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Standing on her tippy toes, a pair of pouty pink lips reached forward and pressed a lingering kiss to a bearded cheek. Blue eyes were wide as she pulled back, small hands still wrapped around a muscled waist. "Enjoy your lesson," a light voice said jokingly, a smile on the same pair of pretty lips. "I expect at least four facts that you learned about Transfiguration after."
Scorpius smiled back down at the beauteous girl, his hands loosely resting against her throat. "I'm sure I won't be learning anything you didn't already know ages ago." Rose scrunched up her nose and made a face at the blonde man, not wishing to part with him, though the thought was silly. A hand came up and slender fingers adjusted the green and silver tie around his neck, and Scorpius smiled, as he was sure it wasn't crooked in the first place. "I'll see you in two hours, alright," Scorpius said, and Rose nodded, biting her lip.
For some peculiar reason, the witch had a nagging feeling in the back of her head, telling her that she shouldn't part with her boyfriend. However the thought was purely ridiculous instinct, and Rose knew she had nothing to worry about; the castle was safe, and there was Aurors guarding the place. So, with a smile, she bid him a goodbye and good class, watching as he turned and walked the few steps into Professor Margaret Squibbert's classroom.
A loud bell tolled through the castle, marking the start of a new subject. The witch turned on her heel and started humming lightly as she made her way around the winding corridors, not having a class to go to at that time. Her hands came together in front of her and played with each other, twisting and moving unconsciously. The sweet humming continued, bouncing off the walls of the halls as she moved on absentmindedly, not particularly sure where she was going.
Minutes later the witch decided a trip to the library would be nice, and she walked on the balls of her feet as she made her way. Rose was only a couple hundred steps away from her destination when she heard a voice call to her. "Rose," a familiar voice shouted. The Ravenclaw was highly surprised when she looked behind her and found her cousin standing a couple feet away, perplexed when he didn't call her by her nickname like he always did.
"Al," the witch said softly, in a confused voice. "What are you doing here? You're suppose to be in Transfiguration, with Scorpius." Thinking back, Rose could have sworn she saw her inky haired cousin walk into the class just before her boyfriend did. "Did you leave class," she questioned when Albus said nothing. "You can't keep skipping your courses, you'll surely get reprimanded for it soon."
But her cousin simply stood there, blinking slowly and looking at her like he hadn't seen her in years. Rose was just about to speak again when he finally said something to her. "Come with me, I have something you need to see, Rose." Puzzlement filled the girl, but she simply nodded to the strange acting boy, unsure of his odd behavior.
The witch walked forward to him, standing by his side as he led her somewhere. "Albus, what's wrong? Are you alright," Rose asked, concern thick in her voice. Green eyes side glanced at the small girl, and with a single curt nod he looked back forward. Rose was slightly shocked when Albus slowly reached out and grabbed her hand, holding her small fist in his large one. Worry for her cousin pulsed through her, she knew something was wrong with him, but she couldn't figure out what.
With her hand in his, the Gryffindor led Rose out the front doors of the school, trailing onto the grassy fields of the school. Rose knew that they would without question get in trouble if they were found, and she could see the five Aurors guarding different places of the school, all looking at the couple with curious eyes. The nagging voice in her head was now louder, and it was screaming for her to go back to Scorpius, but she ignored it, knowing she was safe with Albus.
The wizard continued walking on, bringing her farther out on the empty field, a cool breeze blowing around them. Rose could feel eyes on her, and she knew the Aurors were watching them. "Albus, why are were here," Rose asked, her tone holding a slight bite to it. The wizard turned on her fast when she yanked her hand out of his after he remained silent. Albus simply stood, breathing loudly as his emerald eyes stared at her.
"Oi," a voice hollered, and the couple looked to find a young woman walking towards them fast, wearing a crisp set of Auror robes. "What on Earth are you two doing out here?" Two more men walked up behind, hard looks on their faces as they observed the couple suspiciously.
Rose was stunned as Albus suddenly whipped his wand out and stepped in front of her when the woman was a few feet away from them. "Albus," Rose said, appalled by his actions. "What are you doing-" though her question was cut off when Albus ignored her and yelled to the officials.
"Stay away," Albus called out, causing all three of the Aurors to immediately stop where they were, listening to the demand as they froze. "Don't come any closer, or I'll kill you!" Rose gasped loudly, bringing a hand to cover her mouth when she heard the evil words that Albus spat out. The witch grabbed his arm and was about to tell him to calm down when Albus looked over his shoulder and sent her such a mean look, she released him and she stumbled back a few steps.
Her white teeth sunk into her bottom lip to keep herself from crying out, biting so hard it drew blood. Rose felt her heart beat dangerously in her chest, as she tried to think of a way to calm her cousin. Yet her head was a mess of nerves, like it always became during hard situations. It seemed as if all thoughts flew from her mind, rendering her paralyzed.
Looking back to the officials, Albus' hand held his wand up high, not shaking in the least. The woman nodded slowly, her eyes glued to the man as her partners looked to Rose where she hid behind her cousin. "Alright, Potter," the witch said, recognizing the two students, as they were the famous war heroes' children… most everyone knew them. "What are you doing out here," she asked again, her voice loud and demanding, yet it didn't have nearly the same effect on Albus as it did on Rose.
The small witch shivered in fear and confusion from her spot blocked by the wizard. Thoughts raced through her head as she tried to think, but failed miserably as she always did in a time of panic. Rose looked back to the Aurors when she heard someone gasp, and found looks of distress on the faces of the people as they stared at Albus. Disorientated, Rose looked to her cousin, and panic immediately filled her when she found him changing in front of her eyes.
Thick black hair slowly morphed into thin greying dirty blonde hair. An average, slightly muscled body turned into a tall, slender one. And as Rose stepped to the side of the altering body, she watched as a youthful, handsome face transformed into an older, plain one. Her mind was blank, completely overtaken by shock and disorientation. Her mind screamed at her to move, do anything. But she couldn't.
"Don't move," the man yelled as he held up his wand when the Auror's recovered from their shock and stepped forward. Rose felt her breath freeze in her chest the moment she heard the voice, the same voice she had replayed in her head for years… the voice of her nightmares. And her head begged for her to do anything, to run or hide, but her body only stood there and trembled in fear. Everything she had prayed for not to happen was unfolding in front of her eyes, and Rose screamed at herself from inside her disabled body.
The woman held her hands up in a sign of peace, though the two men behind her were now holding their wands. The witch was still trying to recuperate from her astoundment when all hell suddenly broke loose. Just as the man reached back to grab onto Rose, one of the Aurors made a move and shot a spell at the man. The woman then yelled to the witch in an urging voice, "move, Miss Weasley!" But it was too late. He was too fast.
In the blink of an eye, the man had blocked the spell with a simple move, and turned to Rose. The witch felt her chest convulse painfully tight, as she got a good look at the man. Though the face was slightly older, more wrinkles in place, it was perfectly recognizable. The man in front of her was the same man who had kidnapped her all those years ago. Rose let out a cry as she brought a hand to cover her mouth, reacting too late when the man suddenly dived forward and grabbed ahold of her.
A small scream of surprise escaped Rose as she found strong arms wrapped around her, holding her petite body to his larger one. The witch thrashed and struggled, but the grip on her was as tight as iron. Rose kicked and yelled and pulled, but nothing worked. All three of the Aurors were now pointing their wands to the man, as the other two approached fast. Just as the woman drew her wand back, the man spoke up, his voice taunting and mocking. "Happy hunting," a cruel and twisted laugh escaped the man.
Rose let out a desperate, piercing scream as she felt herself being apparated away just a split second before the blue light of a spell reached them. "NO!"
The bottom of a expensive feather quill tapped against the hard top of a table, the pale fingers that held it long and tough. Scorpius listened to Professor Squibbert as she talked on about the importance of proper wand position when casting any Transfiguration spell, not particularly interested.
The wizard looked up from his parchment when he heard his professor's voice suddenly pause, and one of his blonde eyebrows shot up when he saw Headmistress hurry in. The elder witch went up to Margaret Squibbert and harshly whispered something in her ear, causing the woman to look to her with horror plainly written on her face.
All of the students were now watching the two women, highly intrigued. Scorpius couldn't help but not feel surprised when McGonagall looked to Potter suddenly. "Mister Potter, I will be needing you immediately." All eyes turned on the black haired wizard and he shared a peculiar look with Frank Longbottom, who sat next to him. The wizard nodded and grabbed his books, shoving them into his bag as he stood and made his way out of the class with the Headmistress.
Professor Squibbert, who looked highly shaken up and nervous, stuttered as she grabbed her classes attention again and tried to continue on with the last twenty minutes of her lesson, though it proved to be highly difficult as the class was now interested and riled up.
Somewhere off in the castle, Albus and Minerva were already halfway to her office, taking hurried steps down the corridors. "I don't mean to be rude, Headmistress, but would you mind telling me what I've done this time," Albus jested, confused by the witch's urgent behavior.
"This is no time for jokes, Mister Potter," the Headmistress said seriously, supplying the password to her office, which they had reached in no time. Albus frowned deeply, a concern starting to fill him. The man full on panicked when the couple walked into the Headmistress' office and found it filled with several people. There was five disoriented looking Aurors, but the most concerning part was when Albus spotted his father and Uncle Ron, both dressed in their work clothes.
The young wizard rudely pushed past the Aurors to get to his family, "dad, what is going on?" Harry and Ron both turned to find Albus, and the looks of worry deepened on their face.
"I'm not sure," Harry said slowly and apprehensively as the room quieted down, everyone's eyes looking to the Headmistress. The woman took a deep breath as she went to sit in a chair behind her desk, her knees weak and agitated from having had ran through the halls of her school.
A hand came up and pinched the bridge of her nose, as the grey haired woman spoke to the only female Auror in the group of five. "Miss Ripoll, I would appreciate it if you could repeat to Mister Weasley and Mister Potter what you just told me."
The woman with cropped brown hair nodded frantically as she swallowed fast and looked to her boss, a hard look on his freckled face. "The five of us," the woman said in a shaking voice, motioning to her partners. "We were at our stations outside the front of the castle, about ten minutes ago, when we spotted Miss Weasley and Mister Potter exit out the front doors of the castle and walk out onto the fields-"
Albus suddenly interrupted the woman, speaking loudly by his father's side. "That's a lie! I was in Transfiguration class, you can ask anyone," the man yelled defensively. His father sighed and rested a hand on his shoulder, trying uselessly to calm his erratic son. Harry told Albus to let the witch explain herself, and he crossed his arms over his chest with a huff.
Miss Ripoll nodded, brushing short hair behind her ear as she continued. "We watched from our spots as the two of them walked far out, and I approached them after a minute when they started talking, with Greenberg and Dwyer following me." The mentioned men nodded, confirming the story. "When we reached them Mister Potter turned on us and began acting hostile. He pointed his wand at us and told us to stay away from him, or else he would kill us."
Albus went to speak again and defend himself, but a hard look from his father stopped him. "And a minute later Mister Potter transformed into another man right before our eyes, someone I didn't recognize. We all were armed but when we tried fighting, the man disappeared a moment later." Harry, Ron, and Albus all stared at the witch with indifferent looks, but all of them shared puzzlement. With a deep breath, Miss Ripoll closed her eyes and gave the men the last piece of information. "And… he took Miss Weasley."
"WHAT?!" The redheaded man exploded, and for once Harry didn't bother to try and calm his best mate, as he was too stunned to even move. Panic, fear, dread, anger, disbelief, pain, horror, fury. Ron felt all of the emotions fill him at once, sending him reeling. "You're telling me some of my own men stood by and watched as a man kidnapped my own daughter," Ron shouted, the five Aurors shrinking back as their boss reprimanded them. "You all were trained to fight off the most skilled and dangerous dark wizards, and you thought to do nothing at all as a fucking bastard stole my daughter?"
The entire room jumped back when the man grabbed one of the chairs nearest to him and picked it up, whipping it across the room with all his strength. The fireplace exploded with a small burst of fire just then, and Hermione Weasley stepped out of the Floo just in time to watch the chair explode and shatter into a million pieces against the wall. The woman brought a hand up to her heart as she looked to her husband with an aghast expression, as it was obvious the damage had been caused by him. "What is going on," the witch asked in a tight voice, her eyes flickering to all the morbid and distressed faces. A thick silence rang through the room, and Hermione raised her voice as she spoke again, "would someone please speak to me!"
Minerva cleared her throat and asked for the witch to calm down, which Hermione did with a breath. Miss Ripoll then went through the entire story for the third time in the past twenty minutes, as Ron paced around the room and Harry talked to Minerva in a quiet voice. Hermione was covering her mouth with a shaking hand by the time the girl was finished with her story, as a single, yet heartbreaking tear slid down her face. "Oh god," she choked out. Her sob seemed to bring Ron out of his trance as he whipped his head to his wife, the expression on his face softening as he walked to her.
Hermione allowed Ron to wrap his arms around her and pull her into an embrace as she cried out. "My poor baby girl," the woman mumbled loudly into her husband's chest, fully sobbing. "Oh, my little Rosie." Ron rubbed a hand up and down Hermione's back as she cried, wanting to desperately cry himself, but he knew he had to hold himself together for her.
Albus stood back, and felt a single tear fall from his green eyes as he watched his aunt break down. He sat down in a chair and dropped his head into his hands, letting more silent tears escape. Harry seemed to be the only one who didn't let his sadness and fear get in the way of his persistence. "It's him," Harry said, and everyone in the room knew who he meant, it was a blatant answer, not a question. "He must of have used a Polyjuice Potion," the dark haired man said as he pushed his glass back to their proper spot on his nose. "Albus, do you remember any of your belongings being moved around or touched recently."
The boy looked up and shook his head, feeling useless for his answer. But Harry simply nodded, a fierce look in his eyes. "Miss Ripoll, would you mind supplying us with a memory of the event," the man asked, and the witch eagerly nodded immediately. The brunette also informed the man of how they had tried to trace the man's magic just after he apparated away, but told him of how it was blocked without a trail. She was then pulled aside by Minerva, who helped the woman extract the memory. Harry turned to the other four Aurors, and asked them for any other useful information that Miss Ripoll hadn't told.
Albus sat back and watched his father in work, and though his body was filled with anxiety and panic over his missing beloved cousin, he was calmed slightly as he knew that his father would not stop until Rose was safe and found again.
A pair of light blonde eyebrows furrowed, as slight annoyance and confusion filled him. Scorpius had been waiting in the spot that him and Rose always met after his Thursday Transfiguration lesson. He had been patient at first, but the little amount of that he had melted away after the fifteen minutes he spent waiting. Scorpius stood and was just about to go to Rose's dorm when a voice sounded through the castle, instructing every and all students to immediately report to the Great Hall. The blonde brows knitted together even tighter, and Scorpius reluctantly headed towards the hall.
The Slytherin met Luciano and Quinn as he walked through the door to the Great Hall, both of the two men looking just as bewildered as he felt. "Mate," Quinn said in a low voice as the trio went to sit at the Slytherin table. "Do you know what's going on," he asked, and when Scorpius shook his head, he went on, "some people are saying we're going into a lock down."
Scorpius' eyes hardened as he peered at the annoyed and abashed looking students as they filled the hall at a fast pace. Five minutes later, the doors to the hall were shut, as everyone was apparently in place. Scorpius felt himself panic when he spotted Rose and Albus both missing from the crowd, checking for either of their faces over and over again, ignoring the loud noise around him. The Head of each House then began counting all their students, and Scorpius instantly knew something wasn't right.
Professor Longbottom walked through the doors a minute later, looking flushed in the face as all noise died down and every pair of eyes turned to him for some sort of explanation. The entire hall watched as he fast walked down the side of the Gryffindor table and didn't stop until he reached Lily Potter and Hugo Weasley, who were sat beside each other. Longbottom hurriedly whispered something to the two of them, and the couple stood with panicked faces as the were rushed out of the hall.
Scorpius' gut was painfully twisting as he watched the three of them exit, and the discomfort only worsened until he gave in to it. The tall man stood up and ran out of the hall behind the trio, cursing under his breath, "fuck this." Several professors tried to stop him as he left, but he ignored them and pushed past. Neville, along with Lily and Hugo, turned back when they heard the doors behind them reopen. "What the hell is going on," Scorpius demanded, his deep voice loud and harsh.
With a debating look, Professor Longbottom sighed and nodded, "you better come along too, Mister Malfoy." The man then turned and began walking a fast pace again, and it took Scorpius a second to snap out of his shock before he used his long legs and matched the trio's pace.
The four of them were at the Headmistress' office in less than a minute, climbing up the staircase two steps at a time. Lily and Hugo were shocked to find Albus, Harry, Ron and Hermione, along with Minister Kingsley Shacklebolt, all awaiting in the office when they arrived, horrible looks haunting their faces. Scorpius lingered behind, standing near the door, though he was the first person to recognize his girlfriend's absence from the room. "Where's Rose," Scorpius asked loudly, his voice rising above Lily and Hugo's as they asked frantic questions. The two younger ones looked around and realized that the Slytherin was right.
"What is he doing here," Albus spat out angrily, and Scorpius was shocked to find the man with a blotchy face and bloodshot eyes, looking as if he had been crying. Harry, who was standing beside his son, gave Albus a hard look.
The man was surprised when the wizard stood up for him. "Scorpius has just as much as a right to be here as you do," Harry said sternly, clearly upsetting his son, though Albus stayed quiet.
"Can someone please tell us what is going on," Hugo said temperamentally, his impatience flaring up. Scorpius was thankful for the boy's outburst, as if it hadn't been Hugo, it would have been himself in a minutes time.
Hermione pulled out of her husband's embrace, looking to the three younger adults. The wizard was apprehensive when he saw Rose's mother's face, as it was clear she was upset and had been crying. With a deep breath, the woman spoke in a cracking and sore voice. "Rosie has been taken."
And with those simple four words, Scorpius felt his entire world shatter down around him.
