Hello all! I was going to make you wait a bit longer for this one in attempt to space things out as the semester starts - sadly I won't have lots of time to write for the near future. But one of my all-time favorite fics was just updated today, and it's put me in a giving mood, so enjoy!

In the future, though, updates will be more spaced out. Sorry. I promise not to drop off the face of the Earth for a few months like last time, and I have a few more chapters written already, but I simply won't be able to keep up with the once a week schedule. I hope you won't be quite as upset, though, when I tell you about the new short spinoff fic (more like a series of related one-shots) I'll be publishing soon! I can't tell you who it features, because I want to get a little farther in the storyline or it may spoil things to come, but I can tell you that: 1) it will called "The Thorn in My Side" ; 2) it will be in the same universe as this fic, although it will focus on a different character (don't worry, Rose will still be there in the sidelines) ; 3) It will be short, probably just a chapter for each year, but it will feature some brand new material as well as some scenes that were hinted at in Thorns Have Roses but weren't directly written about.

So, let me know what you think in the reviews, about this chapter as well as the fic that is soon-to-come! You're more than welcome to speculate on who/what it will contain, though I won't confirm anything :) Enjoy lovelies

Disclaimer: No, I have not been transfigured into J.K. Rowling since the last time we talked about this - it would be fabulous if I had been, though, because then I could actually pay for medical school myself.

Chapter 21

Fourth Year, Part Three

For all that had happened before the start of term, the first few months of the Golden Trio's fourth year at Hogwarts went by the same as any other, academically speaking. Classes, interspersed with homework sessions, Quidditch practices, and trips to Hagrid's hut largely consumed their lives. There were a few key differences this year, however, the most obvious of which was that the Weasley students at Hogwarts never left Albus alone. Though all had agreed that Hogwarts would be the safest place for him while Harry and the others continued to track down whomever was responsible for the attack in Diagon Alley, it seemed that they had made some sort of secret pact to act as Albus's bodyguards, just in case. Lily and Hugo accompanied the Trio to Hagrid's every Friday, Fred and Louis traded off walking him to all his classes, Molly developed a sudden dedication to her studies and joined the three whenever they went to the library with her boyfriend Alexander Inglebee in tow, Lucy and Roxanne got in the habit of sitting at the Ravenclaw table for meals, and Dominique even followed them up to Ravenclaw Tower every night and sat with them until they went to sleep (for once, Rose was annoyed that their House common room was locked with riddles rather than passwords, as that meant her family members had unrestricted access to their living quarters – Dom hadn't been stumped by one of the eagle doorknocker's questions yet, bugger her). James even sat in on Ravenclaw's Quidditch practices, which their Captain Isabella Spinnet tolerated on the condition that he wouldn't leak any information about their tactics to the Gryffindor team. The shifts changed occasionally, even sometimes resulting in complete family reunions at the most inopportune moments, but the sentiment was always the same: Albus was in danger and needed constant protection. Though Rose grew quickly aggravated by their tactics, and their nonchalance when confronted about it, she appreciated what her relatives were trying to do and didn't argue too much. Scorpius just laughed it off. "Honestly, I can't see it doing much good, but if it makes them all feel better then why not? Dominique even asked me if I could tutor you, Albus and the younger ones in Defense Against the Dark Arts in case anything happens. I was just happy she finally stopped calling me 'Malfoy'."

Rose scoffed. "Just because you're top of the class doesn't mean Albus and I are that far behind you, at least in an academic sense. You can't teach talent." She briefly reconsidered, hand fingering the bottles of various curse and poison antidotes she'd brewed and taken to carrying in her robes at all times. "Lucy and Hugo could probably benefit from it, though."

"But not Roxanne and Lily?"

At this Rose burst into laughter. "Clearly you haven't spent enough time around my family, Scor. Try telling either one of them they need to get better at defending themselves and you'll never be safe again – they'd take turns hexing you in the halls until we graduate."

While Albus seemed to appreciate his family's efforts initially, and quietly tolerated them even after the constant supervision had become incredibly annoying, by the end of November it seemed he'd finally had enough. When James tried to follow him into the showers after an evening Quidditch practice, a week before their game against Hufflepuff, Albus lost it. "James, how is this helping? Do you really think there's some bloke hiding in the showers? Didn't our parents agree Hogwarts was safe enough without you lot stalking me everywhere? Besides, the note said 'your father's actions' – you could be just as much of a target!"

James smirked. "Well fortunately, I'm a year older than you are and better at taking care of myself."

"But what about Lily? She's two years younger than me, why aren't you following her day and night around the castle like some love-sick owl?"

"Because she's not the one who almost died!"

"James," Albus said, reaching for his older brother's shoulder. "I'm fine. I'll be fine. Between the added enchantments Dad put up, and Headmaster Goshawk and the other professors –"

"Al, you can complain as much as you'd like, as your brother I'm used to fighting with you, but we're not backing down on this until whoever cursed you is caught."

"Bloody hell, what makes you Gryffindors think you'll be able to single-handedly stop whatever Dark Wizard shows up? Rose and Scorpius were there last time, fat lot of good that did."

Rose felt her stomach drop, though she knew Albus didn't mean it that way.

After a few more insults from both sides, the argument ended, and though Albus was finally permitted to go into the showers alone, James made it clear that he'd be waiting for them at the edge of the Quidditch pitch. "I'm going to send Pear with a letter to Uncle George as soon as we get back to the castle," Albus growled. "My prattish brother is about to get a taste of all the Skiving Snackbox sweets that Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes has to offer."

During Potions that Friday, Rose decided to take out her frustrations by preparing twice the necessary amount of the Antidote to Uncommon Poisons – with Professor Rosier's permission, of course. After over three years of lessons with the Weasley girl, he knew she could more than hold her own when it came to brewing, and he'd grown used to her experimenting with recipes to make them more effective or easier to brew. In true Ravenclaw fashion, Rose often dealt with stress by channeling it into her classwork – over the past few years Potions had become her outlet for the week's anxieties, a challenging puzzle that kept her hands busy and mind occupied.

"We can increase the simmering temperature so that it won't take too much longer, but that means I'll need to double the amount of Billywig stings so they don't burn off…" she muttered to herself as she furiously chopped Chizpurfle carapaces.

"Is everythin' alrigh', Rose?" Charlie McLeod asked, hesitantly looking over her shoulder. Her Hufflepuff friend had become her Potions partner this year, as he often needed help in the subject and Albus and Scorpius were competent enough to take care of themselves.

"Fine," she said tersely, not daring to look up from her knife. "Everything is blooming brilliant."

"Rose I don't know wha's wrong, but this isn' like you."

"I said I'm fine," she snapped. "Sure, Uncle Harry sent us an owl this morning saying he's been unable to trace the wand signature on the cursed parchment which hurt Albus and they have no new leads, and sure, my family is being more ridiculous than usual, oh and of course Gregory Ollivander won't leave me alone, but I'm perkier than a Pepperup Potion, can't you tell?"

"Rose…"

The redhead heaved an exasperated sigh and looked up from the bench to make eye contact. "Charlie, I'm sorry, I know I'm not being very fair to you, going off like this." She continued to chop the ingredients furiously. "I just need to distract myself with this Potion for a while and then I'll be – MERLIN!" she cut herself off as the knife slipped, creating a deep gash in her palm. Charlie blanched and shouted "ROSE!" before scrambling to get the professor, overturning a stool in his haste to reach the front of the room. Albus and Scorpius rushed over to her from their bench, the former placing a hand comfortingly on her shoulder while the latter caught at her arm and tried to stem the flow of blood. The crimson liquid rushed furiously from Rose's wound, turning the crushed carapaces on the bench top into a thick paste. "Brilliant," she hissed between clenched teeth. "Now I'll have to start over with those."

"Rose," Scorpius admonished in a concerned tone, "you need to take better care-"

The dungeon door burst open with a loud crash. Louis rushed into the room, wand aloft, face set in a determined grimace that would have been comical if his appearance hadn't been so unexpected.

"Louis?" Albus cried. "What in the name of Merlin's saggy left-"

"Language, Mr. Potter," Professor Rosier chided as he strode to stand in front of the Trio. "Miss Weasley, please hold out your hand." Once the redhead had complied, he fixed the cut with a quick nonverbal healing spell.

"Louis, what are you doing here? Have you been waiting in the hall this entire time?" asked Albus.

The rest of the class stood still, enthralled with the drama that was unfolding in front of them.

Louis shrugged, unabashed. "I had a free period. Heard the commotion and thought there'd been another attack."

The other students buzzed at the word "attack," causing nervous twitters across the classroom.

"Mr. Weasley, you would do well to remember that we are all perfectly safe here at Hogwarts," said Professor Rosier as he straightened and returned to his desk at the front of the room. "It wouldn't do to go spreading such wild stories that have the potential to cause panic amongst the student body. As it is, I will have to take ten points from Gryffindor for causing such an unseemly commotion in my classroom. Now please, remove yourself from the dungeons before I feel the need to dock you further."

Louis knew better than to protest with the Professor, who hated Gryffindors almost as much as his predecessor, so he quickly left the dungeon without protest.

"And Miss Weasley?" Professor Rosier called as the students resumed their work. His face bent into a small smile, a rare display of affection that he reserved for the very few students he genuinely liked. "In the future, do try to be more careful. I'd say a single batch would more than suffice for today's lesson."

"Yes Professor," Rose said diffidently, with a slight nod before returning her gaze to her cauldron.

Before Albus and Scorpius returned to their bench, however, Rose heard her cousin whisper, "That's it. I'm starting to feel claustrophobic with all these Weasleys about, I can't take this much longer. We're going to visit Hagrid earlier than usual today, while Louis has lost our scent. Rose, send Circe to Hagrid after class, I'm fairly certain our family has been tracking Pear – Uncle George never replied to me about those Skiving Snackboxes. Tell him we'll be by to visit within a half hour, and not to tell Lily or Hugo."

Rose began to feel nauseous when she thought of leaving Albus's self-proclaimed bodyguards. Not one to act on emotion alone (she was a Ravenclaw, after all), she tried to trace the feeling to a logic-based origin. Was she worried that her family would grow increasingly worried when no one could find them? No, Hagrid's would be an obvious place for them to look – the Trio couldn't remain hidden there for long, though she didn't think that was really Al's intention anyway. He just needed some space for a few hours. Was she concerned that something would happen when the three of them were alone without any other family members present? This felt closer to the truth, though there was no rational reason for it. After all, they wouldn't be alone – they would be with Hagrid, and the only peril they were likely to face in his hut would be from chipping a tooth on one of his rock cakes or getting knocked to the ground by Saber as he jumped to smother them in canine kisses. She turned the question over in her head for a few more moments. Albus clearly needed some space from their overbearing family, and they would be perfectly safe with Hagrid. As to her apprehension, she remained silent, pushing all uneasiness to the corner of her mind. Instead, she heard herself saying: "Al, you know Hagrid won't mind if we drop in early. I don't want to go all the way to the Owlery and chance being caught."

Her cousin nodded, and that was the end of the matter. Albus and Scorpius went to their own bench, and all proceeded with their potions.

At the end of the period, Rose snuck a vial of the antidote she'd brewed into her pocket, where it clinked against the others. It never hurt to be prepared.