Chapter 44 – Dilemma
After the terrifying beginning, the rest of the day went smoothly. Rose found comfort in her father's obliviousness and instead watched him with relief, as he flourished with all the attention he was receiving. She watched as he took great delight in telling exaggerated accounts of his own experiences in the Second Wizarding War and the Battle of Hogwarts, of which Rose had heard repeatedly throughout her life. She was proud to be his daughter.
But no matter how much she tried to act relaxed and relieved with his ignorance, and lack of understanding of her and Scorpius' secret relationship, the anxiety came creeping in. She could not act comfortably around him, and settled for keeping her distance, keeping her eye fixed on him the whole time, with Albus at her side. Not that anybody knew, but there was always the fear that someone could let something slip that would lead to suspicions. Now that James was back on form, it was going to be increasingly difficult for him to hold his tongue. Lily too.
Back in the Slytherin Common Room, Scorpius was experiencing his own intense anxiety, yet his was a hundred times worse than Rose's. He'd forced himself to stay in the common room, vowing only to venture out when he had to go to classes. He needed to be as far away from Rose and Ron as possible.
It was alright for her – she was Ron's precious little girl, and she could walk away unmarked. But as for him, Scorpius would be lucky to live other day if he did, in fact, know. He'd heard of the things the Golden Trio had achieved. Ron was even on a chocolate frog card. He would be perfectly capable of obliterating Scorpius with a simple flick of his wand.
With no news and nothing to do, he set about pacing the common room, twitchily alternating between wringing his hands together, stuffing them into his pockets, and running them through his hair. Was it safe to venture out? Did Ron know? Had he confronted Rose? Was he yelling at her? Punishing her? Forbidding her to ever return to Hogwarts?
Something sparked within Scorpius' chest, causing him to stop abruptly, and glare at the door. How could he just stand around and let Rose face it all by herself? If she was being yelled at then he wanted to be by her side, defending her and begging for Ron to try and understand. He didn't want to be acting like a coward by hiding on the other side of the school. If only he had the courage of a Gryffindor.
Sighing heavily, the small fire of bravery that had been ignited within the Slytherin boy was quickly extinguished. If he were to burst into the Great Hall, or wherever it was that Ron and Rose currently were, then suspicions would definitely be provoked. There was a slither of a chance that Ron didn't actually know, and was only visiting to celebrate Victory Day with his children. And if that were the case, then to rush to Rose's defence was only going to activate the very thing he feared would happen.
Feeling defeated, he slumped down into the nearest armchair, burying his head into his hands and clawing at his hair. He was completely torn. Was he making things worse by cowering away, or would he make things worse by running headfirst into the battle?
All Scorpius wanted was a sign, a message. If only Al or Rose were to knock on the door and let him know what was going on...
"You alright, Blondie?" a curious voice piped up from somewhere in front of him. Cautiously lifting his head from his hands, Scorpius found himself looking at a cluster of confused faces.
Unsure of who had addressed him, he merely asked, "what?"
"I asked if you were alright." The voice was neither warm nor harsh, but rather mutual. And the words had come from the lips of a fairly short girl, with hair such a vibrant violet that it actually hurt his eyes to look at it for too long.
"Don't call me Blondie," Scorpius replied irritably. Jinx scoffed in response. "Did you do something different with your nose?" he asked jokingly.
She rolled her eyes at him. "Why are you sat moping around in the common room? It's Victory Day, you idiot – parties all around!"
If it had been anybody but Jinx calling him an idiot, then Scorpius would have been furious. But the Metamorphmagus hadn't gained the nickname for no reason – get on the wrong side of her and you were asking for at least a week in the hospital wing. He had adapted to her viciously charming personality. All Slytherins had their quirks.
"Just stressed about... homework," he said offhandedly, rising from the armchair. From amongst the group, Ebony smiled at him sweetly, though he was still too uneasy to return it.
Jinx snorted at him. "It's Victory Day, Scorpius – nobody gives a damn about the homework! Don't spoil my happy mood by being miserable and whiny!" she threatened.
Scorpius was startled by the brief flicker of red her eyes had turned during her demand. Albireo slipped his hand into hers, and Jinx was temporarily distracted from her mock anger at Scorpius' disinterest in the celebrations. Scorpius was grateful for his roommate's intervention, but seeing the way Jinx looked into his eyes made him long for Rose. And suddenly the fear and uncertainty of what was going on had returned with a vicious jolt.
"We're going for breakfast," Jinx announced happily, skipping to the door with Albireo in tow. The rest of the Slytherins followed her lead, though with less enthusiasm. Scorpius hesitated, as he watched them make their way over. The group consisted of Jinx, Albireo, Melody, Marissa, Deneb, and Ebony, with the latter stopping in her tracks as she noticed Scorpius hadn't taken a step.
"You're not coming with us?" she asked, almost a little disappointed.
Scorpius felt guilty. "I'm just not really that hungry," he pitifully tried to explain. The rest of the group had stopped, as they realised Ebony had.
"What's the holdup?" Jinx shrieked from the doorway, clearly growing impatient.
"Please just come with us," Ebony pleaded. Scorpius knew he had to make a quick decision – keeping Jinx waiting was strongly advised against.
The twins were peering at him curiously, and Deneb merely looked bored with the whole affair. But the gleam of disappointment in Ebony's bright eyes was what made him decide. And besides, Victory Day always offered a particularly exquisite banquet, which he'd be a fool to miss. Walking out the door with his fellow Slytherins, Scorpius wondered what lay ahead, and prepared himself for the worst.
The group unintentionally broke apart as they strolled through the corridors, with Jinx and Albireo tearing along ahead, Deneb strolling along leisurely with Melody and Marissa on either side, leaving Ebony to fall behind and match Scorpius' own deliberately sluggish pace.
"What's really going on?" she asked assertively.
Scorpius struggled to think of another lie to tell her. "Victory Day isn't that big a deal," he shrugged. "I just see it as another normal day. Nothing to get too excited about." The words flowed easily and with such confidence that Scorpius was momentarily impressed by his own conviction.
Ebony, however, wasn't buying it. "You're not a natural liar, Scorpius," She told him bluntly.
"Why would I lie?"
She sighed. "Okay, fine. I've no doubt that what you say is true, I'm just not convinced that you're telling us the whole truth."
Scorpius couldn't argue with that. "We all have secrets." His eyes had glazed over with seriousness, and his tone was dark. Ebony didn't attempt to press him further.
Scorpius was satisfied, as they continued their walk in silence. Everybody in Slytherin had a secret so dark that they couldn't even confide in other Slytherins. It was this inner darkness that bound them together. All the secrets and silence made them who they were.
Scorpius had no clue what Ebony's secret was, but her defeat was a sign enough that his words had rung true for her. As for himself, he tried not to dwell on the fact that his dark secret was his girlfriend.
The more he thought about it, the more Scorpius realised all the other sinister things he had to conceal. His family's dark past, although that wasn't strictly secretive. The fact that he'd been administering an unauthorised potion to a fellow student for three whole years since the age of eleven. And, of course, the fact that he was now hopelessly in love with her.
All thoughts were cast aside as they finally approached the doors to the Great Hall. Scorpius' head immediately whipped around in the direction of the Gryffindor table, in search of Rose or any sign of danger. Instead, he found himself face to face with Albus Potter.
Albus clutched at his sleeve, unceremoniously dragging him away from the crowd of entering students. Ebony faltered as she watched them suspiciously, but giving up almost immediately, she allowed herself to be pulled along in the crowd, and made her way to the table without Scorpius.
"Everything's fine," Albus told him quickly, before Scorpius could so much as open his mouth.
"Everything's fine?" Scorpius breathed, disbelievingly.
"All clear," Albus confirmed.
"But Ron –"
"He's only here for Victory Day, just like you suggested. He doesn't have a clue about anything. Just look at him."
Albus nodded towards the high table at the front of the hall where the professors sat for feasts. Though this time, two others were sat to the left of Professor Bobbin. Scorpius immediately identified them as Al's dad, and Rose's dad. Ron Weasley seemed delighted, and was actively engaged in a conversation with his brother-in-law. That was not the face of a man who had just discovered his daughter was dating his enemy's son.
All the fear drained from Scorpius' body, as he realised all their panic and worrying was purely paranoia. Finally stealing a glance at the Gryffindor table, his eyes were immediately drawn to Rose. He felt his cheeks flush with colour, as she aimed a subtle wink at him. For now, their secret was still safe.
