"A word, Miss Weasely, before you start the inquiry." It was an order, not a question. His voice was tight and strained and Rose complied not wanting to anger the man further.
They exited the room, Draco not giving Scorpius a second glance. She gave him a scathing look and he flinched, looking away to her satisfaction.
Once outside she waited for him to speak.
"You shouldn't have don't that Rose." He said his brows furrowing as he pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers.
His eyes were closed as he tried to calm himself, thinking of their next move.
"I'm sorry Mr. Malfoy, but I couldn't listen." She said hotly, her anger not having fully subsided.
"You have done well so far Miss Weasely; don't throw it all away because your emotions get in the way. You can't let them take over your mind. After all that I heard I would be upset too if I was in your position, but that doesn't mean it should dictate your future actions. You are quite lucky that Scorpius hasn't shut you out already. You don't know my son as well as I though you did, otherwise you would know not to push him this hard. Or you are choosing to ignore that knowledge. Whatever be the case, I advise you to calm yourself down, or this will crash and burn before you realize." He said.
At that moment she felt like a five year old being reprimanded for eating too much candy.
She now comprehended how she had almost destroyed all their hard work.
She wasn't impulsive, quite like her mother she worked through all the possible consequences before she carried out any action.
But being near him clouded her judgment as usual.
She took a deep breath to calm herself and forced herself to meet the man's eyes. They weren't harsh or cold like she had expected, but warm and full of gratitude.
They spoke the words he couldn't and she gave him a smile to say she understood.
"Don't let him get to you." He said before nodding at her and walking off.
She went back to the aurors office, dazed.
They had put together a team in her absence.
When she arrived Greene flashed a quick smile at her before briefing her about the questions that needed to be asked.
"Shall we go Miss Weasely?" one of the aurors asked and she got up, ready to get some answers.
"Look I'm telling you for the hundredth time, I don't remember anything." He said loudly, frustrated by the questions. It had been well over an hour since the interrogation had started and he had cooperated completely for most of it. Rose had begun with the introduction, but the aurors had taken over soon after.
She had stayed in the chamber, sitting quietly in a corner, hearing but not quite comprehending all that was being tossed around. She was trying to keep her emotions at bay, trying not to relive what had taken place in that very room just more than an hour ago.
But now it seemed like the questions were getting them nowhere so she tried stepping in.
It had been a constant loop, a vicious circle when they ended up asking the same questions over and over again.
His answers were always the same, and it was beginning to get on everyone's nerves.
When tempers were already spread thin it wasn't a great idea to let this continue. "Just think Scor, no pressure. What comes to your mind when you think of that day?" she interrupted softly.
He turned to her as she spoke and studied her for a while before answering.
"I just remember getting up as usual; I washed up, got ready for work. We had breakfast, June and I. Then she left for work, and then it's all a blank. The next thing I vaguely recollect is a lot of lights blinking and flashing all around me. Different colours, red, blue, green, every hue. Then I was dragged off to Azkaban." He said.
Everyone around them began taking notes furiously at his words.
"Ok. Is there anything else you can add Scorpius? Did you have any enemies? Anyone who would want to put you in this position?" she asked.
"No Rose, no one except you maybe." He said slowly, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly after he spoke. She didn't think it funny, not in the least.
"That's enough for today folks, let's clear out, and give him some room." Rose ordered and at once they obeyed.
She waited for everyone to leave before following.
"You've got the entire Auror department dancing to you tunes then Rose?" he said when she was almost out of the door. She stopped dead in her tracks, turning to face him.
She couldn't read him, and that was bothering her.
"Impressed Malfoy?" she asked raising her eye brow at him, and he smirked back.
"You didn't have to go through all this to impress me Rose, you should know that." He said now smiling.
She was extremely glad that he was feeling well enough to make jokes. If it had been any other topic she would probably have played along just to keep his spirits up.
But at the moment the magnitude of his words was weighing her down.
He probably hadn't realised what he had said. But to her the wound was still fresh, and this was like adding insult to injury.
The pain must have shown through her expression, as he immediately corrected himself.
"Wait Rose, I didn't mean anything by that. Just come in, two minutes." He pleaded. She relented, knowing that her day couldn't possibly get worse.
She didn't move any closer to him though, standing against the door she had just closed.
She looked at him, waiting for him to speak.
"Thank you." He said and she nodded, letting him know it wasn't an issue.
"After all that you've done, I'm sorry, what I said in the end, it was out of line." He apologized, and she nodded once again not trusting her voice.
Something about being near him rendered her incapable of speech, given all that had happened, especially in the last 24 hours.
He was not happy with the distance between them it seemed and he edged closer, taking small steps, waiting to see if she would run. When it was apparent that she had no intentions of leaving (only because her legs felt like they were glued to the floor) he moved so that he was right in front of her.
"I'm sorry." He said again.
This time the two words seemed to be apologizing for so much more than the present situation.
Her eyes closed at his words as she willed the tears not to fall, and he took one of her hands in his. She jumped at the contact, but didn't pull away.
"You have to understand Rosie, I love her." He said softly.
But I love you. She wanted to scream. Doesn't that matter? But she held it all in, like she had before.
Once again she nodded, her eyes still shut.
He sighed and she could feel his breath on her face.
That shook her back to reality, reminding her of that afternoon.
She pulled her hand away from his as if his touch had burnt her, and her eyes flashed open, meeting his silver orbs.
"Did you hear everything?" he asked, referring to the afternoon as well, his eyes piercing her.
"Yeah." She said voice thick with emotion.
He looked distressed and she took the opportunity to put a little distance between them.
"So you understand?" he asked sounding hopeful. "No Scorpius, I don't. But now isn't the time or place to discuss this. I have managed to convince them to hold you here instead of that foul place. So please don't break my trust." She said.
It was with great difficulty that she managed to prevent herself from adding an 'again' at the end of her sentence.
When he didn't reply she continued.
"Also you need to eat. We have given you everything you wanted, so you better do as I say. We'll come back tomorrow, so rack your brains and give us something more to work on." She said in a business like voice.
She was out of the room before he had a chance to say a word.
Once outside she again leaned against the wall for support.
It felt cool against her skin and she revelled in the sensation, trying to regain her bearings.
This time however Draco Malfoy escorted her away from the corridor. "You need to eat." He told her bluntly, repeating her words. He guided her straight to the cafeteria, not letting her protest.
Though it was late in the evening and she didn't even remember when her last meal had been she wasn't hungry.
To appease the stubborn man in front of her however she managed to swallow a few morsels of food.
"I take it you heard everything?" she asked him, beginning the conversation.
"Yes." He said simply, waiting for her to elaborate.
"I don't know what changed his mind about me." She confessed, it had been nagging all the while and she hoped he could provide answers.
"I think it's probably because you believe him. He knows you mean no harm and that you want to help." The senior Malfoy mused.
"Then why try to act friendly? He's barely been civil to me all these years…" she said, not satisfied with his reasoning.
"I don't know Rose. He's had a lot of free time on hand. He's not had any company; his only companion has been his memories. If a person has so much time to reflect, they come to strange conclusions at times. This might be one of them." He tried again, and she nodded slowly, mulling it over.
"If you are done we must get going, we have a long night ahead of us." He said rising from his chair. She was confused by his words, but didn't let it show as she followed his movements.
She was grateful for the ally in Draco Malfoy.
He was a powerful man given his name and status, and his contacts would certainly be a bonus.
She knew he would bend all rules backwards to rescue his son and she was glad to be useful.
Rose was also smart enough not to raise questions in public, so they slipped out of the ministry unseen and she knew that her evening had only just begun.
They were on borrowed time, half of which was already gone.
If they had to stick to the deadline she was willing to break as many laws as required.
Scorpius' words stung, but as everyone had been telling her she had to stay objective, keep a level head, not let emotions break out of their cage.
If she managed that, he would be free in no time, she was sure of that.
Hope the length makes up for the lateness? So sorry!
Thank you all sooooo much for the reviews, alerts and favs! Overwhelming response really :)
I know this has become extremely angsty and Rose-emotion centred... I'm working on rectifying that. Have most of the case mapped out, just need to find time to type it out.
Thanks again :)
Until Next Time! :)