The next few spring weeks were filled with joy and love, nibbling breakfast holding hands, eating at the lake by picnic for lunch, or eating by candle light for dinner. Now that Harry and Ginny had gotten together, there was basically no tension in the world. Rose and Draco were spending more time together than ever, as were Ginny and Harry—and that meant that Hermione and Ron were forced to spend some time together as well.
"Hey," Harry said to Rose and Ginny as they walked into the Gryffindor Common Room.
"Hey," they said together.
"Wher've you been?" Ron asked.
"We were—unfortunately—speaking to Romilda Vane. She was asking about you, Harry." Rose said.
"Yeah," agreed Ginny. "All these deaths and that's all she's concerned about. She asked me if you had any tattoos. I said you had one of a hippogriff on your chest, and that Ron had one of a pygmy puff on his shoulder." Ron gaped as everyone else laughed.
"That's horrible!" Ron said.
"No, no—it's funny." Rose said.
Ron sighed.
"Harry, can I borrow your invisibility cloak?" Rose asked.
"Sure," he said, handing it over.
"Thank you!" She said, grinning. She tucked it into her bag with one swoop and then turned back around to face her friends again. Then, there was a long awkward silence.
Suddenly, Hermione stood up and spoke expectantly. "Well, Ronald, you and I were—er—going to study, remember?" Hermione said, putting one hand on her hip. Ron blinked. Rose put her hand to her forehead, not believing he didn't know what she meant?
"What?"
"We—were—going—to—go—study." Hermione repeated. Ron blinked again, this time, looking even more confused. Hermione sighed and said, "We promised to go meet Seamus and Neville in the library. Don't you remember?"
"What? Oh, oh! Yeah, I remember." Ron, Hermione, and Rose headed out of the Common Room, but Rose paused at the door way to wink at Harry and then left.
"Alright, chaps," Rose said, picking up her book bag. "I have real places I need to get to. Feel free to come with me."
Ron and Hermione, having nothing else to do, followed Rose to the library, where she was supposed to meet Draco.
But a minute passed and he was late, which didn't seem like much. But then, five minutes… Then ten… then fifteen… and then thirty. And in only moments, Draco was an hour late already. Rose was pacing back and forth while Ron put his feet up and Hermione tried to catch his eye to ask if he was concerned.
"Is he coming or what?" Ron asked.
"Shut up, Ronald. Draco's just late, he'll show up. He's certainly just lost his pocket watch." Hermione said.
"That's funny… he's usually completely punctual." Rose said.
"I know… How do you say we go find him?" Hermione asked. Rose shrugged and they headed towards the door. "Ron? Aren't you coming?" He shook his head.
"Nope. Quidditch practice. I'll catch up with you later." Rose and Hermione left, not really sure where they were going.
"What about… Moaning Myrtle's bathroom?" Hermione asked. Rose gave out a loud laugh, although she didn't really feel it.
"No," she said, "he swore on his life that he'd never go back there again after what happened to us there." Hermione shrugged.
"Hm… how about the Slytherin Common Room?" Hermione suggested.
Just at that moment, Blaise Zambini passed by, on his merry way to Divination class.
"Blaise!" Rose cried. Blaise turned around and grinned at her.
"Ah, Rose! To what do I owe the pleasure?" Blaise replied. "Need something? Tired of someone? I can understand why you came straight to me, I mean, my father—"
"Blaise, have you seen Draco?" Rose asked. Blaise blinked and then put his hand to his chin, looking thoughtful.
"Uh… I don't think so. Not since this morning." He recalled
"Alright, well, thanks anyway…" Rose said. Blaise tipped his imaginary hat and left. "Well… Where does that leave us if nobody's seen him?"
"I don't know… we can look and look, but we won't find him—two girls aren't enough to search the grounds." Hermione said with a sigh.
"Well… we might as well go to Quidditch practice. Seeing as we can't—"
Somewhere else in the castle, there was a loud BOOM. The two jumped and turned around to see the stairs turning towards them. "What the—?"
Hermione and Rose jumped behind a plant as a storm of Death Eaters clambered down the stairs. "Hermione," Rose whispered. "Those are Death Eaters."
"No, Rose," Hermione said. "I thought they were unicorns."
Hermione and Rose watched as people in black cloaks trampled across the floor to another set of stairs, where the Astronomy Tower was. "That's the Astronomy Tower!" Rose cried. Hermione shushed her.
"Come on, follow me." Hermione said.
They crouched behind another plant—a withering tree-type thing—and waited for them to pass by. "Come on, after them." Rose and Hermione tiptoed quietly behind a group of men.
"Villz," one hissed, his voice was deep and soft as silky chocolate. "Is this really true? Is he going to kill him?" Rose stifled a gasp. Murder at Hogwarts?
One of the others gave a shrill laugh and said, in a high-pitched voice, "Look at the boys father, DeRoaco. What do you think that means?"
"I think," one said, her voice tingling with excitement, "that his father was a fine man. And hopefully, he'll finish the job… tonight."
"Caimie," the second one, Villz, laughed, "he's so young."
"And so ready," another voice said.
"I don't know, Teresa," another raspy, wheezy voice said in a hushed tone, "I think he's too young. He's only—"
"You know what I think?" a serpent-like voice hissed. It was soft like silk, yet high-pitched and scary. "I think, Biship, I think that you, Caimie, the DeRoacos, and Villz should keep quiet." The group they were hiding behind hung their heads in shame.
Rose and Hermione quietly padded up behind them, until they reached what Rose recognized as the Astronomy Tower.
"—you cannot kill me! You cannot have a murder on your conscience at only sixteen." Dumbledore said. Hermione grabbed Rose's arm tightly.
"Yes he can," Bellatrix said, daggering forward. "And he will."
And then she said:
"Do it… Now, Draco."