Chapter 10~ to sleep perchance to dream

Rose P.O.V

The air was crisp but refreshing, Rose hugged herself as she walked around the lake, taking in the superb views, the sun was setting behind the mountains surrounding the school and grounds. Elegant old oaks casted shadows on the twisted path she walked on and even though Halloween was approaching quickly she could still hear birds singing in the distance. Brown leaves surrounded the path and even more were fluttering down from the trees in the light autumn wind.

Rose smiled before settling herself on the bank of the lake; the peace and quiet gave her a renewed energy, and just being this close to nature helped her think things through. It had been a long couple of days. She closed her eyes and just sat there taking deep breaths but her mind was still racing, the bloody thing wouldn't shut up.

"Rose?" you have to be fucking kidding me right now. She turned her head, clutching her jumper to her against the cold air. "Scorp? Is everything okay?" He sat next to her; she leaned onto him resting her head on his shoulder, unintentionally taking in his comforting smell.

"I know it's soon Weasley but I honestly don't know what I would do without you" She couldn't help but smile to herself. "If it helps Malfoy I couldn't imagine life without you after these past weeks, and yeah maybe we are moving fast but you know what? It feels right, this feels right."

He looked down at her with a goofy grin on his face. "Well, we only live once" he whispered before pulling her onto his lap and snogging her to no end.

Xx The next morning xX

Rose awoke first; she could hear the tweeting of birds and the soft lap of the water against the bank. What the hell? Oh no. She elbowed Scorp before pulling on her jeans and jumper; it was lucky one of them casted a heating charm around them last night or else they would be suffering from hypothermia now.

The sun was rising behind the castle and frost covered the ground, Rose rolled her eyes before kicking Scorp. "Ouch! What the fuck Rose- oh shit. Did we spend the whole night out here?" he asked pulling himself up. "Obviously" Rose murmured. Her head was pounding, turns out grass and mud isn't a great pillow.

After pulling his jeans on he reached over and plucked a twig out of her hair, which at that point resembled something like a birds nest. She tried flattening it with her hand but alas it just seemed to make it worse.

"You're adorable in the mornings" Scorpius laughed throwing his arm around her as they walked up to the castle together. Rose laughed "well I'm glad someone thinks so, Will says I'm a monster from the deep before my morning cup of tea and Amanda tends to avoid me till after noon most days"

Scorp snorted "I always think your adorable" Rose elbowed him "suck up"

"I do try" she giggled and he hugged her closer. "Your such a git but I love you" Oh shit, oh shitty, shitty arse crack. Stupid, stupid Rose you don't just go around saying things like that! Not a couple of weeks into a relationship anyway! Oh fuck.

He looked down at her in shock for a moment and stopped walking "I'm sor-" she started but he interrupted her. With a kiss. "Believe it or not I love you too, you irritable know-it-all" she smiled widely before pulling him down to kiss her again.

"Oh shit" Scorp said after pulling away and looking at his gold watch he got for his birthday. "Rose, lessons start in ten minutes, there is no way we are going to make it to defence against the dark arts"

"Defence? Oh shit we have a practical today don't we? Oh no, we can't miss it professor Bones will kill us" Scorp smirked

"Best run then" He said taking her hand and sprinting up to the castle.

They both dressed in a hurry skipping breakfast all together and sprinted to the classroom, where they were already fifteen minutes late.

"Ah Miss Weasley, Mr Malfoy I wondered when you would grace us with your presents and just in time too, Miss Weasley your up"

Rose almost shat herself, she glanced at Scorpius her panic stricken face giving him a strong indication that she hadn't studied.

But she walked up to the teacher rather confidently for someone who was about to make an utter fool out of themselves in front of half their year.

"Okay, Miss Weasley please face me and cast a disarming charm" Professor Bones nodded. Rose couldn't help but glance slightly franticly around the room. Wondering if it was best to just jump out the window now or wait until after she embarrassed herself. Stupid Defence. It wasn't like there was anything life threatening out there anymore so why on the fucking sodding earth would she have to do it?

She couldn't cast a silent spell on a good day, let alone when her whole class had their eyes trained on her, oh well at least she had a constant stream of O's in her other subjects.

Rose moved her wand in the correct hand movement but didn't bother saying the spell, there really was no point. But a strange phenomenon occurred. The professor's wand shot across the room landing at her feet. How odd.

Rose didn't have time to blink before the teacher was congratulating her. "Well done Miss Weasley, I knew if you put your mind to it you would come up with a result. Now let's try a counter curse shall we?" she smiled knowing full well that Rose wouldn't be able to pull it off. Ahhh.

But someone did cast the last spell, she knew it. There was no way on earth it was her. "Locomotar Mortis"

Rose flourished her wand in a timely manner, careful this time not to think a word. And it happened. Light spluttered not an inch from the tip. The professors spell sored through the air but mid-way it hit an invisible wall that formed from the light of Roses' wand. The spell bolted backwards and hit the professor between the eyes, immediately locking her legs together.

Rose looked curiously around the room while Bones reversed the curse. "Well done Miss Weasley, you may sit, okay Miss Wood your up"

Rose slumped in her seat beside Scorp who was playing with his cuffs, slowly forming a small hole after weeks of rubbing them in boredom. "How did you do it?" she asks resting her head on the table concealing a yawn. "Do what?" he asked, brows creasing.

"How did you cast the spells? And how did you make it look like it was me? That takes incredible power and skill to hijack a wand, not to mention it's totally illegal, even to come across the spell..." she trailed off. No one would have access to that sort of dark magic unless…

"Where did you find it?" she whispers again urgency in her voice, that dark magic is not to be toyed with, the repercussions much out way the benefits. She knew better than anyone, what with her dad being an auror and everything. She's seen what happens to people that use those kinds of spells to manipulate other people and events.

He looked truly clueless then, before worry started to line his face. This seemed to be an ever recurring expression for him. "Rose are you okay?" He whispered back. She nodded knowing it wasn't him. But if it wasn't him then who was it? Who could have access to that kind of knowledge and power?

Rose pondered over these questions for the rest of the lesson, ignoring Scorp' s Questioning until he eventually gave up and went back to playing with his cuffs.

They walked hand in hand to their next class, Rose still off in a daydream trying to out-way the pros and cons of this piece of information especially since these kinds of spells haven't been used since the war.

Scorp kept glancing sideways at her trying to piece together what she was thinking but to no result. He just squeezed her hand every so often.

Someone tapped her lightly on the back, snapping her out of her daydreams. "Well I think a thank you is in order Weasley" Al laughed pulling his cousin towards him and holding her in a headlock. This didn't please either Scorp or Rose.

Scorp pulled Al off Rose until she was safely positioned behind him. "Calm down there Malfoy I'm just playing with my favourite cousin, well after Lucinda that is." He smiled and Rose rolled her eyes garbed him by the collar and bringing him into a headlock of her own.

Scorp looked puzzled as the two started to muggle attack each other until, they both collapsed in a heap laughing. A small circle formed around the two, until Al pulled himself up bringing Rose with him. They began walking down the hallway past the small group of students who scattered in various directions.

"How did you do it?" she asked, once they were out of ear shot. "You've seen dad's office, he has a fine collection of dark arts books, seriously it took me almost all summer to read through them all and I just so happened to require some very useful spells" Rose elbowed him "Yeah but those are illegal, what if your dad catches you? Do you know how much trouble you'd be in? Especially now you're of age, you could be prosecuted or sent to Azkaban or something!"

Al rolled his eyes "yeah, like they would through a Potter in Azkaban"

"Well maybe your dad will to teach you, my dear, a lesson. Oh how amusing that would be" Al looked doubtfully at her "like mum would let that happen." "Point taken" she laughed. "Look Rose when I got back to my room last night the map wasn't there, I looked everywhere I practically ripped the room apart. You didn't take it did you?"

At first she was shocked. The map. The marauder's map. She hadn't heard of it in years. James had acquired it the summer before he started school. Rose didn't know how he got it. But she had a sneak feeling he stole if from his father's office and enlisted Uncle George to help him figure it out.

Rose never saw it herself, but James would brag about it so much that she wondered if it was even real. "I wasn't even sure it existed Al, I'm sorry, I really don't know anything"

"Weasley! WEASLEY!" Scorp shouted, sprinting along the corridor to join them. "Are you going to tell me what is going on or am I going to have to guess? What on earth are you up too? You seemed fine this morning."

Rose bit her lip ashamed at leaving him behind, she walked over and kissed him gently on the lips, letting him wrap his arms around her waist. She turned in his arms to face her cousin before explaining to Scorp that she went to see Al last night while he was at St. Mungo's. "We got things sorted; it's good to have an ally you know"

Al snorted "Ever the slytherin my Rosie" They both shot him a look and he shut up. "If you're sure Weasley" Scorp seemingly agreed but Rose saw in his eyes that he was unsure.

"How's your sister Malfoy?" Al asked, curiosity getting the better of him. Rose turned to look at Scorp too. She forgot to ask about Ala.

"She should be back in a week or so" Scorp started. "Just before midterm the healers think. She's pretty banged up though, bruises covering most of her body, she was shivering really bad and was covered in sweat but the Healer did manage to fix her spine. But they couldn't give her anything for the pain, when I left she was a sleep screaming herself horse and shaking. Father got sick a couple of times and Mother sat in a rocking chair in a corner, rocking back and forth her eyes fixed on the wall. I was lucky Drusilla was there, she was the only sane one in the room, Nott wouldn't even come in after the screaming started, and I must say I wasn't any better than my parents."

Rose felt a pang of guilt and Al was shifting from one foot to the other not meeting Scorp's gaze. "Oh Scorp I'm so sorry" Rose whispered hugging him tightly. "It's not your fault" he said eyeing Potter with obvious unease.

"We better get to class" Rose finally voiced. The tension was too much for her and she marched off towards the green houses dragging Scorp along with her. A fight between her boyfriend and her cousin was the last thing she wanted right now.

"Hey" Scorp asked as they walked. "Did you think any more about coming away with me after?" Rose sighed; it wouldn't go down well with her parents, that's for sure. But she was seventeen, a legal adult. She could do anything she liked.

"Of course, and yes, I can't wait but can we go the day after we get back? I better go home for at least a day or mum would have a seizure" he smiled brightly "where do you wanna go then?" she rolled her eyes at both him and his bank account. "The moon?" "I'll see what I can do" he joked.

Aludra P.O.V.

The weeks seemed to fly by in waves of pain, pure panic and utter terror. She watched as her mother read her stories and her father brought her sweets. She was on the verge of getting a healer to check their heads.

They were never like this, caring and well, like parents. When she was home she could go for days if not weeks without seeing one of them, just the old house elf that tended to her. But then again their house was so big that even she has managed to get lost on occasion.

That was mainly due to her mother, whenever she finds she has nothing to do; no party's to plan she would add another wing onto the already large mansion. Her father even set her up with an allowance. What almost dyeing can do ay? She should have tried it years ago.

Going back to school was the hardest part though. Even if the Halloween holidays were only a couple of days away.

"Ala!" Drusilla screamed across the great hall. It was dinner time and Ala wanted to slip in unnoticed. Well that didn't happen. Ala waved half-heartedly to her. The whole place seemed to notice her entrance. She still hadn't talked to Scorp. She knew he'd been to visit but she had a tendency to sleep through them. She knew he didn't mean it, but she still didn't have a valid excuse for missing practise, well except that she was avoiding him because of what he said. Yeah that could work. Except for the fact that Scorp could see right through her.

Ala edged her way around the room and slipped into the empty seat beside Drusilla, scooping some soup out of the large bowl in front of her, which refilled its self to the brim. She took a roll from the basket next to it.

And then there was Potter. She really didn't want to see him again after what she asked him. She remembered clearly, her anticipation for his answer. Yes or no. simple as pie but alas she blacked out before he answered, well if he was going to answer at all.

Yes would have ment they were star crossed lovers never to be. But no would mean she was a naive girl running after someone she could never have. Then again the end result would be the same either way, maybe it was best not to know what his answer was, and then at least she will always have hope. Hope.

Ala had been talking to Drusilla when her brother plopped himself down opposite them, picking up a roll and after breaking bite sized pieces off so they could easily fit into his mouth without much effort on his part.

She knew what she had to do. For his safety. She had to keep him away from her or he'd catch on, she needed him as far away from her as possible. For his own safety. She repeated in her head, trying to sooth herself. Not that it worked. He was the only one who really cared about her; she knew he would lay down his life for her. And she needed to theater the strings that bound them together. Which wasn't going to be easy. Then again not talking to him for the last month set the foundations.

"Ala, how are you?" he asked casually, plopping another piece of bread into his mouth. She just replied with a cold stare adding in a slight glare for luck. He looked shocked for a moment then continued like nothing happened. But she kept up her cold appearance. She had too. "I visited you in the hospital, you know. But you were always asleep when I was there, I left flowers and chocolate frogs" He smiled. Oh bloody hell

She couldn't risk it. If he knew anything and they caught him, torture him. It would be her fault. And she could never live with herself. So her conclusion (which she had come too some weeks before) is to get him to hate her, despise her even. The thought brought tears to her eyes but she pulled them back, she needed to do this. She needed to do this for him. For his own safety.

"Scorpius I don't care about you" She whispered leaning down so hopefully no one else could hear what she was saying. "To be frank, I don't give a shit about anyone. So don't bother, just run along with your new whore, because to me, all you are is a money hungry bastard with nothing but his family name going for him. Which in this current climate isn't going to get your spiteful arse very far is it? Then again I guess that's what she's for. Because if you shack up with a Weasley then I guess everyone will have to like you won't they?"

He looked shocked to say the least. His eyes were as round as the saucers their grandmother made them use whenever they drank tea and his mouth had opened slightly. It had definitely added fuel to the fire but she needed more. Public humiliation maybe? For his own safety.

Ala picked up the hot bowl of soup from the middle of the table and poured the contents over his head. That should do it. She leaned down again, half the hall was looking at this point and she just wanted to get it over with as soon as possible. "Don't come fucking anywhere near me again, got it?"

With that last spit in his face she left the hall before she started balling. Scorp looked just as shocked as he watched his little sister leave the room, tomato soup dripping from his nose.

Damaging his ego, Ala knew, was the best way to get to Scorp, well for him to take the things she said to heart. He was a Slytherin after all.

Xx

Ala decided to get lost in the twisted hallways of the school, by the time she left the great hall her lip was already bleeding from the pressure of her teeth needing something to do. She felt like crawling into a corner and dying. That almost seemed nice. Actually that did seem nice.

She tried not to cry. She really did. But alas, we don't always get what we want now do we? Ala wiped the tears away along with some of the blood, she mustn't be weak, no she had to be strong if not for herself then for the doppelganger. Oh what had she done?

She wondered aimlessly through the corridors convincing herself that she done the right thing when suddenly she was pinned against the cold stone wall. This can't be good.

"Where is it? I know you have it, don't lie to me Malfoy!"

She had to blink several times before she got a clear picture of her attacker. Not that she needed to, she knew that voice anywhere. "Potter honestly, your completely barking mad, I have no idea what you're on about!" and she didn't.

"My map!" he spat in her face anger rising, she knew there would be bruises tomorrow where his hands were pinning her against the wall, but that didn't bother her in the least. It wasn't like she hadn't gotten worse from him. But what did annoy her was the fact that he thought she stole his map. Why would she even need a map?

"Potter I really don't know what you're on about" He didn't seem convinced and edged his face closer to hers so their eyes were only centimetres apart. "Don't lie Malfoy it's unbecoming of you" She could feel the tears again but this time did nothing to stop them.

"You're the only one who had access and motive. Clever I'll give you that, luring me into your chamber or rather mine to be precise, took my map and I wasn't any the wiser." By the time he finished she was sobbing quite uncontrollably.

"I-I didn't t-take it Potter. I-I swear I w-was with you t-the whole t-time remember? I-I wouldn't have h-had any chance to g-get it out. I w-was beside y-you the whole night! I d-don't even know a-anything about a m-map." She blubbered.

She knew she must have looked like a complete mess but she really couldn't do anything about it. And when Potter lessened his grip on her she sunk to the floor shaking and crying. Completely vulnerable. Great.

"I swear I-I didn't t-take it" she stammered as he sat beside her "Why w-would I have m-motive? Why would I w-want a m-map? Don't muggles u-use them? To find o-out where t-they are and w-where to go? I-I could just c-cast a spell a-and know in an i-instant. I'm s-sorry I r-really didn't take it."

He put his arm around her then and carried her to the nearest door. An old broom cupboard. He didn't let go of her then though, once he had her seated comfortably on a pile of loo role, he sat beside her and placed his arm around her again. She didn't pull away; instead she leaned into him and let her emotions run rampid, until finally, when his jumper was completely soaked through. She pulled herself up off of him and leaned back against the wall.

"I didn't take it" she said again, barely above a whisper. "I know" he agreed looking somewhat ashamed if not slightly alarmed at her reaction to his ambush, this amused her slightly.

"Half the school was there that night Potter, anyone could have taken it" She looked at him then, really looked at him. His raven hair had fallen into his green eyes, his jumper was soaked with her own tears and there was utter confusion lining his face, like he was trying to peace a puzzle together. But Ala had gotten there before him, jumped the waggon if you will.

"It could have been her you know" She whispered, her eyes floating restlessly around the small confined space. "If this map of yours is as valuable, and judging on recent events, I think I'm right in saying that it is. Then maybe that's why she was here that night, why else would she have come here? Mind you she did fit right in, she didn't look any older than us, she blended right in, they didn't even notice, but they weren't looking were they? No one but us knows a thing. Don't you get that Potter? Don't you see how much danger we're in already without his information? They're after us, and if they find one of us and we break, they will know we know what they're up too. Then they would have no reason to hold back, they would pick our family members off one by one"

Ala let her head sink into her hands again, wishing it wasn't her, her father told that day. "So that explains the soup" Al laughed "you don't want him to find out so you decided to distance yourself, so he doesn't have a chance to right?" she nodded.

"Fair enough, but don't forget, that girl is in more danger than all of us put together, if they find her she's dead and then when the auror department finds out about our little friend they will want to kill her off too. So the deatheaters can't get her. I don't think they could risk leaving her alive, even if she was locked up, if they got her out or if she herself escaped there's no telling the damage that could occur and let's not forget that her own body is a ticking time bomb. The girl doesn't stand a chance."

They sat in a peaceful silence, both pondering over what the other said. Ala's dad did update her on the subject before she came back to school but she didn't want to go into what he said with Potter now, maybe tomorrow if she felt up to it.

"That night" He asked, letting it trail off into the darkness they were surrounded in, seemingly unsure whether to speak or not. But curiosity got the better of him. "The night of the pre-season party, it was your first time wasn't it?"

She looked at him puzzled. "What? No I was at last year's pre-season party too, remember? The Hufflepuff's hosted it and I got so drunk I vomited all over Scorp's new shirt. He wasn't impressed let me tell you."

Al shook his head and Ala could have sworn that he blushed, but then again it was dark. "No not the party Malfoy, what we did during the party" way to make things awkward. He thought sarcastically, but this was her turn to blush and she was so glad they were in the dark because she was sporting a very Weasley-ish bright red one. Oh god.

Well best to get this unpleasant thing over with, she thought. "How did you know?"

He smiled. "Ala I told you before, I know you, and I know you're not the slut people say you are, even if I did think it myself at one point. But I've never seen you snog anyone let alone do what people say you do. Well except with me of course but then again who can resist me?" He smiled showing off his set of perfectly white teeth. The prat.

Ala rolled her eyes. He was going to gloat about that for years to come and there was not a single thing she could do about it. "You're never going to let me live it down are you?" she sighed, not that she regretted anything, the opposite in fact. But that didn't mean Potter wasn't still an insufferable hog.

"You know me too well." He said edging closer, until he was beside her again. "Ala, you know you're sorting?" She looked at him puzzled, her sorting? Bloody hell, talk about changing the subject, not that she minded. At all.

"Eh, yeah? What about it?"

"It took a while for you to be sorted, I was just curious…" She couldn't help but laugh. "Of course you are, honestly only you of all people would remember such a trivial thing, but I'm guessing your real question is; why did it take so long or better yet, what other house had the hat considered for me."

She could feel him tense up slightly. Serves him right, the big nose Noddys friend. "Look if I'm over stepping just say so, you don't have too tell me anything I've just always wondered"

"Why? I don't get it. Does it matter that I almost ended up in another house? Would it have made any difference? Any difference to what we are or might be? No it wouldn't because I'm still who I am and your still who you are. The only thing it would change would be how people perceive me, and honestly I got over the harsh reality of being a Malfoy a long time ago."

"Look I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you or anything I just wanted to know. But it doesn't matter" she sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder again.

"Oh bloody hell if it really means that much too you I'll tell you, but if you dare even whisper it to another sole I swear you will be mince pie got it?"

He nodded. "It was Gryffindor okay? The hat seemed bloody intent on it too but I won in the end, thank god. Could you just imagine me in Gryffindor? Well less backstabbing I suppose but where's the fun in that?"

"Gryffindor?" she rolled her eyes. "No Potter, Hufflepuff, yes Gryffindor! Are you just slow today or something?"

"So you really could have been in Gryffindor, with me?" she rolled her eyes "Yes it is quite plausible that I could have ended up in Gryffindor, with you. Now it's your turn to answer my question."

"And what would that be?" he asked looking down at her while stroking her hair. "It would be the answer I didn't hear" he didn't stop stroking her hair, just shifted uncomfortably. "The night of the game?" he asked. "Yep"

"I think there would have been a chance, if we were different people, in another time and place but that got me thinking, even if we can't be together, together what's stopping us from being together? If no one were to know then we wouldn't be doing any harm would we?"

Her first thought was: he does like me! And then: is he for real? But then it came to her. There was no way they could have a normal girlfriend/boyfriend relationship, neither of them were as strong willed as Rose or Scorp, neither wanted to hurt their families. But they could however embark on a secret relationship.

"So basically we would be dating, but no one would know?" He nodded, seemingly quite pleased with himself for coming up with the idea. "Would we be exclusive? Or is it a no strings attached kind of thing?"

"I don't mind, but to keep people being suspicious we should probably do the no strings attached thing, so no one gets hurt, because even if we want it too, it can't last forever, unless of course we elope" and with that last remark that made the poor girls heart flutter like a giddy song bird, he kissed her lightly on the lips.

Hello! my dears :) i hope you liked the chapter :) (longest one yet!) so please review because i would love to hear what you think :) and feel free to make any sugestions that might come to mind :) Anyway as always thanks for reading :) ~Niamh xxx