A/N: Alright a couple of A/N so bear with me here :).
1. I was trying to decide between this chapter and the last chapter in terms of how to reveal Franks's craziness. I decided on the interrogation but then I let my friend read this chapter and she loved the Golden Trio goodness so I decided to shorten it and add this one too. So this chapter is dedicated to you, Jasmine :P!
2. I've encouraged people in my summary, profile, and the last author's note to be very honest with me and I want to continue that attitude. Soooo I'll ignore one particularly harsh and nonconstructive critique ;) (in my opinion) and instead say THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT HAS REVIEWED (both positive and negative but constructive)! I started listing individual shout-outs and it became quickly ridiculous but just know that I read ALL of them and I'm sooo thankful for them. So I also dedicate this chapter to all of you lovely people who have followed, reviewed, and favorited!
3. In this chapter, I took a little creative liberty emphasizing the link between love and the strength of Harry's magical abilities in a canon moment but *shrug*, I thought it made my story cuter :). This chapter's short but there's a particularly long chapter coming up soon (the chapter after the next according to my outline)! Alright, onto this chapter!
Rose felt like she was waking up from a deep, deep sleep. She could hear and smell but she still couldn't see anything. Was she still dreaming? It smelled funny. It smelled like Hugo and Louis when they met up with her after medical training. It smelled very clean, she decided. She heard what seemed to be someone pacing back and forth on a tile floor. She heard a door opening and then heard voices.
"Ron, calm down, she's going to be okay, the Healer said she should be up at any point now."
"I know, 'Mione, I know. I just wouldn't have let Scorpius take her if I knew dementors were going to be there. I feel like an idiot, our intel was so wrong. We had no idea he was working for Death Eaters. And while being a bloody auror? What a tosser!"
"How were you supposed to know, dear? Didn't he retire when you and Harry were still junior aurors? And this is why Ministry policy dictates that solicitors partner with aurors when there is a potential for criminal interactions. It's a good thing Scorpius was there."
"Thank Merlin Scorpius was there. He saved her life!"
Rose head the door open and close again.
"Ay, Arry."
"Hi, Harry."
"Hi guys, how's our Rosie doing?"
"She's fine, she should be waking up at any moment now. Course Ron's still freaking out."
"Can you blame me?!"
"Nope, if it was Lily, I'd be going mental myself."
"I was just telling Ron, thank goodness that Scorpius was there."
"Oh yea, he'll be getting a promotion soon."
Rose could hear her dad laughing. "Arry, as much as I love the guy for saving my daughter, we can't just promote our favorites."
"Ahh, but you haven't heard all of the details yet. I just watched Scorpius interrogate Franks. He was bloody brilliant! I know the man's good but he was on fire this time."
"What did he find out?"
"Remember the forty dementors that went missing when Shacklebolt removed them from Azkaban?"
"Yea, you mean when we were junior aurors? We were trying to track them for years. So some of them were hiding near Franks?"
"Nope. ALL of them were hiding in Franks's neighborhood. All of his neighbors had moved out after the two children were murdered on their street. Franks killed the children and he covered it up by altering memories and killing Carrow."
"With that neighborhood empty after the murders, it's a perfect spot for dark wizards and beings to hide in plain site. Near an auror 'hero' no less," Rose's mum reasoned.
"Yup," Harry agreed, "nobody ever thought to question him after he killed a known Death Eater. Apparently, he was trying to amass a small army of dark wizards and dementors. Says he wants to be the next Voldemort."
"That's bloody crazy," Rose heard her father reply, "so how many dementors did Scorpius actually have to fend off?"
"ALL of them. All forty of them descended on Franks' property when they felt how scared Rose was during the duel. Scorpius somehow fended off forty dementors at once."
"What?!" Rose heard her parents ask at the same time.
"Yes, I know, he's bloody impressive. That's for sure."
"Harry, the last time I saw something even remotely close to one wizard doing that is when you saved yourself and Sirius from the dementors in the Forbidden Forest," Hermione noted.
"Hmm, well watching the dementors attack Sirius from afar was just unbearable. The love I had for Sirius just made my magic more powerful. I feel it when I go on missions with Al too. My mom's love is what stopped Voldemort from killing me when I was just a baby. When you're protecting someone you love your magic is just much more po..."
Silence. Rose didn't hear anything but breathing for what seemed like five minutes straight. She struggled to wrap her head around what was going on.
"Wha-What are we going to do about this?" Rose finally heard her dad ask, "do we have protocol on this? We have to have some type of protocol on this."
"Uhh, no, there's no written protocol on partners or co-workers falling in love with each other, Ron."
"And why not, Arry?!"
"I don't know, Ron, because when we revised the protocol together, we didn't think of it?"
"Merlin, calm down you two, I actually think this is a good thing. Plus, we aren't even sure if they are actually in love."
"Well, after seeing him react to Franks talking about Rosie, it would probably be the most logical..."
"When Rose was four, she promised me she'd be a muggle nun! And after this Logan arsehole debacle we should cash in on this promise before she gets too close to the Malfoy boy," Ron blurted out.
"Oh, Merlin Ron."
"Are you really bringing up the fact that you coerced our four-year old daughter into devoting herself to a religion you don't even believe in?"
"Arry, we have to separate them!"
"Ron, don't be mental. If Rose is helping Scorpius become a more powerful wizard, isn't that a good thing?"
"Yea, Ron, you do realize that 2/3 of the famous 'Golden Trio' is married with two kids?" Hermione quipped.
Rose heard her Uncle's laugh. "She's got you there Ron. It's true. I hear those two made a pretty powerful duo. They saved the world and all that nonsense," Harry added.
Ron sounded defeated, "I can't believe you two are joking about this. But you're technically right, if Scorpius has the ability to conjure such a powerful patronus, we should consider training him to be a Hit Wizard."
"It works out well since we're already considering Al after his undercover work, maybe we can..."
The voices started to fade as Rose fell into a deep sleep again.
