the couches as the kids gathered their presents around them on the floor and began opening them. The entire living room filled with shouts of joy and thanks and hugs.
"Scorp! I knew all those hints weren't a waste," Al shouted, holding up his new pair of Seeker gloves. Scorpius grinned back as they did the handshake they'd invented in second year. "Thanks mate!"
"Well you only mentioned it like fifty times during the last Hogsmeade visit," Scorpius shot back at him. Grabbing the nearest package, he opened it and was genuinely surprised to find a grey sweater with and emerald "S" embroidered on the front. Looking back at Al's grandmother, he walked over to her and hugged her. "You didn't have to do this," he said pulling back, knowing that she only knitted sweaters for family members.
"Scorpius dear, you're part of the family. There's no escaping us now," she said affectionately, patting him on the head. He laughed and hugged her again, then slipped on the sweater proudly.
Walking back over to Albus and Rose, he found Rose opening the present he'd gotten her. She unwrapped the box, and opened it to find a brand new peacock quill inside. Gazing up at him in shock, she breathed, "How did you know?"
"You mentioned it when Al and I saw you at Scrivenshafts last Hogsmeade visit. I didn't now what else to get you, so I figured I may as well go with what I knew." Well that's at least a little true he thought. In actuality, while she had mentioned it during the Hogsmeade trip, Scorpius also knew Rose had a certain fondness for pretty quills. He'd seen her collecting them during various trips to Hogsmeade.
Rose stared at him for a few seconds before her face melted into a genuine smile at his thoughtfulness. She'd been obsessed with the one currently in her hands, but it had been a bit out of her price range. "Thanks Ferret," she said softly, using the nickname affectionately as opposed to teasingly. "I love it." She got up and surprised him by hugging him, which he responded to happily. Lily looked at the two of them with a small smile on her face, before returning to her own presents.
When it looked like most of the presents had been opened, Arthur stood up and said, "Alright, looks like everyone's done, time for "
"Actually Arthur, I have one more present," interrupted Teddy, his voice shaking slightly. Everyone turned to look at Teddy, who's hair was an unusual shade of pink as opposed to its usual electric blue. Andromeda, Harry, Ginny, Bill, and Fleur all had knowing looks in their eyes, but everyone else stared at Teddy in question, wondering why he was postponing their breakfast.
"Well get on with it mate, I'm hungry!" James called teasingly, earning a slap to the head from his mother.
Teddy turned to Victoire who was looking at him in confusion, and grasped her hands. "Vic. We've been together for quite a while now." Dominique and Lucy gasped softly in realization, as Teddy continued. "And while we've been dating for six years, you've been my best friend for much longer, ever since we were kids." Victoire smiled at him affectionately. "And I wanted to do this today, in front of our entire family. I wanted to show everyone just how much I truly love you."
Dropping her hands and bending down on one knee, he took out a box from his pocket and opened it, revealing a sparkling diamond ring. Victoire gasped softly and raised her hands over her mouth, tears gathering in her eyes. "This is the ring my dad gave my mum. It was returned to my grandmum just before they were buried, and she told me that it was mine to give to the woman I love. And I've known ever since I was seventeen that I was in love with you. I've always been in love with you. Even when we were just best friends, and you didn't want to ruin our friendship. Even when I had to convince you to take a leap of faith and give us a chance. Even when we had to deal with distance during your last year of school and my training. It didn't matter because I knew we would end up together."
Tears were silently falling down Victoire's beautiful face as she smiled adoringly at the boy in front of her. Scorpius looked around the room to find most of the girls tearing up, including Rose. Strangely, only Molly didn't look surprised at the scene in front of her, as she smiled at the scene knowingly.
"So I'm asking you to make me the happiest man alive. Will you marry me?" Teddy finished, looking at her hopefully.
Victoire sighed and stayed silent for a few moments before falling to her knees. "Of course, you idiot. Of course I will," she cried, throwing her arms around him. Wrapping his arms around her, he got up lifting her in the process as everyone started clapping. Leaning back, he kissed her briefly before setting her down and sliding the ring on her finger as everyone rushed over to hug and congratulate them.
"You don't look too surprised," muttered Scorpius, sliding up next to Molly.
She smirked at him. "Teddy told me four months ago." Scorpius raised his eyebrow. He knew that Teddy, Victoire, and Molly were extremely close, so Molly knowing didn't surprise him, but the knowledge that it had taken Teddy four months to propose did. "It's about time he did it, I was wondering if he'd ever work up the nerve," she finished, making Scorpius laugh, as the two walked over to give their congratulations to the couple as well.
"So Scorp, looks like you'll officially be part of the family now," said Teddy as they reached the group. Scorpius scrunched his face in confusion. "Well now you'll be your best mate's cousin-in-law's second cousin… or cousin once removed… or something like that…" Teddy trailed off as everyone laughed.
"I suppose I will," grinned Scorpius, hugging Teddy and Victoire. "Congrats you two."
"Thanks Scorp," Vic gushed, still gazing adoringly at her fiancee.
"Attention everyone, I'd like to make a toast," Harry said. The family quieted down and turned towards Harry as he looked at the couple. "Teddy. Even though you'll officially be in this family now, you've always been a member of this family. Both you and Andromeda have been. I just want to say how proud I am of you… how proud of you your parents would be. Remus and Tonks… well they were two of the best people I ever knew, and if they could see you today they would be so proud of the man you've become." Teddy's eyes began to tear up at his godfather's speech. "And while it's a shame that they aren't with us anymore, I hope you know that Ginny and I are here for anything you ever need, just as we always have been. You're practically our son. Hell, you're a better son than James is." Everyone laughed as Teddy cracked a smile through his tears.
"Hey!" cried James. "Low blow dad… low blow!" he exclaimed, though he grinned afterwards as Harry shot him a teasing smile.
"Anyways, I just wanted to say that I couldn't be more proud of you, and I'm so happy that you two found each other. To Teddy and Vic!" he finished, raising his coffee mug. Those who had mugs of their own did the same, as Teddy and Vic went over to hug their parents.
"Thanks," Teddy whispered as he hugged both Harry and Ginny. "You two have basically been my parents, and I couldn't be more lucky."
"I hope you know how much we love you Bear," Ginny whispered, using her nickname for him.
He kissed her on the cheek in response and nodded. "I love you both too."
In comparison with the start to the day, the rest of the morning passed by quite quickly and uneventfully. That was, until an urgent message arrived at one in the afternoon.
Rose had been outside in the garden with Al and Scorpius, preparing for the annual Weasley-Potter cousins snowball fight when the Patronus arrived. The only other cousins left at the Burrow were James, Lily, Hugo, Molly, and Lucy, the others having all left. Bill and Fleur had volunteered to take Andromeda back to her house, while Teddy and Vic made a quick exit to celebrate their engagement alone. George had needed to go back to the joke shop, Fred and Roxanne left with their mother, Audrey had left to visit her sister, and Louis and Dominique had floo'd straight back to Shell Cottage.
Just as she was setting about some markers to mark boundaries for the fight, Rose noticed a spark of light out of the corner of her eye. Turning towards it, she saw a fox Patronus soaring towards them.
"Urgent message for Harry Potter," the fox whispered when it arrived. It repeated itself once more before Rose ran inside to fetch her uncle. Two minutes later, Harry paced outside towards his assistant's patronus.
"Breakout at Azkaban Mr. Potter," whispered the fox. "You're needed immediately."
Harry nodded and took out his wand. Conjuring his own patronus, he whispered something to the stag and sent it back to his assistant. Rushing back inside, he was followed by Rose, Al, and Scorpius, who had abandoned all thoughts of the snowball fight.
"Ron! Hermione! Percy! We're needed at the Ministry. Now!" he called upstairs. Walking over to Ginny, he whispered something to her before going upstairs to brief the others.
Lucy and Molly walked over to Rose and the boys. "What's going on?"
"A Patronus came for Uncle Harry. There's been a breakout at Azaban," said Rose softly, her voice shaking.
"Who was it?" asked Lucy, her eyes wide.
"The message didn't say," replied Scorpius. "But it can't be good if they were locked up in Azkaban." The others nodded somberly. Turning they all saw Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Percy hurrying down the stairs.
"Rose, you and Hugo are to go to Al's if we're not back by this evening," Hermione said hugging her daughter.
"Ok mum. Be safe," Rose said hugging her mother before she hurried out the door with the others.
"So, who's ready for this fight. You all are going down!" shouted James, running down the stairs dressed in his winter jacket. Taking the serious expressions around him in, confusion filled his face. "What happened?"
The others filled him in, and needless to day, the snowball fight was abandoned as they all took seats around the living room instead, waiting for any news from Harry and the others.
Four hours later, and there was still no news. Scorpius sat on the couch with Hugo playing a game of chess, while the others were sprawled out in a circle by the fire playing a game of Exploding Snap. They hadn't been paying much attention however, so most of them had singed eyebrows and small scorch marks on their faces. Every once in a while they would look towards Molly's special clock, where the individual markers showed that their parents were still at the Ministry.
Finally at six o'clock, Harry's stag Patronus soared through the window towards Ginny. "Situation temporarily under control. Coming back now." Twenty minutes later he, Ron, and Hermione trudged through the door looking weary. As Ginny hugged her husband, he said, "Luce, Molly. Your dad's still at the Ministry. He said your mum would be home later tonight around seven. She'll let you know when she's back." They nodded, and Harry beckoned Ginny into the kitchen where Molly and Arthur were, followed by Ron and Hermione.
As soon as the kitchen door closed, James jumped up and ran upstairs. A few minutes later he came back down with a bunch of Extendable Ears in his hands and handed them out to everyone. Only Rose hesitated at taking a pair, but she eventually gave in and they all rushed over to the door. Quieting down, they began to listen.
"… but how Harry? How is this possible?" asked Arthur.
"Not sure. They were under high security."
"Is there any idea about where they may go? What they might do?" came Ginny's steady voice.
"None whatsoever." The kids heard Harry sigh heavily before continuing. "The guards… well the guards say that over the last ten years, the Carrows have gotten worse."
James looked at the others and mouthed "Carrows?" Only Rose looked shocked. She looked at the others, shook her head and whispered, "After," then turned back towards the door.
"… looking into the possibility that someone on the outside is helping them."
"Who would help such monsters?" whispered Ginny.
"We think… we think that it might be someone who escaped imprisonment. Possibly someone who wasn't caught after the final battle. There's no way the Carrows escaped on their own, they're not mentally capable of something like that," said Ron.
"Any idea who it might be?"
"Not yet… which is why we have to go in to the Ministry tomorrow."
"Ok. Rose and Hugo can come to ours for the day. Let's go tell them."
Reacting immediately, the kids jumped up and sprinted back to the living room. Attempting to arrange themselves randomly, they tried to make it seem as though they had been amusing themselves and not eavesdropping.
Harry and the others came out of the kitchen. Taking one look at the lot of them, he quirked an eyebrow and said, "You can stop pretending, I know you were listening."
"What do you mean dad we were just oh alright, stop looking at me like that," he gave in under his father's glare. "What gave us away?"
"Just the extendable ears hanging out of your pocket," Harry said amusedly. "And the fact that you're my sons, and it's exactly what I did at your age."
Albus hit James across the back of head. "Nice one you idiot." James tried to retaliate, but Albus jumped out of his reach.
"No it's ok," Harry sighed. "You should know what's going on, this affects all of you. I assume you know the basics from eavesdropping?" They all nodded. Taking a deep breath, he sat down and began. "After the war ended, most of the Death Eaters that had remained loyal to Voldemort were rounded up and imprisoned in Azkaban. They were given fair trials and found guilty of crimes against the Wizarding community, as well as other charges. While we imprisoned most of them, there were some that were never accounted for. Whether they died in the battle and their bodies were never recovered, or they deserted Voldemort just before he fell, we don't know, but they vanished without a trace." Everyone was listening intently as Harry continued. "Earlier today I got a message from the prison. Two of the most highly guarded Death Eaters have escaped."
"The Carrows," whispered Rose.
Harry turned toward her. "I take it you know who they are then Rose?" Rose nodded while the others shook their heads. "Alecto and Amycus Carrow. Two of Voldemort's most devoted and fanatical followers. During the year that Ron, Hermione, and I weren't at school, they were appointed as the Defense Against the Dark Arts and Muggle Studies professors."
"More like Dark Arts and Muggle Hating," muttered Ginny.
Harry nodded. "Let's just say they weren't the most pleasant people. Luckily your Uncle Neville managed to find the Room of Requirement, and most of the students in danger hid out there for the year. After the war, they were given life sentences in Azkaban, with no possibility of parole."
"And they've escaped?" whispered Lily. Molly put a comforting arm around her.
"Yes. We think they might've had help, that it could be related to another case we've been working on, but we're still looking into it." Scorpius flashed back to his conversation about the dark artifact smuggling rings with Ron as Harry continued. "All that aside, the reason I telling you all of this is because you need to be careful. The guards have said that over the years, both the Carrows have been losing their minds more and more, muttering revenge threats and so on. There's good reason to believe that they mean them against anyone who was involved in Voldemort's demise, and their loved ones."
"S-so… so they could come after us?" asked Lucy, her voice shaking slightly.
Harry hesitated and glanced at Ron and Hermione before answering. "It's… it's a possibility." He turned to Scorpius and said, "Scorpius you have to be careful too. Your grandmother was instrumental in Voldemort's demise, and in the years since the war your father has shown that he doesn't believe in those ideals anymore or tolerate them. There's a good chance that he's a target as well." Scorpius' already pale face drained of what little color it had, but he nodded silently. "I've sent an owl to him explaining the situation, but that you're still safe here." Turning back to the rest of the kids he said, "You should all be safe at Hogwarts, but even still when you go back please don't go wandering off alone. You're not the only ones in danger, most of the students there are related to someone who opposed Voldemort. We're increasing the security there once school resumes just to be precautious."
The room sat in silence for a while, everyone processing this information, before Harry spoke again. "And kids, please don't share all this information with everyone. Professor McGonagall will be informing the students when they get back to school, so for now, keep it to yourselves." They all nodded.
"Alright well we'd best be getting home," said Ron. "Rose, Hugo, go pack your things."
"Us too," said Ginny, as the kids ran upstairs.
"This is bad guys. Really bad," Rose said, once they'd gotten upstairs. Hugo and Lily had gone to their own rooms to grab their things, while the older cousins met in the boys' room. "I've read about the Carrows. They used to torture students who opposed their beliefs, no matter what age they were." The others' faces paled.
After a few more moments of silence, Albus spoke up. "Should we tell Ella and Aiden to cancel the party?"
The others were silent for a while before Scorpius spoke up. "I don't think we need to. Their mansion is really protected. You know how Malfoy Manor has a lot of wards around it?" The others nodded. "Well their's has even more. Their grandmother got really paranoid towards the end of the war. It's even unplottable, and unless you know it's location you can't apparate or floo there. We'll just get Ella to send everyone who's invited the address, and tell them to keep it a secret. And as long as everyone stays within the confines of the protection spells, we should be fine."
"Ok," said Rose. "But maybe we should tell Ella and Aiden anyways. Emily and Lorcan will know, since their parents have probably been told. I know our parents said not to, but they should know." The others agreed and the girls left to gather their things.
Once downstairs, everyone said their goodbyes to Arthur and Molly and left for their separate destinations.
And there it is, chapter 3 and some new developments. I'm in the middle of finals right now, but after that I'm done with undergrad and free to write more. So chapter 4 should be coming within a few weeks!
As always, reviews make me write faster ;)
Next up: An extremely eventful New Years Eve party