**This hasn't been beta'd yet, I just decided to throw it up today because I was bored. The beta'd version will be up later**
Chapter Seven – Angel of Mercy
"…everything you remember."
Rose raised her eyes to her mum, over to her dad, and up to Al, who was egging her with his eyes to start telling the story they'd crafted in a pinch. Okay, five minutes. She looked at Scorpius, who was very much not on board with the lie they'd cooked up and thought they should tell her parents the truth, but was still supportively sitting at her bedside, absently holding her hand. Rose looked down at their entwined fingers and sighed.
He had a point. It was a pretty stupid lie.
And Rose, as a rule, didn't lie.
Not completely, at least.
She had spent most of her life thus far straddling the fence between dishonesty and truth, never bothering to swing the other leg over either way. Slytherin taught her not to commit to either. Being honest, in some cases, was simply not an option. Full stop. The entire truth was a messy, ugly, overrated thing. Outright lying was…well, it was simply not on. Rose could lie better than most – having a mother who could sniff out a lie like a hound had honed her skills. But the problem with lies was that they never went away; never stopped being lies, no matters how many truths were piled on top. And while Rose didn't have too many qualms about anything, she had inherited her mother's conscience.
Unfortunately, deception was the currency of the world, after all, so Rose decided her best bet for a minimal-guilt survival was to become economical with the truth.
Yes, economical.
Everything was an elaborate game of Two Truths and a Near Lie.
Truth: Her brain was dying. She wasn't being dramatic. Her brain was being sliced open and squeezed like a lemon by some sort of invisible, lemonade-craving giant. Or something. Her metaphors couldn't work in such conditions, okay?
Truth: She had heard everyone talking, and out of everything, her mother whispering her name anxiously and Scorpius' stoic-ness were two things she could live forever without experiencing again, thank you.
Economical Truth: She didn't remember anything.
Her memories were like one of Nanna Granger's three-thousand piece puzzles, but more than half the pieces were missing, damaged, binned, and/or mixed in with another puzzle. Even if she could pick the real memories from the false ones, the few she had identified as real didn't make sense.
When she had first woke up – when she was at her barmiest and her entire universe was collapsing around her ears – Rose had shut her eyes again and saw three things: flashes of light under a door, the number ten, and something else that was just so nonsensical she didn't dare tell Scorpius or Al because they would have locked her up for sure.
Glowing red daggers weren't a sign of sanity, not even in the magical world.
And yet, it was everywhere; glowing malevolently in every fake memory and the one memory that didn't feel like any other. It was in her hand, heavy in her right and stabbing into flesh in her left. She could hear words in a language she couldn't understand, in a voice she didn't recognise. A chant. Rose could feel the raw power in it. The wrongness and darkness. She saw the dagger pushing into their chests; watched the wounds knit up as if nothing had happened as the blade faded to a normal colour.
It was impossible, but so real to her; so much so that she had to cling to the fact that she was right-handed, that her voice wasn't that low or calm, that she wasn't a bloody killer. But sometimes knowing all of that wasn't enough.
Not when she closed her eyes and saw blood coating her hands and the life fading out of shocked blue eyes. She was never going to sleep again, not without Dreamless Draught. Which was a pity. Sleeping had been her favourite pastime.
Well. After gorging on the telly, of course.
"No matter what you say, I'll believe you. We all will." Her mum said gently, tucking a bit of wild hair behind her ear like she did when Rose was a child. The growing lump in her throat made it hard to swallow and her eyes felt gritty, itchy. Frustration came with the tears that she unsuccessfully tried to blink away. Her dad thumbed it away and Scorpius gave her hand a comforting squeeze.
"There's nothing we won't do to keep you safe. You know that, Rosie." Her dad said, rubbed away another runaway tear.
Rose nodded, blinking rapidly and refusing to cry. Again. Gods. Emotions sucked.
She hated crying almost as much as she hated feeling like this: helplessness, afraid, raw, and overwhelmed. It had been a battle to keep the truth to herself. She didn't know how she'd made it through the first time without spilling everything. Every time she opened her mouth, the entire truth threatened to tumble out. It was exhausting. Rose could sleep for days – would, too, with all the Dreamless Draught in the country, the moment she got out of here.
If they didn't haul her off to Azkaban first.
Al fidgeted, looking subdued. "Forget it, Rose. Just tell them what you told us."
"I didn't tell you everything." She choked out.
"Rosie?" Dad looked more concerned than he did the time she had to re-grow all the bones in her leg after an incident during Auror training. He rested his hand on her free one. She sucked in a breath and closed her eyes.
And told them everything.
Yes, everything.
Everything she had told Al and Scorpius and more. So much more.
She told them about the glowing dagger and words that had no meaning, but had been burned into her memory. She told them about the voice and what she'd seen in the fake memories. The feelings of justification for the killings. The smell of blood. The stabbing and the skin healing itself. The fact that she felt compelled to tell, even when she didn't want to. She was honest about the pain and the sensation that her mind was being torn apart. And the truth that if Scorpius hadn't been there, if he hadn't woken when he had, she would've gone completely mad with guilt and fear.
And when she stopped, Rose nearly sobbed from the sheer relief she felt. The pain was still there, but the urge to speak was gone. She was so wrapped up in the freedom she felt that she didn't realise how quiet it was. Rose opened one eye carefully. Everyone wore varying degrees of—oh shit. Was it too late to take it all back? "Mum, dad, I'm—"
"No," her mum interrupted. "I know what you're going to say, but I'm glad you told us. It's just—"
"Bloody hell." Her dad blurted, looking woefully out of his element.
"I'm barely out of the Auror Academy," Al breathed, looking dazed and overwhelmed. "I'm beyond not qualified." He stepped back. "I'll find my mum. Wait, my dad. And Fire call Bill. And grab my dad's invisibility cloak. And…and everyone. I'll gather the troops. I'll—"
Mum stopped him. "Ron, go with him." When her dad started protesting, she just pointed to her nephew. "Al's about to have kittens—"
"Manly kittens!"
They all stared at Al until her mum finally said, "There was a time when you were the normal one. I don't know what happened."
"Life," he answered, matter-of-fact. "And probably the fact that I'm a middle child."
Mum and dad blinked at him. Scorpius snorted, but Rose thought his answer was pretty accurate.
"If you needed another reason to take him with you, I think you've got it."
Dad snorted and stood, pressing his lips against her temple for a moment before leaving with Al. Rose glanced at Scorpius, who looked thoughtful. She opened her mouth to say something – she didn't know what – when he asked, "Do you think you could draw it?"
What?
"That's brilliant, Scorpius!"
"I'm so lost right now." Rose frowned.
"The dagger, Rose. Could you draw it?"
Her eyebrow shot up. "Um. Hugo got the artistic gene from Merlin knows where. It's all stick figures and embarrassingly lopsided circles with me. Roxanne draws better than me, which is saying something because she once drew a picture of me that looked like one of the flying monkeys from The Wizard of Oz. It was green and everything. Uncle George said it was a masterpiece because he's not funny, at all."
When Scorpius smothered his laugh with a cough, Rose glared, but it lacked its usual heat. She could feel the headache building. Bugger.
Mum just rolled her eyes. "Think you could describe it to him?"
"It's hard to forget, so yes." She reached over and snatched a pain potion from her bedside table, swallowing it down in two gulps. The result was instantaneous.
Her mother's frown deepened. "You're only allowed three every six hours. That's your second one in the half an hour I've been in here. You should try those meditation exercises we talked about before. It'll help with the pain."
"But potions are easier." And meditation required that she close her eyes and that was simply not an option.
"And when the potions run out?"
"One of you could always just stun me again." Scorpius made a disapproving noise to match the one on her mother's face. "Too soon?"
Her mother scoffed. "Normally, we would usually have words about how bad it is to use your humour as a defence mechanism, but," a smile formed on her face. "I have had the night and morning from hell and I actually find it comforting."
"That I lost my mind, but not my humour?"
"You didn't lose it, Rose." Scorpius needlessly reminded her. "Someone tried to Charm your memories to cover their tracks."
She looked at her mum. "Can we fix it? I'd like to go back to the days when I didn't think I was a vigilante killer." Because that was always at the back of her mind, no matter how much she pretended otherwise.
"It's already on the mental list." Her mother tapped her head. "Right under getting Hugo to sketch that dagger and keeping you out of Azkaban."
"Nice to know where my mental health stands with you," she half-joked.
"You seem to be coping better now."
"Because you all are tethering me to reality." She tilted her head at her and Scorpius' entwined hands. "Literally, in some cases."
"We're not going anywhere, Rose, but we have problems to sort out. Besides, I think I know someone who could reverse a Memory Charm like that and keep it completely off the record. You happen to be her daughter."
Rose straightened. "So what are we waiting for? Operation: Fix Me Before I End Up in Here Permanently needs to commence."
"You capitalised that." Scorpius intoned dryly.
"Of course I did. For reasons—"
"Important ones, I'm sure," Mum interrupted. "I would reverse the Charm right now, but the problem is that you're likely to forget all the fake memories rapidly."
Rose blinked. "I'm not seeing the problem yet."
"She needs a sketch of that dagger." Scorpius reminded her.
Her mother nodded and rubbed Rose's leg when she just sighed. "Like it or not, your brain – however wonky you think it is – is the missing link that explains a lot of things about the murders. I may not be part of the investigation, but I still plan to finish what I started, in a more unofficial capacity. Which is how this whole investigation started, to be honest. The first thing we need to find out everything about that dagger in order to have a hope of figuring out who is killing patients and stop them."
Rose frowned. "And the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few…of the one."
"I'm ignoring the fact that you're quoting Star Trek because it's not that black and white for me. You're my daughter and your needs come first to me. No matter what. It's really up to you, Rose. I can reverse it right now, if that's you want. We know enough to start from somewhere."
Scorpius shifted in his seat, squeezing her hand a little. "The Restricted Section at Hogwarts and the libraries at the Manor have plenty books about magical weapons. I could always start at the Manor later on, even if that means having to attend that my grandparents' Valentine's Day gala. My dad would help us, too."
"And we could go to Hogwarts next weekend to look there," her mum decided. "So whatever you decide will be fine."
Honestly, Rose wanted answers…almost as much as the Ministry. Or her mother. And it wasn't because of her obvious personal reasons or because she wanted to work in a murder-free zone. Both were motivating enough, but when it came down making her choice, all Rose could think was: what if they did this to someone else?
And what if the next person didn't have anyone to keep them grounded in reality?
"Rose?"
She thought of someone else waking up to the memories of the blood on their hands and empty eyes staring at them in shock; the obsession and the overwhelming high that came with taking a life. The first time it was terrifying, but she'd pushed it back to—wait. No. That wasn't real. That wasn't her.
Focus.
"Snap out of it."
She thought of someone else remembering the dagger and the disgusting feeling that they were saving the victim from a life of pain and misery; where everyone took one look at them and judged them with one breath while pitying them with the next.
"Breathe, Rose."
No one deserved that.
"It's not real. None of it is real. Remember."
Rose would love to go back to her normal life because being in the eye of a hurricane was overrated as hell. But how could she go back? Even if Mum scrubbed the memories from her head, it didn't change the fact that everything was different now. It didn't change what had happened. Or what could—
"Oww!" She yanked her throbbing hand out of his, cradling it against her chest like a newborn kitten. "Merlin – bloody Christ – Oww! Son of a—what the absolute hell was that, Scorpius!"
He didn't look the least bit apologetic, the wanker. She was so going to sic Lily on him.
"You left the room," her mum told her, looking worried.
"I'm right here, oh my—"
"You were in some sort of trance," Scorpius said, a bit flustered. "You were talking."
Her mother looked at him, then back at Rose. "I said your name like twenty times and tried to remind you that nothing you were seeing and saying were real, but you kept talking about—"
"I didn't say a thing."
"Yes, you did. You said a lot. Mainly about how you were killing people to save them."
Rose froze, eyes widening. "Oh."
"Oh would be correct." Mum patted her knee, trying not to look worried, but failing miserably. "Scorpius thought pain would snap you out of it. It worked."
"Obviously." She glanced over at her best friend. "Sorry I called you a wanker and threatened to sic Lily on you like a rabid dog."
He looked confused. "But you didn't…" Then he glared, "You thought it."
"You assaulted my hand! I think 'wanker' was nice in that particular situation. The Lily thing, however…it was rude of me to remind you how much she wants to—" Scorpius made an undignified squawking noise. She used that moment to look at her thoroughly unamused mother and smile brightly. "Defence mechanism, remember?"
Mum obviously knew how to pick her battles because she just rolled her eyes.
"Speaking of defence, they always say a good one is the best offence so we should get Hugo here, sooner rather than later."
Scorpius stopped glaring at her. "So you'll do it?"
"I want to help." She told them both. "And if that means staying nutters for a bit longer, I'll do it. Just." Rose frowned, feeling oddly vulnerable all of a sudden. Which was the worst. "Just don't let them take me to Azkaban, okay? I'm not made for prison life. I have a new sofa to think about. And all my shows on the telly. Not to mention the ice-cream in the freezer that I just bought. It needs me."
There was so much eye-rolling that Rose was sure one of them would pull an ocular muscle. Rude.
"I won't," Mum reassured. "Or rather, you won't give him a reason to take you."
Rose blinked. "I'm afraid I don't follow."
"I've had a few hours to come up with several contingency plans. I think Plan F will be the most effective, but it'll involve some work on your part."
"Still not following."
"You're going to lie," she told her daughter bluntly.
Rose just stared at her. "I couldn't even lie to you and you didn't even have to turn on The Face."
"I'm going to ignore that bit because we have Caldwell to get rid of." Which, well, she had a point. "What you're going to tell him is much better than that half-baked story I hope to never hear in my lifetime."
"It wasn't that bad."
"Yes, it was." Scorpius butted in.
She made a face.
"You couldn't even begin telling it," Mum pointed out.
"I was emotional. Dad was giving me the worried eyes and Al was all remorseful about a lie I hadn't even begun telling. I just experienced trauma. Real trauma! I can't be judged for my actions or tears. Normally, I'm a wonderful liar as long as I have great material to work with."
"That's so reassuring," her mother intoned dryly. "Luckily for you, I prepared that 'better material' you just mentioned." Mum reached down and pulled out a thick bunch of parchment from her bag. Rose took the offered parchments and whistled lowly. "I wasn't sure if you would remember, so I had two Aurors copy the notes from the evidence collected in the room they found you in."
"Pretty certain that's illegal."
"You're talking to someone who kept Rita Skeeter in a jar until it suited me to let her go." Mum pointed out, flashing a rather scary smile. "Between this and what Scorpius undoubtedly told you, it should be enough." She pointed at the parchment. "I highlighted the important parts."
Scorpius just gaped, but her mum just stared back, perplexed, like she didn't understand his surprise. Rose wasn't the least bit shocked. Not about that, at least. Her mother was forever three steps ahead of everyone.
Rose fingered the edge of the parchment, eyes skimming over the part of the report that talked about the scorch marks on the walls while her mum continued talking. "I sent your dad away with the hope that Caldwell will come while he's gone. Your dad's worried and his temper will keep him in here longer than he needs to be and I want him to come in, get your statement, clear you, and leave as quickly as possible."
Again, the level of preparedness wasn't much of a shock.
The surprising thing to Rose was their unshakable faith in her. They all believed in her when she didn't really believe in herself. They trusted her. Her mum was breaking all sorts of laws to protect her and hadn't even contemplated it for a second. And Scorpius – the stickler that he was – hadn't complained about being an accessory to actual crimes. It was blowing her mind. Seriously. And while Rose wasn't one for expressing deep emotions – or knowing how to deal with them – she couldn't help but feel overwhelmingly appreciative for them. For everyone, really.
And she didn't want to let any of them down.
So she read everything while her mum brushed her hair and Scorpius peeked out the door. Rose asked questions, made mental notes, and pieced together the events from the incident. And then they created a much better story based on the evidence found. And for a solid ten minutes, she rehearsed while Scorpius filled in holes and Mum played Devil's Advocate. Rose took a break to test out her legs by stretching at her bedside and taking a few shaky steps towards the door with her mum right behind her, making sure she didn't break her face on the floor.
There was a knock on the door.
They all froze.
OOOOOOOOOOOO
It hadn't taken a genius to figure out that Caldwell wanted so badly for her to be guilty.
He wanted to get right on with the interrogation, but Henrietta came strolling in to check on her. Impeccable timing, really. She had loads of questions that Rose didn't mind answering because it gave her time to settle after they'd spent half a minute rushing to shove the highly illegal parchments into her mum's bag, swallowing another pain potion to clear away the beginnings of a headache, and getting her back into bed. Caldwell waited off in the corner, glaring at Rose as if she were responsible for all the evil in the world.
Which was just ridiculous.
Innocent until proven guilty was a foreign concept to him.
Henrietta eyed the empty vials on her bedside table before cocking a brow at her. "How is your pain?"
"I had a headache. Several of them."
"So I see." She checked her bruises and healed injuries Rose had no recollection of getting. "Since you were unconscious for a few hours, I'm going to suggest to you what I suggest to anyone who's had a concussion. Rest. No physical or mental exertion, at least for the next day or so. If you go to sleep, someone needs to wake you every few hours to make sure you wake normally."
"Wait. So that means my telly marathon—"
"Postponed. For the next day, at least."
Rose sighed, but nodded.
"Have you tried walking?"
Rose nodded, but Henrietta had always been a sadist in one form or another. She made her try again now that she was here to watch. It was about as successful as it had been the first time, only worse because she'd nearly taken out Scorpius when she stumbled backwards into him. He ended up having to carry her back to bed because she was too tired to make it back herself, which was just shy of humiliating.
"Why can't she walk?" her mother asked.
"She can walk. We fixed all her pulled muscles and her fractured ankle, but her balance is likely shot from the concussion and the sheer amount of potions she's on. You should be back to normal in a few more hours. I suggest regular exercise for the next six weeks – starting in two days – to properly rehab your ankle."
"Lily will just love that." Rose rolled her eyes.
Scorpius and her mother snorted. Henrietta even smirked as she checked Rose's wrist, making her bend and flex it, make circles, and wiggle her fingers. "Is there any pain?"
"It's a bit sore, but manageable."
"That's good to hear." Henrietta looked at Rose's chart and made a few notations with her quill. "Well, overall, you look much better than you did when we first found you. Are you hungry?"
"Starved."
"I'll have a Medi-witch send you up some breakfast. I think there's bacon."
"I take back every bad thing I've ever said about you." She paused. "When can I go home?"
"Ideally, you would stay overnight for observation, but I'm positive that if I release you into your family's care, they'll keep an eye on you."
"We will." Her mum assured quickly.
"Then I see no reason to keep you any longer. Mr Caldwell, I'm all finished now."
Well, there was no time like the present.
"I'd like to talk to you alone." Caldwell shot her mother a look.
Henrietta cleared her throat. "She's been through a serious trauma and, as her Healer, I'd like to stay and make sure—"
"Fine, fine." He waved her off, impatiently.
Her mother and Scorpius rose from their chairs without argument. "We'll be just outside, Rose."
Rose nodded and watched them go. The door clicked shut and Caldwell's smile staled. "So Miss Weasley, we meet at last."
She blinked. "That doesn't sound creepy at all."
Henrietta smothered her chuckle.
"I don't think this is a laughing matter," he chided.
"Oh, believe me, I know it isn't. But for the sake of my sanity, let's say we cut the dramatics and I'll tell you everything I remember? Fair?"
OOOOOOO
In the end, it all was anti-climatic.
She told Caldwell everything she'd rehearsed with her mum and then he tried to pick holes in her perfectly constructed story. Tried and failed.
Then he resorted to trying to scare her into confessing. Which was just idiotic. His intimidation tactics were so awful they were sort of funny. More than once Rose found herself covering her laughter with coughs or sips of water. And more than that, she found herself shooting Henrietta expressive looks because she was trying to figure out when her life became a two-star cop movie.
Unfortunately, Henrietta was too busy staring blankly at Rose's file to provide any answers or entertainment.
Pity, really.
It wasn't until he lost his composure and started outright telling her that she'd killed all those people that Henrietta's head snapped up. Rose was too busy staring dispassionately at Caldwell, who looked moments from having a stroke, to see her old classmate move from her chair. The highlight of the entire interview was watching as Henrietta berated his unprofessional attitude and told him to leave if he didn't have any further evidence of her guilt or questions for her to answer. They went tit for tat for a solid five minutes before Caldwell told Rose that if he so much as got a sniff of evidence implicating her that he would be back. Then he told her not to leave the country and left, slamming the door behind him.
How rude.
No matter.
Henrietta maintained her defensive stance, taking heaving breaths and clenching and unclenching her fists, after the door shut. She was completely red in the face and she practically radiated with anger and something else Rose couldn't identify.
Oh well.
Henrietta had always been an enigma to her.
Rose managed to stay silent for a full minute – just to be sure he wasn't coming back – before she exhaled loud and long. "Bloody hell! I could murder an entire pig right now." Henrietta whipped her head around, looking completely unhinged and murderous. "I know—"
"I don't give a damn about that!" Henrietta exploded, which stunned Rose to silence.
Well, not for long.
"Um?"
"You lied! You lied to him! For Merlin's sake, Rose! You just lied to the Ministry!"
Oh, hell.
Rose's appetite vanished as her stomach crashed somewhere in the region of her knees. As Henrietta raged on, Rose just blinked wildly, panicking and trying to figure out what the hell had happened and how she'd figured it out. Rose had been perfect, telling the created story as if it were her own. Hell, she'd half believed it, too, and everyone knew that a good liar believed their own story. Where had she gone wrong?
"Well?" the Healer snapped. "Don't you have something to say?"
Rose tried to tame her racing heart and answer her seriously, but she fell back on her default: sarcasm. "Mind yelling that a bit louder, I'm sure the wizards in Argentina haven't heard you yet."
And bad sarcasm, at that.
Henrietta just balked before making a noise that sounded more dragonish than Rose was comfortable with. She scooted further up the bed as Henrietta advanced like a lioness protecting her cub. Or staring in the face of dinner. Whichever.
Oh gods, she was going to die. Henrietta was going to sever her limbs and bury them at sea in separate boxes. And probably before she got to eat any delicious bacon.
"Are you serious? Gods, you just lied about a Ministry investigation that you were the prime suspect in and you want to have a bloody joke and laugh about it? Well ha bloody ha! You are so bloody funny! Let's see what jokes you'll come up with after I go out there and tell him everything!"
Rose opened her mouth to talk, but shut it again because Henrietta started hyperventilating and clutching her chest.
"Um."
"Oh gods," she panted, looking positively mad. "I should've told him the moment I figured it out. I let him walk out of here and now I'll be an accessory to murder, Rose, and it's your fault!"
"You should probably breathe."
"No! I can't breathe because I am going to Azkaban, Rose! I'll never get promoted to Head Healer and I'll never become a hospital administrator! Because of you, I'll never step out of my perfect sister's shadow. She just got promoted, did you know that? She's now the department chair of Asian Languages at Oxford and she and her husband just had a baby!"
"Congratulations on being an aunt?"
She was ignored.
"How can I possibly compete with that?" Henrietta ranted. "I'm the only witch in my family and that lost its novelty in Second Year, I'm still horrifically single, I make no money, I live alone with two cats, and my mum can't even brag about me because of the Statue of sodding Secrecy!" Henrietta looked sick. "Oh gods, my mum! She's going to cry when they ship me off to Azkaban because I'll never marry a wizard and give her magical grandchildren!"
Her priorities were obviously out of order, but Rose wasn't about to tell her that because she valued her life.
"Erm. I—"
If looks could kill… "What could you possibly have to say to me?"
Rose chose her words carefully, but in the end, it didn't matter. Scorpius chose that moment to open the door, bearing a plate of food. He froze immediately when Rose started wildly gesturing for him to escape while he could. "Everything all right?" he asked carefully, coming in further and shutting the door behind him.
"No everything is not fine! Did you know that Rose lied to Caldwell?" Henrietta immediately scoffed. "Of course you know. You probably helped her."
Scorpius blanched, but didn't deny it. "How did you figure it out?"
If possible, Henrietta looked even more betrayed. "You're in on it?"
"Yes, but I need to explain. But first, how did you know?"
"Rose has a tell."
That was news to her. "I do?"
"Yes, you do," Henrietta answered, tone venomous. "And no, I won't tell you what it is."
Bugger.
Scorpius set the food down on the tray near the door, looking more calculating than Rose had ever seen him. When he spoke to his friend, he kept his stance open and arms at his side. It practically begged for her to listen. Rose wished him all the luck. Maybe he could distract Henrietta long enough for her to make a run for the food.
Priorities.
"Well, Scorpius, are you going to explain why I shouldn't go find Caldwell and tell him what I know?"
"You're not going to tell him anything."
"And how do you know that?"
"Because you know Rose didn't kill anyone. She didn't set foot in St. Mungo's until after the third death, she was at dinner with her parents at the time of two of the deaths, and I was standing in her sitting room when Ms. Shingleton was dying. You saw her injuries. She didn't do any of this."
Everything was tense and quiet for what felt like forever before Henrietta spoke again. "Then why lie?" She asked, sounding far more like the overly-rational, fun-killer Rose knew.
"It's complicated," she replied cagily.
"Explain."
And Rose did, but only after an encouraging look from Scorpius. When she finished, Henrietta wobbled to the chair and collapsed in it, looking five years older. "So that's why I lied," Rose finished lamely.
Henrietta looked as if she were still processing when she asked, "Do you know what could happen if any of this got out?" Her eyes locked on Scorpius. "This could ruin you. Everything you've worked for. Gone."
"I'm aware."
"And she's worth it?"
"Yes." No hesitation.
She said nothing. Then, "You're an idiot."
"Rose is my best friend—"
"And you're mine!" She yelled. "I know you don't—gods," Henrietta chuckled dryly. "I know how little I matter in the overall scheme of things. I've always known. I know I sound jealous, but I'm not. Really. I just know my place, is all. And normally I don't say much about your friendship with Rose. I know how it makes you feel, but I can't – no, I won't – just stand here and let you throw your career away for her."
"Harsh." Rose intoned wryly.
Scorpius opened his mouth to argue, but Henrietta silenced him with a cold look and turned fierce eyes back on Rose. "I don't think I've ever hated you as much as I do in this moment."
"Nice to see that you're finally admitting it," she uttered tonelessly. "I—"
"You're annoying, oftentimes lazy, and a flake. You haven't grown up at all since school, and at the rate you're going, you'll always be stuck where you are right now. You get everything handed to you; you got this job handed to you. You depend on your family to clean up your messes while you pretend to be this independent free spirit who could care less who you're related to. You're selfish, Rose, I'll believe that even more if you let him or your mother get involved your mess."
Rose was gobsmacked.
When Henrietta inserted herself into Scorpius' life Second Year, she'd had so many opinions about her and none of them were pleasant. Henrietta was a pompous arse; a judgmental Muggle-born elitist (oxymoron much?), who hadn't made a single friend her entire First Year because no one could tolerate her and she couldn't be bothered with those she considered beneath her (read: everyone, except for the professors). Rose never knew why she'd picked Scorpius to be her first friend or why he decided to talk to her in the first place, but there was nothing to do about it. From the start, Henrietta looked down on Rose for a myriad of reasons that seemed to grow and develop over the years, but Rose held her tongue because Scorpius had seen something in her worth befriending. By the time they graduated, her dislike for Henrietta had transformed into indifference.
Well, not anymore. She was done keeping quiet.
"Are you done?" Rose asked coolly. "Because if you are done being a self-righteous arse, you should probably know you aren't the first person to say any of that to me. You won't be the last either, I'm sure of it. We might've gone to school together and you might've heard about my antics through other people or the media, but don't presume that you know enough about me to pass any sort of judgment."
"It—"
Rose didn't let her speak another word. "I'm not stupid. I know what's at stake for both of them. I didn't ask for their help. They didn't offer it. And you're an idiot if you believe that I could possibly tell my mother or Scorpius to bugger off. Dogs with bones, the lot of them."
Scorpius snorted. "Accurate."
Henrietta stiffened.
Rose fixed her glare on the standing witch. "Do you want to know why Scorpius is here, Henrietta? Because when you care about someone as you claim to care about him, you don't think about the consequences, you don't think twice about trying to protect them. Their mess becomes your mess, and you don't walk away from them because you aspire to be a – a bloody hospital administrator someday!" Scorpius rested a hand on her arm that was shaking. Huh. When had he come over? "Everything you've said about me is probably true, I'm as knowledgeable about my flaws as you are ignorant about yours, but at least I know what's truly important. At least I have my priorities in order."
All the self-righteous anger seemed to bleed from her.
Scorpius slipped his hand into Rose's and squeezed it. "My priority is here, Henrietta." He told her. "I'm not deluded enough to think any of this is my fault, but I am the reason she was in the hospital at all. She came to be a good friend and make sure I didn't run myself into the ground—"
"Or Splinch yourself," Rose supplied helpfully.
"That, too." He rolled his eyes fondly. "She didn't ask to be attacked and have her mind muddled with."
"I—"
Scorpius held up his hand to stop her, just as she'd done to him before. His voice was as cool as Rose had ever heard it. "We're going to figure out who did this and put them away for it. You can run to Caldwell and make things harder...or you can stay and help."
Henrietta started at him baldly for a moment before exhaling. "Let the record show that I do not approve of this."
"It's noted."
To Rose, she added, "Also that I still am not your biggest fan."
"The feeling is absolutely mutual," Rose drawled.
"Fine. Now that we've gotten that cleared, what do you need me to do?"
"Expedite Rose's release."
Henrietta slowly nodded and left without another word.
Rose fought every childish urge to make rude gestures at her back and Scorpius just snorted. "Maturity looks good on you."
"I have bigger problems than all the unsurprising things Henrietta thinks about me. Where's my family?"
"Harry called in a few favours and secured an emergency Portkey for Hugo. He'll be here in an hours. Ginny told everyone what was going on and you all must have a contingency plan or something because everyone seemed to know what they were supposed to do and scattered."
"Ah, Operation: There's A Mystery Afoot. I was supposed to bring my dad's deluminator. It's in my room."
"Not even going to pretend to understand that."
"The streetlights outside my flat are bright."
Scorpius just blinked. "Anyway. Al went to the flat to pack me a bag. Lily went to yours to do the same." Rose groaned loudly. "Your parents Fire-called my dad to fill him in and he thinks we should combine our research efforts and start at the Manor. Your dad agreed to it. Hence the packing."
Rose blinked. "My dad did what now? He hates the Manor almost as much as mum does."
Not to mention the fact that their fathers famously did not get on.
An understatement, actually.
"My dad hates it more than both of them combined, but he abruptly decided to work from home and is there now, digging out every relevant book for us to start on."
"But—"
"Priorities, Rose. We have them."
She didn't say anything else on the subject.
Henrietta returned a few minutes later. She didn't bother with pleasantries. "You'll be discharged within the hour."
"Great." Rose paused. She was the bigger person. "I know you don't particularly like me, but thanks."
"I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it for him." She glanced at Scorpius. "Regardless of what you think, I was just looking out for you. I do care, after all. You're my oldest and the only person to stick with me, no matter how difficult I am to get on with."
"I know." Scorpius nodded and looked down, then at his friend, expression serious. "And I'm just looking out for her. She's always done the same for me, ever since I knocked on the door of her and Al's train car, looking for a seat because no one else would let me into theirs."
Rose looked at him, mouth pressed in a hard line as she remembered how bloody terrible everyone had treated him in the earliest days of their friendship. It was something they didn't reminisce about too often. They had known just how lonely he'd been before they came into the picture (and Al bloodied Dustin McLaggen's nose right before Sorting because he'd called Scorpius a Death Eater. Dustin was the first in a month-long string of Albus-related bully-punchings that ended abruptly when Scorpius promptly floored a Fourth Year who taunted him about using Albus Potter to fight his battles. The detention she'd received for cheering for him had been worth it.)
Absently, Rose leaned against Scorpius like she had done multiple times during their first month of school when he'd needed a little human contact to make things better. He gave her a fond look like he knew what she was trying to do and smiled. Rose grinned back.
Henrietta was quiet for a bit, but didn't bother letting up on the probing looks she was sending Rose's way. "You don't remember anything after you walked into that room?"
Shaking her head, Rose explained everything she remembered when her mum and Scorpius found her. "Well, I became as conscious as someone who's been Stunned can be. I faded in and out over the hours," she paused and added begrudgingly, "Thanks for letting me come round naturally."
"I didn't. You didn't wake up after we administered the potion."
"Oh." She frowned. "Well. It's good I didn't wake up. I imagine the alternative would've been bloody awful as I would've immediately started screaming my head off about being a killer because I believed it and felt compelled to tell everyone, even though I remember otherwise."
"Do you still believe you did it?"
"Yes," Rose answered immediately. "I just…" she looked at her best friend. "I have people reminding me that nothing I believe is real."
"And your mum can fix it?"
"So she says, but I have to wait until my brother sketches the dagger."
"The one that someone is stabbing patients with."
"Right."
"To put them out of their misery."
"So I believe."
Henrietta frowned and didn't say anything for several minutes. Scorpius summoned the tray over to Rose, who promised to name her firstborn after him as she tucked into her food. The bacon was a cold and the eggs were overdone, but it didn't matter. Food was food. There was a fruit salad that Rose didn't completely hate and a hunk of bread that was the first to get eviscerated. She ate as happily as she could with everything going on, Henrietta stood silently, and Scorpius made her shove over a bit so he could squeeze in next to her and figure out how many forkfuls of her fruit salad he could steal without getting stabbed.
Normality was on its way to re-establishing itself, well, at least it was until Henrietta seemed to come back from wherever the hell she'd gone and blurted out, "Angel of Mercy."
They both froze.
A bit of egg landed on her hospital gown. "Sorry, what?" Rose took scooped it up with her finger and ate it. Desperate times.
"That's what's going on. It's an Angel of Mercy."
"Still not following."
Henrietta looked highly impatient. She jumped out of her chair and paced back and forth in front of Rose's bed. "All the people who have died so far have been gravely injured or were on death's doorstep, right?" They nodded. "An Angel of Mercy is someone, usually a caregiver, who kills because they've decided their victims are better off dead than suffering. They use what they know to stage their crimes so people think it's an accident or natural."
"Nothing about that dagger is natural," Rose pointed out.
"Well, no, but when we find the bodies, we don't know they've been stabbed."
Scorpius shifted a bit. "Had they all not started dying exactly the same way and within weeks of each other, we would have never known anything was wrong. We would have assumed that they had died from their pre-existing injuries."
"Exactly! Which brings up the second part of this, which is worse, if I'm right. Angels of Mercy eventually lose control and start to, well…escalate."
"Which means wha—"
Scorpius went completely still next to her. "They start killing people whose injuries aren't as severe, which is safe to say that they've escalated to that point with Mrs. Shingleton. She would have eventually recovered."
"Yes." Henrietta looked grim. "And—"
"And then they start killing people who aren't even sick."
Rose put down her fork. "They didn't kill me, so that's a positive, yes?"
Henrietta frowned. "You were supposed to take the fall, Rose. They're under a lot of pressure with all the restrictions, I imagine. Your arrest was supposed to give them some freedom back so they can go back to being undetected."
"They're going to be angry when they find out their plan didn't work."
And the full weight of their words hit Rose all at once. "Oh, wonderful."
OOOOOOOOOO
Her boss stuck her head into the room an hour later, just after Mum had just finished helping Rose into a change of clothes. She was currently tying Rose's shoes after a failed attempt had left her hovering just off the floor, thanks to a well-timed Hover Charm. Healer Brown looked more distracted and concerned than Rose had ever seen her. Mum looked surprised to see her old classmate, but overall pleased. The two exchanged polite – albeit stiff – smiles before Lavender gave Rose the medical onceover.
"I came as soon as I heard, are you okay?" She made Rose lift her arms over her head.
Rose nodded, putting her arms down and standing slowly after her mother finished. After being instructed to do so, she took a wobbly step that made her mum put her hands on her waist to help her balance. "I suddenly have colt legs, but overall I'm fine. I think I'm going to need a few days off."
"Sure. Take the week. Let me know if you need more time off." She said absently, looking Rose up and down critically. "How's your head? I nicked your chart."
"In case anyone has forgotten, my chart isn't public property," Rose pouted.
"Sure it isn't." Healer Brown smirked. "Besides the fact that you're a natural redhead—"
"The Weasley gene is strong in this one."
Her boss just stared blankly. "What?"
"Another person who has not seen Star Wars. Why is my life is so hard?"
Healer Brown just looked even more confused.
"It's best to ignore her when she gets like this, Lavender," her mum advised. "You're never going to really understand."
"I'll keep that in mind." Healer Brown still sounded a bit mystified, but she came out of it soon enough. "What I was trying to say before was that I am also surprised that you're actually on your feet after such a bad concussion, not to mention the fact that you were probably cursed."
"I've been better. I'll be a lot better once I get out of here. I like this hospital a lot more when I'm not a patient." Or being accused of murder.
"Understandable."
"My dad is settling my discharge and Scorpius is hunting down a wheelchair. We're going to my parents' house first and I refuse to be carried to the Floo. I have some dignity left. Not much after that sponge bath…" Rose glared at her mum, who wasn't the least bit sorry. "But enough."
"They're letting you go? They usually keep patients in your condition overnight. I would personally be more comfortable if you stayed until someone more qualified had the chance to clear you."
"Healer Sweeting did a proper assessment." Defending Henrietta left a bad taste in her mouth.
"She did, and she also mentioned some headaches in your chart."
"I'm taking the potions for pain."
"But have they figured out the root cause?"
"The concussion, most likely."
Lavender didn't look satisfied and she'd said as much, but added, "If she's cleared you, I won't argue. When are they taking you to the Ministry?" At the look of alarm on Rose's face, Healer Brown gestured to the door. "I ask because of the Aurors outside your door."
Rose visibly relaxed. "Oh, that. Well, I'll be going in the day after never. They're not investigating me. They're protecting me until I leave the building. I told Caldwell everything I remembered and the evidence backs up my story so I'm in the clear and I'm being released into my parents care."
Lavender looked like she had an infinite amount of questions left, but let it go. "Well, I'm glad that's all sorted." She checked her watch. "Well, if you need anything or need someone to talk to about your ordeal—"
"I have your mobile."
"Good." She nodded and clasped her hands together. "Well, there's someone who's been gagging to see you. Causing quite a ruckus, too." Healer Brown opened the door and gestured for the person standing outside to come in.
It was Bangs.
And she nearly took Rose off her feet with the force of her embrace.
"Oof!" she grunted, but hugged her back. More to maintain balance than anything else.
Okay maybe she was glad to see her.
"Al called me and told me what happened and I came right over." She meant that literally because she was still in her unicorn pyjamas and fuzzy slippers, bangs pulled back haphazardly with her reading glasses.
"You could've gotten dressed."
"Stop being prickly and keep hugging."
"You're doing enough for the both of us. More like suffocating." Rose fussed, but did what she asked.
Bangs pulled back sharply, wide-eyed and scared that she'd actually hurt her. "Sorry!" She squeaked, but did a pretty good job at keeping Rose off the floor.
"I'm fine. Just don't let go all the way. I'm a baby deer right now."
"You should probably sit." Lavender suggested.
Together they managed to get Rose over to the bed without any manhandling or carrying, which was a plus. Rose exhaled tiredly and Bangs sat next to her, legs swinging off the side of the bed.
"Are you okay?" She asked Rose. "Because you don't look fine. You look pale and I see bruises and a sigh might actually knock you over. Not to mention the fact that there are Ministry officials practically guarding this room and the entire ward. And they wouldn't let me in to see you even though I told them that we're friends. We are friends, right? And I saw Scorpius and he made them let me in and Healer Brown was coming to your room so I tagged along with her because he's finding you a wheelchair. And he said you're leaving?"
Whenever Bangs rattled on, Rose always stared and waited for her to stop. Her ability to vomit words was still unbelievable. What was more shocking was that Rose still managed to figure out what she was talking about. "Um. Yes and yes. I won't be around for a week, at the least."
Bangs looked ridiculously disappointed. "Oh."
"I'll phone you…tonight when I get settled." And hopefully had her sanity back.
Her mum cleared her throat pointedly and they both looked over. Rose rolled her eyes at the inquiring look on her mother's pleased face. Oh gods. She was literally begging with her eyes to be introduced and Rose knew why.
Outside of family and Scorpius, Rose didn't have any real friends.
Acquaintances, sure, but no one she'd consider a friend.
Well, until now, Rose thought dazedly. Because huh. They really were friends, weren't they? She certainly hadn't intended for that to happen. Rose had barely liked her when they'd first met, but Bangs kept coming around, finding her and talking, and just sort of worming her way in. And now she was someone Rose sought out while at work…and sometimes when she wasn't. She'd dragged Rose to a soap making class, got her to buy more organic foods, and she listened without complaint as Bangs rambled on and on about saving the world by recycling and saving the rainforest.
Which was, well, what friends did.
And Rose found that she didn't really mind.
"Jane, this is my mum. Mum, this is my friend, Jane."
Her mother barely contained her excitement. "It's wonderful to meet you, Jane."
Bangs was star struck and babbling. "S-same to you, I'm honoured, really. You're…you're just great."
"And so are you, any friend of Rose's is great in my books."
The blonde just beamed widely and turned it on Rose. "I'm glad you're okay."
"Me, too."
Lavender cleared her throat. "We should go, Jane, they only gave us five minutes."
Bangs nodded and hugged Rose again. "You'll ring me if you need anything, yes?"
She nodded and held on for another moment before pulling back. Bangs patted her head, got up, and left with Healer Brown. When the door closed, Rose looked at her mum, who was grinning. "Don't."
"Don't what? Oh, you mean don't mention that you have a friend you never told me about? I thought you didn't do friends. Isn't that what you told me after your Third Year?"
Rose just face-palmed.
"You ended up with your very own Luna, which is kind of adorable seeing as to how you spent the first eight years of your life barefoot, obsessed with vegetable jewellery, and trailing after her like a duckling whenever she was in town."
"Mum."
She laughed. "Okay, okay, I'll stop. I actually like Jane."
There was a knock on the door and Scorpius poked his head in before either of them could answer. "Found a wheelchair and you're all set to go."
"Great! Let's blow this treacle tart stand!" Rose thoughtlessly hopped out of bed and ended up sprawled on the floor like a starfish. "Ow."
OOOOOOOOO
There was something different about Malfoy Manor every time Rose visited.
New drapes in the drawing room, bookcases in the library, racks of aging wine from all over the world in the clean cellar, windows in the study and offices, moved all the paintings to a forbidden part of the house, chic French furniture in the sitting room, rugs in the parlour, paint in all the rooms, light fixtures in the upstairs halls, completely renovated dining room.
It was a poorly-kept secret that Scorpius' grandparents were just trying to figure out new ways to bury the bad memories, silence the ghosts, and make it a home again, which was a lost cause as far as Scorpius' dad was concerned. He'd given up on the saving the Manor years ago and bought a ridiculously posh but homey flat in central London right after his son had left for Hogwarts. It had an excellent view. And was Unplottable.
The latest change to the Manor was a resplendent chandelier in the foyer that fit seamlessly with the room they'd remodelled several years ago. Rose would've taken a moment to admire the soft cream and gold tones of the grand room, but she was too busy being carried like a sodding princess because her knees had decided to take a break right after they'd Apparated from her parents' house.
"You can put me down now, Scorpius."
He snorted. "So you can face plant again and scuff the marble floors in the process? I think not. My grandmother will have my head. The Valentine's day ball is in two days and her three conditions for us using the library are: don't make a mess, stay out the way, and don't embarrass her at the ball."
Rose's mouth fell open. "I have to attend? I did not agree to these terms!"
"You actually did, by proxy at least. Your parents agreed, Al, too."
"You all are dead to me."
"That doesn't change the fact that we're here."
"Bollocks! If we leave right now, they'll never know we were here, right?" At the doubtful look on Scorpius' face, Rose whinged. "You lied about your work schedule to avoid it. You can't possibly want to go."
"No one wants to go to this ball," a deep, familiar voice drawled from the balcony overlooking the foyer. They both looked up sharply to see Scorpius' dad start down the right staircase, holding a pair of crutches. He wore a sharp navy suit and looked as if he'd just left a business meeting. Which was likely the case as it wasn't even noon. He looked pleased to see them. "Son, Rose."
"Hi, dad."
"Hi, Mr Draco." It felt weird to call him that, but whenever she called him Mr Malfoy, he always bristled and said his father was elsewhere.
"I thought you were coming by Floo."
"We were, but Rose's legs made us change our travel plans."
"Ah. Granger mentioned that. I suppose that's what these are for." He made an abated gesture to the crutches. "Your cousin James owled these to me. I only just reversed the Shrinking Charm. The note said they were for a Tiny Tim, whatever that means."
Scorpius let out a loud laugh and Rose did her best to look put out, but joined him in the end. Draco just stared at them blankly, but by the time Rose explained the joke and got the hang of walking with crutches, he was smothering his amusement into his fist. She started glaring at him, too, but then he mentioned that he had a Fire call to make and lunch was waiting for them in the dining room, but that he would be joining them soon.
And, well, how could she be cross at someone who was feeding her?
"Walking is hard," she complained about halfway through the slow trek to food.
"You're doing much better on the crutches," Scorpius praised, but she caught the hint of sarcasm. "I've only had to catch you once since we left the foyer."
"My upper body strength is a lie."
"I'm sure Lily will have you lifting me in no time at all."
"Don't remind me. The lazy sod in me is in mourning."
Scorpius cackled.
"My armpits hurt."
"I could always carry you again," he suggested.
"No!" Rose exclaimed. "Between that, the sponge bath, falling on my mum's cat, who already hates me, and being laughed at by the parrot they're bird-sitting for Luna, I'm fresh out of self-respect. I didn't even know parrots could laugh." Rose said mournfully.
"It was more like a snicker."
"I hate you," but it was half-hearted because they'd made it to their destination.
Lunch, like every other meal she'd ever had at Malfoy Manor, was extravagant and Rose loved every moment of it. Chicken parmo, vegetable biryani (for Scorpius), roast beef, assorted vegetables (hopefully for Scorpius), roasted potatoes, vegetable and bean soup (also for Scorpius), and various cakes and pies for dessert. Meals at the Manor were heaven for Rose…too bad that Scorpius' entire family were usually also there, staring at her with varying degrees of disdain, like she wasn't even good enough to breathe their air. But not today.
Today, she fixed a plate, draped her legs across Scorpius' lap, and didn't worry a bit about table manners. It was refreshing They talked about unimportant things and the weight of the day seemed to lighten. Just for a bit. Rose had a few troubling thoughts and nearly choked on some false memories at one point, but overall, she ignored them.
They were halfway finished with Draco walked into the room, followed by Hugo, who was toting a messenger bag, a sketch pad, and a worried smile.
"Hugo!" Rose beamed.
He dropped everything and Rose had just enough time to wobble to her feet before being swallowed in a hug. There was really no better way to describe it. Hugo had always been trailing behind her in height until he turned thirteen and exploded. Now he was taller than her and mum, and almost as tall as dad, with his lean frame to boot. James had started calling him Huge, which he hated almost as much as he hated when Lily tried to dress him in clothes she deemed worthy. She heard Mr Draco ask Scorpius something and started fixing himself a plate, but then Hugo tucked his head into the crook of her neck and she focused back on him. Rose held on tighter, knowing he needed it.
While Rose was emotionally constipated, Hugo was…well, he was an anomaly in their family. He was quiet, shy around strangers, reserved around everyone else, a bit awkward, wicked intelligent, but at the same time, he wasn't allergic to emotions like Rose. When he was a kid, he would cry at the drop of a hat, sometimes for no reason other than needing to shed the tears. Rose had spent his entire First Year threatening anyone who had dared tease him for it. Deep down, she envied Hugo for his ability to vocalise his feelings freely. Rose kept nearly everything bottled up and buried in cement, and often wondered what it would be like if she didn't.
That day was coming, though. Not everything she'd buried was meant to stay hidden.
The thought alone made her stomach turn.
Hugo pulled away, eyeing her sceptically. "Mum said you were okay, are you?"
"Partially," she shrugged awkwardly. There was no point in being economically truthful to her brother. He knew her as well as Scorpius did, probably better. "I've been properly distracted from thinking about all the bad stuff, but I refuse to go to sleep until mum reverses the Memory Charm. Oh, and I'm still not good on my feet yet. Note the fact that I've been clinging to you."
"I just thought you missed me."
"Well, that, too. I suppose." She ruffled his red hair, which made him pull face. "Just getting in?"
Hugo nodded, fixing his hair back so his bangs were mere millimetres from his eyebrows, just how he liked it. Mum would probably comment on the fact that he was in desperate need of a haircut.
"You should eat."
Her brother pulled back completely and helped Rose back to her chair. He briefly hugged Scorpius next, filled his plate with food, and sat on the other side of her. Conversation was easy, likely because they talked about everything except what they all really wanted to discuss. Mr Draco talked about winning the highly sought after bid to head up the expansion of Diagon Alley, Scorpius recalled the night of the rave to Hugo who almost choked when he talked about Lily's shenanigans, Hugo filled them in about his Muggle art school and how much he liked Italy. Rose told them all about her mini-adventures with Bangs and ignored how surprised her brother looked when she called Jane her friend.
Mr Draco was the first to bring up the topic they all wanted to discuss.
"Now that we're done with the small talk, we have much to discuss."
"Merlin, I thought we'd never get to it!" Hugo blurted out, which was so uncharacteristic it made Rose's head jerk in his direction.
"I'm not sure what's left to discuss." Rose said.
"I beg to differ, actually." Draco patted his mouth with the napkin draped across his lap. "Why did you walk into that room?"
She froze, frowning. "No one has asked that before."
Scorpius' father smirked. "Which is why I asked."
"It's kind of a funny story…" And she told him about coming back to the fourth floor from Healer Brown's office and the detour, which had found her inexplicably lost. "It didn't make any sense. I know my way around, but I was wandering the halls for what felt like hours. I was confused, tired—I even got hungry. I kept seeing those three rooms. And when the lights went out, I saw a glowing light under the door. I knew I was in a ward by this point, but I went in anyway because there was nothing else I could do. And that's all I remember until I heard them find me."
Draco looked pensive for all of five seconds before he said, "Ah."
"Ah?" Scorpius chimed in. "And that means…"
"She was right. It was a ward. A ward that some consider dark magic because it lets you in and – for lack of a better term – buggers with your head. My guess is that you never really walked the halls at all; it just made you think you were. Your brain filled in the room numbers you saw, but I doubt you made it past room eight. You probably froze in place the moment you touched the wards."
"So the feeling that I'd been walking for hours—"
"The confusion, hunger, and feelings of despair and helplessness. It was the ward. I bet you were panicking, shaking, and on the verge of a meltdown, too, am I right?"
Rose nodded. "How do you know that?"
"It's a ward I've seen before," he answered simply, but added, "I'm not certain about the lights, however. St Mungo's lights have never gone out, as far as I've known."
"What about magic?" Hugo asked. "Could there be a spell so powerful that if used it makes the power fail? What about this dagger I have to sketch?"
"You'd have to ask a Magical Artefacts expert about the dagger and an Unspeakable about the magic. Unspeakables know a lot about different forms of magic, but good luck finding one willing to talk specifics." Draco took a sip from his water goblet. "They're a notoriously secretive bunch."
"Quincy's parents are Magical Archaeologists and he sometimes works at the Ministry as an expert in Magical Artefacts." Rose told him. "I know he'll help us."
Draco's eyes cut over to Scorpius, then back. "Invite him to the ball, then, and tell him to bring as many books about magical daggers as he can find." He paused, then. "Oh, and don't tell my mother that her social event has turned into a cover for an unofficial investigation. She likes the idea that we've all decided to come to the ball willingly."
She mock-saluted. "Consider my lips sealed."
"Mine too." Hugo chimed in.
Scorpius took a drink from his goblet. "James' girlfriend is an Unspeakable. She might help."
His father considered it. "She might talk to Potter because he's head of the Auror Department and a Saint, as far as they're concerned, but I doubt she'll tell any of you anything." Draco sat his napkin down next to his half-empty plate and stood. "I'll Fire-call Potter to see if he can do it." He looked at Hugo and Rose. "You both should finish up and get started on the sketch. Your mother will be here in an hour or so. She's seeing about getting Caldwell off the case. Oh, and there's a sitting room upstairs for you to work in, Hugo."
"Thanks, Mr Draco," her brother smiled.
Scorpius wiped his mouth and stood as well. "I'll come with you, dad."
He nodded and they both left soon after. Rose watched them long enough to see Draco casually throw an arm over his son's shoulder. She smiled, but it faded when she caught her brother giving her a strange look. "What?"
"Nothing. Are you finished?"
Rose eyed him suspiciously because Hugo's 'nothing' always meant 'something', but she wasn't in the mood to pry so she let it go. They put down their napkins and found their way to the sitting room. The trip was better than the one to the dining room, in that she didn't wobble as much on her crutches. Or stumble. Or fall. Hugo got right to work, pulling out his sketch pad and pencils while Rose settled on the sofa, closed her eyes, and remembered…
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of JK Rowling. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
A/N: Bet no one was expecting this chapter this fast, amirite? Well, something happened and I wrote like half of this in a day. So yeah. I'm gonna go dive into all the fic I have on my kindle (best purchase ever). Also this chapter is stupid long. My brain forgot it wasn't writing a long fic. Err. I haven't started on chapter 8 yet, but I have a good idea on the beginning. I hope I got Rose's reaction to everything spot-on because she's always been the sort to ignore all the reasons why she should freak out, while not freaking out, and throwing up all the defense she has to keep herself from freaking out. She is overwhelmed and has fallen back to sarcasm to shield herself. It happens to the best of us. She is complicated. As if the first six chapters didn't convey that one. Also, your theories about the killer will be entertaining to me.