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A certain captivating sparkle could always be found in the big blue eyes of Rose Weasley. And every time Scorpius Malfoy saw this certain shine in her eyes, he remembered all the reasons why he loved her so dearly. So, it was to little surprise when he felt his heart throb pleasantly as he watched the beautiful girl throw her head back and laugh, the sparkle present in her innocent orbs.
Rose giggled lightly after Quinn made a joke about Chandler Goldstein, her cheeks flushed as she held her stomach. "Oh, how terrible of me," the witch scolded herself for laughing at her fellow Ravenclaw, though a small chuckle escaped her after. Just then Scorpius grabbed Rose's attention as he told her how they should get going to class, and the girl nodded with the smile remaining on her face. The couple waved a goodbye to Quinn, Luciano and Zoee, having had breakfast at the Slytherin table that morning.
A small hand reached up and grabbed a large pale one, and Scorpius smiled down at Rose, loving the feel of her hand in his. The pair had just exited the Great Hall when they heard someone yell from behind them. "Miss Weasley," Headmistress McGonagall said loudly, causing the two to turn to her. When the couple was a few feet from her, she spoke again in a slightly hushed tone. "Miss Weasley, I am going to have to insist that you come with me right away."
Panic suddenly filled the witch, and she felt Scorpius' hand grip hers tighter. "I have Herbology right now," Rose informed her mentor, but Minerva simply shook her head. "Okay," the Ravenclaw nodded. "Is something wrong?"
The elder witch simply said nothing as she motioned for the girl to follow her, "we should get to my office right away." And when the Headmistress saw Scorpius come along with Rose too, she paused, seeming to think. "Yes, Mister Malfoy, I suppose it would be alright if you came along."
The trio then made their way down the long halls, led by a witch that seemed incredibly fast for her old age, as several students stared at them as they passed. Scorpius felt Rose's hand begin to shake as they got closer and closer to the woman's office, and he looked to find her biting her bottom lip furiously. The wizard bent down and kissed the top of her head, whispering to her, "everything's alright, love."
Minerva didn't miss the small, yet extraordinarily revealing exchange, and she worked to hide her small smile. "Fizzy Wizzy," the woman supplied when they reached her office, and the three of them slowly climbed the twirling staircase. Rose felt her stomach in knots, unsure of why the Headmistress was being so vague and uninformative. "Here we are," Minerva said as she opened the door to her office and led the couple inside.
Sitting in two of the three chairs in front of the large desk was the last people Rose was expecting to see. Hearing the door close, Ron Weasley and Harry Potter turned to face the new guests. Scorpius instantly noticed the grim looks the two men bore, and he swallowed hard, not liking where the situation was going. "What's going on," Rose said instantly, not bothering to greet her family as the anxiety she felt bit into her.
The older witch went and sat behind her desk, folding her hands on the wood surface. "Perhaps you should sit down, Rose," Minerva said, now on a first name basis with the girl. Looking to her dad and uncle one last time, Rose nodded and sat in the chair next to her father, sitting holding Scorpius' hand as he stood next to her, instead of taking the chair that had been added for him.
"Could someone please tell me what has happened," Rose said, not a fool to the morbidness that filled the air of the room. When no one spoke, Scorpius looked to Rose's father and uncle, trying to read their expressions.
Finally, with a sigh, Harry stood and went to rest against Minerva's desk in front of his niece. "Rosie, someone had died," the man said in a worried voice, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose with a single finger. The small girl gasped, and brought her free hand up to cover her mouth. Rose then began stuttering and asking questions, but her uncle simply held up a hand. "You didn't know him," Harry said, and though Rose knew that statement was probably supposed to calm her, it didn't. The witch looked next to her and found her father staring at the ground with an unreadable face, though he clenched his hand together in his lap.
With another great sigh, Harry launched into an explanation. "Rosie, do you remember how a couple weeks back the Daily Prophet wrote an article about the wizard who had been attacking people." The witch nodded, and Scorpius squeezed her hand, not liking where the conversation was going. "Well, the man has killed another person. The victim's name was Tristan Rochelle, and he had worked for the Auror Department for seven years. He went to school with Teddy, and was one of the department's best.
"Tristan was the leading Auror on the case for the man. Yesterday, Tristan was found killed in his home; surrounded by flower petals like the rest of the victims. But this time the wizard left something behind… he left a note." Everyone in the room watched as Rose let out a shaky breath, nodding her head slowly as tears filled her eyes. "Now, Rosie, this is why we are talking to you," Harry said as he reached into his pocket. "This is a copy of the note," the black haired man stated as he handed the parchment over to his goddaughter. Ron made a face as he watched his best mate pass the letter to his daughter, and Scorpius could tell it was not his idea to visit the castle.
Rose's blue eyes looked down to read the note, and suddenly every trace of the sparkle she held was gone. Scorpius looked down and read the letter too. 'To my dearest rose, your silly father and his men can't save you now. Here is my present to you… enjoy. We will be meeting sooner than you think.' The tears that had been collecting in her eyes finally fell, and left a silvery trail down her rosy cheeks.
"Rosie, does this mean anything to you," Harry asked in a soft tone. The auburn haired girl simply shook her head, silent tears endlessly falling from her sad blue eyes. The man then knelt on the floor in front of her, placing himself in the line of her vision. "Sweetheart, I know this might be hard for you, but it is very important that you tell me anything you know so we can catch this man. Just tell me, do you know what this means?"
When Rose began shaking her head again, Scorpius spoke up for the first time. "Tell them," he said fiercely, grabbing both Ron and Harry's attention. "Rose, just tell them-"
But Rose cut him off as she yanked her hand from his and turned to him suddenly. "Stop," she whispered, and when he spoke again, she lost herself. "Stop! You promised me that you wouldn't tell anyone! You swore to it." Rose cried out, her words forming into sobs that broke everyone's heart.
"What is he talking about," Ron asked for the first time, his voice loud and hard. Yet his daughter did nothing but simply continue to sob into her hands. "Rose Blaire Weasley, tell me this instant!" Harry shot a hard glare to Ron, knowing Rose didn't respond well to being reprimanded.
Finally it seems that Scorpius couldn't take the silence any longer. Reaching into his pocket he grabbed the note that he had secretly taken from Rose just a few nights ago when she received it. "That bastard has been sending Rose letters for awhile now," Scorpius said sternly, feeling bad for betraying Rose, yet he knew it was the right thing to do. "Two nights ago he sent her this," the Slytherin said, handing the note over to Harry, looking down to find that Rose just cried harder, bringing herself to hysterics.
Scorpius bent down in front of her chair as Harry read the letter, feeling his heart break in two as he confronted the crying girl. "Rosie," he said as he placed his hands on her shoulders, but the witch just took her hands and shoved him away weakly. The push didn't do anything, and Rose looked into Scorpius' grey eyes as he spoke gently to her. "Love, they needed to know. You can't keep hiding these things! Don't you want to help stop this man from hurting anyone else?"
"I do want to help," Rose finally said like a small child, her breathing hard and erratic as she tried hopelessly to calm herself. "But everyone will be afraid of me again!" The girl finally gave in and allowed Scorpius to wrap his arms around her and press her closely to his chest. Rose gripped at his shirt tightly, and sobbed into his neck, wishing to be far away from here she was.
Harry looked to the girl as he handed the note over to Ron for him to read it, not understanding Rose. "What do you mean everyone will be afraid of you?"
"When he took me the first time everyone treated me like I was a different person, and everyone was so scared." The girl's words were mumbled when she spoke into Scorpius' neck as he rocked her back and forth.
Ron looked up when he finished reading the note, "wait, you think this is the same pervert that kidnapped you?" His voice was booming and authoritative, and Scorpius felt Rose nodded as she tried to snuggled herself even farther into his embrace. The wizard pressed a kiss onto her temple, calming her in a way that no one else could. The two older men shared a look, and suddenly it seemed as if everything came together for them. "How long has this fucker been contacting you," Ron yelled at his daughter, his fist crumpling the letter he held in a similar manner to when Scorpius had it nights ago.
"Ron, stop," Harry commanded, placing a hand on his brother-in-law's shoulder, calming him down slightly. The black haired man took a step forward and bent down to Rose again, rubbing a hand up and down her back as Scorpius continued to hold her. "Rosie, you need to tell us how long you've been getting letters from this man."
With a great sigh, the witch peeked her head from her safe spot and looked to her uncle with doe eyes. "Since the end of last school year." Harry's green eyes went large, though he quickly covered up all emotions from Rose.
"What," Ron yelled from a few feet away, blowing up in the way Harry feared he would. "This killer has been contacting you for almost a entire bloody year and you are just now getting enough common sense to tell us. What is wrong with you," the man yelled, his face red as he ran a hand through his ginger hair.
Harry stood again and yanked Ron away, whispering something to him in a hushed voice. The men talked for a minute, and when they were done, Ron seemed calmer as he crossed his arms over his chest and sat back in his chair, Harry returned to the couple and spoke kindly. "Rosie, how many letters do you think he has sent you?" Rose mumbled out the number 'ten' and Ron huffed, though he didn't say anything. "Okay," Harry said calmly, "do you have any of those letters still?" Rose shook her head, and grabbed Scorpius' hand, causing him to stroke his thumb back and forth. "One last question, does anyone know about this except you and Scorpius?"
"No," Rose said quietly as she sniffed, and rubbed her cheek against Scorpius' beard. "I've only told him," her gentle voice spoke, causing Scorpius to feel slightly pleased by her answer.
Harry nodded and smiled at Rose, "alright, thank you so much, Rosie. You've done wonderfully. Now, you have absolutely nothing to worry about, you have helped us immensely, and this man will be caught in no time." The witch nodded and allowed her uncle to kiss the top of her head briefly before he stood and went to talk to Minerva, who had stayed silent through the entire ordeal.
Scorpius reached down and stroked Rose's cheek, wiping her tears from her, highly aware of Ron's eyes burning into him. Bending down, he kissed her forehead several times and squeezed her tight. "You were so brave, little one. I'm so proud of you," Scorpius revealed, causing Rose to smiled softly at him and place her head back on his chest. The witch felt as if she was suddenly drained of all energy, and was horribly sleepy as she inhaled Scorpius' delicious spicy scent.
"Mister Malfoy," Minerva suddenly grabbed Scorpius' attention. "If Miss Weasley would like, you can bring her back to her dorm. I will be there soon with some draughts for her." Scorpius nodded and bent down to ask Rose if she wanted to go to her room. The small witch nodded, but made no move to get up.
A small smirk found Scorpius when she simply snuggled into his chest, as he grabbed her and picked her up effortlessly, holding her lightweight easily. "Wait," Rose said just when Scorpius was about to exit the door. The witch turned her neck and looked to her father with a weak smile, "I love you." The man's blue eyes softened instantly, and he said the three words back to her without any hesitation.
Several hours later, just after the sun had set and the stars had come out, a sweet sigh escaped the witch that had felt almost every emotion possible in the past day. Scorpius looked down when Rose made the small noise, as he held her sleeping form in his arms. The man smiled when he found his beauty soundly drowsing, with her lips turned up to form the smallest of smiles.
Rose had been asleep for a couple of hours, after having took her draughts that were hand delivered by the Headmistress. Scorpius gladly held her and allowed her to use his body to calm herself as she drifted off into a peaceful slumber. The wizard was reading his Transfiguration textbook, as he had a test the following day in that class. Every time the which made a noise or shifted in her sleep, worry filled the man, but it quickly passed when he looked down to find her undisturbed. Scorpius felt at peace being able to hold the angel in his arms and being the one to protect her.
Though just when seven o'clock tolled, the witch awoke slowly, the tiny smile on her face replaced with a frown. Scorpius was unaware that his witch had awoken, and was highly surprised when her voice suddenly sounded. "It's my fault he's dead," Rose mumbled out, her fingers tracing shapes on the smooth skin of Scorpius' throat.
Just as Scorpius got over his shock, when he was about to speak, Rose cut him off. "I am the reason a man is dead." Scorpius was shocked by how much guilt could be heard in the words, and he instantly knew how Rose must be blaming herself for the whole incident.
"No," the man said after a moment of silence. "None of this is your fault." When Rose tried to argue with him, he cut her off this time. "Rose, tell me, did you kill that man yourself?" The witch instantly shook her head, and Scorpius went on. "Did you want that man to die?" Another shaking of her head. "Did you help someone kill him?" Rose shook her head yet again. "Then, please explain to me how any of this if your fault… Rosie, you didn't ask to be kidnapped years ago. You didn't ask to be stalked and followed. And you certain didn't ask that man to kill an innocent person."
Rose stayed silent, listening to Scorpius' words, feeling his heartbeat. "I don't want you, for even a second, to think that any of this is your fault, because it is not! You cannot blame yourself for any of this, and I won't let you." With a sigh Scorpius grabbed Rose chin and forced her to look up to him. The wizard felt a sadness weigh on him when he saw the tears in Rose's eyes, watching a single one drip down her face. "I know all of this is scary and frightening, but I am by your side, and I am not going anywhere. So stop worrying that pretty little head of yours, and just trust me." Scorpius brought one of his hands up and wiped the tear from her face, kissing the spot it had been.
"I do trust you," Rose said completely honestly. "I've trusted you completely since the moment you saved me from the old man in the alley that afternoon in Hogsmeade months ago. And I have never stopped trusting you."
Scorpius smiled down at Rose as his hand stroked her cheek, admiring how her beauty radiated off her like rays of sun. The man tilted her head as he leaned down and kissed her wholly for a long few moments, enjoying the sweet taste of her tongue. "I love you, my little Rose," Scorpius said gently, as he brought his lips back down to hers.
