Chapter Four: Sparks Fly
The thin pages felt like butterfly wings under Scorpius' fingers.
"The Empathetic Wizard: Legends of Magical Bloodlines." Yes, this is the kind of thing he was looking for. Apparently, through certain bloodlines, one could find themselves exuding qualities of an empathetic wizard. He hungrily took in the pages, feeling himself getting closer and closer to some answers.
"Certain magical bloodlines have been said to have had abilities known as emoting, or rather, empathy. There have been tales of witches and wizards speaking volumes by not saying a word, and imbuing emotions onto others by simply feeling strong emotions themselves. I come to report from my research, however, that these are simply tales, no truth in them is no proof that these bloodlines are in existence today, or that they ever existed beyond legend."
Scorpius grunted. That was wholly unhelpful. He didn't , however, put the book down. He kept greedily turning the pages, looking for any information he could conjure.
"Well, this is unexpected."
Scorpius slammed the book shut, whirling around in a settee to see the Minister of Magic herself standing in the doorway. She had a coy smile on her face, her brown, grey-streaked hair in frizzy bundles falling over her shoulders. The curl to her hair was very reminiscent of her copper-haired daughter.
"Ma'am, I meant no offense. I was just –"
"Just curious, I understand." Mrs. Granger-Weasley finished for him. She took a long sigh, looking around her private library with a mixture of awe and satisfaction. "You know, Scorpius, it took me a long time to collect all these books. Even longer to read all of them."
Scorpius' eyes widened. She had actually read all of these? There had to be hundreds. Books lined every wall, up onto the eight foot ceiling, lined her desk, every cabinet, every corner.
"And so, you can't help but have me curious as to why you have chosen the particular text you're perusing now." The Minister went on, eyeing the book in his hands.
"It's nothing, ma'am, just…I ran out of books to read that I brought with me, it was foolish of me to come in here without your permission." He gulped, hoping the lie would suffice.
"Sure you did." Hermione said, smiling. "You were honest about one thing, however, you shouldn't have come in here without my permission. Luckily for you, all my important texts and documents are protected." Scorpius gulped again, not wanting to think about the heinous charms involved in protecting the Minister's private notes and treases. His mind rolled to the hexes Rose knew alone, only imagining the ones her mother knew to be much more dangerous.
"With that being said," Mrs. Granger-Weasley continued, "You are welcome to read anything you wish from here. Just let me know next time you are here, yeah?"
Scorpius was speechless. She was just going to blow off the fact that he had snuck into her private reading library? And let him read whatever he wanted from here? "Yes Ma'am," was all he could muster to say.
Hermione turned to leave, but looked over her shoulder at him a final time. "Oh, and you may find an author by the name of Hexius Horace particularly useful to your research." She stated, then leaving the room without a further word. Scorpius thought he saw a slight grin on her face as she walked out. No, he must've been imagining things.
Regardless, he wasn't going to pass up the opportunity. Gingerly placing the book back to where he picked it off the shelf, he moved towards the "H" section.
"Experiencing the World as an Empath Wizard, By Hexius Horace."
No matter how hard she tried, Rose could not escape the image of her room at Hogwarts being right next to Scorpius' all year long.
Hogwarts was her safe space, her area to grow and learn with not only her closest friends, but her myriad of cousins. The professors loved her; she was unshakably a teacher's pet. Every summer and winter break, she looked forward to returning to her stoney home-away-from-home.
That might change this year. She could only imagine the platinum boy's smirk as he watched her leave the showers, or if she was running late to class, or if she wanted to bring a few pastries back to her dorm, (as she often did for late night studying snacks…)
She didn't want to share any of her vulnerable moments with him. They would be painfully embarrassing under his steely gaze.
Merlin, did she just admit she was embarrassed to be herself in front of Scorpius? That in and of itself was embarrassing. Why the hell did she care what he thought of her? Perhaps it was because he called her unbearable. Something deep within her longed to prove she was impressive, powerful, someone to be awed and feared. Because at the root of it all, her pride beat inside her as strongly as any Gryffindor.
But even deeper down, she knew she was none of those things. Even as often as her mother tried to tell her she was special, and her father repeatedly insisted she was beautiful, Rose was always the brunt of the jokes in the family. Carrot-top, bookworm, messy and clumsy Rose. She had even been so naive to think that making Prefect would glean some respect from her cousins, hell, maybe even Scorpius!
The fact that that had not happened was an understatement.
Rose sighed, suddenly realizing she had been staring into her bathroom mirror for quite some time. She had just stepped out of the shower, a towel wrapped around her damp body. She inspected the freckles dancing across her shoulders. They carried themselves all over her body, across the bridge of her nose, on her chin, her hands, her wrists, and even on the tips of her ears.
Her ears. They were slightly pointed, smaller and daintier than her mother's or her father's, and she had always detested the sight of them. Her nose was long, thin, and straight, like her fathers. Her eyes were a deep, chocolatey brown like her mothers.
Thump, thump, thump! Someone was pounding on her bathroom door. "One minute!" She called out tensely.
Thump! "Rose! Come out here, I've got something to show you!" It was Albus. Sighing a breath of relief, she opened the door to reveal that not only her cousin stood before her, but also Scorpius.
It wasn't until she noticed Scorpius' eyes trailing along her body that she realized she stood before them wearing only her towel. Her cheeks grew red with heat. Why was he even looking at her? His eyes were large and surprised, but also, amused?
"Shit!" She exclaimed, then slammed the door shut again. Quickly, she pulled on the PJs she had laid out beforehand. She opened the door again, and the two were still standing there. "Scorpius, if you say one word, I swear it will be the death of you."
Scorpius now had a smirk across his face. "You're blushing, Rose."
Albus rolled his eyes. "Give her a break, Scorpius. It's not that big of a deal." Al smiled amusedly. "But she is blushing. Red as a tomato," he laughed.
Thank Merlin's beard for Al. He was always trying to dissuade the teasing to some extent, and Al was the one person Scorpius would actually listen to.
Albus gingerly wrapped his arm around Rose, then the other around Scorpius, and began to lead them both out of Rose's room. "Boy, have I got a show for you, Rosie!" he said.
Rose could still feel immense amounts of heat escaping her cheeks. "Should I be scared?" she asked. "Or excited?"
"Perhaps a little of both," Scorpius answered.
"I wasn't speaking to you," Rose snapped.
"Calm down, you two," Albus said, laughing. "You'll have plenty of time to go at each other's throats after the show."
The show? Rose didn't have that much time to ruminate on the odd statement, because as soon as the three of them rounded the corner and walked up the stairs to the boys hall of bedrooms, it became pretty clear what she was in for.
Colorful, makeshift streamers ran all along the banisters of her father's old room. Glitter and confetti streamed along the floor. Louis, Fred, Dominique, Alice, Hugo, Victoire, Lily, and James were all holding onto a large bed sheet that had the words "Congratulations!" cut out of colorful paper and pasted on. Rose's eyebrows practically flew off her head.
"Congratulations for becoming Prefects!"
"Congratulations…Prefects!"
"Prefects, yay!"
Their cousins shouted disjointed exclamations from all across the room.
Without another warning, Fred opened the large window that showed the night sky brightly. With one flick of his wand, there was a few seconds, then a pop! As he set off a firework.
The sparkling explosive spelled out CONGRATULATIONS ROSE WEASLEY In the inky sky.
If Rose had been blushing before, it was nothing compared to now. Part of her wished she could melt into the floorboards and never return, part of her was inwardly beaming with pride that her cousins had gone to such length to congratulate her.
They also did it for Scorpius, too. That little voice in the back of her head was back. She stuffed it down as far as it could possibly go.
In a moment, a warm mug of something was handed to her. Lily smiled up at her, wiggling her ginger eyebrows. "James told me to make it extra special and celebratory." She beamed.
Taking a large sip, Rose coughed in shock. It was quite good, albeit a bit strong. The frothy, warm sensation of an Irish coffee coated her throat and enveloped her body.
"I don't know how I feel about my little cousin dishing out liquor, but I guess I can let it slide – just this once." Rose said, winking.
Rose turned to look at Albus and Scorpius, who had been engaged in heated conversation. While talking, however, Scorpius had also been watching her, his attention only half on Al.
For some odd reason, Rose felt hot again. She moved towards the window, where a couple of small sparklers were sprinkling in the yard. The cool night air felt amazing against her heated cheeks.
"It was Al and Scorpius' idea."
Rose whipped around to find her friend Alice waiting by the window as well. "Al wanted to do something special and Scorpius suggested we write your name in the sky." She giggled.
Rose scoffed in disbelief. "Sure, he did." She said, rolling her eyes. "I'm sure this is all a ruse so you guys won't get punished for disobeying curfew once we go back to school."
Alice gasped in mock-disbelief. "You really think we would be so conniving?" She laughed. "Alright, Fred did only agree to make the fireworks in that we promised you would be more lenient with him this year."
"When do I not put in a good word for him to Professor Tulis, hm?" Rose said. "It's the other Prefect he has to worry about."
Alice tentatively moved towards the window and said, "Scorpius is kinder than you give him credit for."
Rose laughed humorlessly. She eyed the corner of the room where James, Al, and Scoipius were now gathered, seriously discussing something heavy in hushed voices. "I wonder what they are up to?" She mused.
Alice frowned. "Whatever it is, it looks serious."
Comfortably leaning against the window sill, looking out into the night sky as she sipped her drink, Rose felt the calming effect of the liquor starting to take effect. "Whatever it is, I am far too content where I am to eavesdrop right now."
Alice smiled. "I'll toast to that." With a tinkle of glasses, Alice and Rose stood by the window together, reminiscing together about years passed, and imagining years to come at Hogwarts.
The afternoon dragged on for a bit longer, but Scorpius was getting tired of reading the man's account of his life as an empath wizard. His eyes were getting heavy, and he had nearly speed-read more than half the book. The information he gleaned was definitely enough to get him going somewhere.
The account of one man's personal experience was far from enough proof that something like an empathy wizard existed. However, from what Hexius had written, it sounded very similar to what had occurred in Rose's bedroom today, and Harry's tale of his Aunt Marge in his memoir.
Often, as a child, before he learned to control his magic, Hexius found himself causing the world around him to react magically when he felt a strong emotion. Once, at Hogwarts, Hexius recounted that the trophy case he was forced to clean (after being wrongly accused of stealing from the kitchens) shattered into a million pieces.
That sounded a bit similar to Rose's books flying across the room, Harry blowing up his Aunt Marge, wands shaking and clattering once they chose a wizard in Olivanders, and on and on.
Jotting down the information of the book in his personal journal, Scorpius shut the book and placed it carefully where he had found it. With a "Nox!" and a flick of his wand, he turned off the lights in the Minister's library.
Scopius scuttled out of the room, making sure no one was coming up or down the hallway. His head felt shattered with millions of thoughts, all too confusing and complicated to form cohesively.
"Scor! I've been looking for you for ages!" Albus jumped up once Scorpius had entered the bedroom.
"What's up, Al?" He asked his friend.
"Well, I was thinking," Al said, rubbing his chin expressively. "Rose seemed pretty annoyed, especially at you and maybe even at me," he said.
"Why should I care?" Scorpius asked, feeling a bite deep on his stomach. Perhaps he should care, especially if the consequence of not caring was getting hit in the face by a flying book.
Albus ignored him. "What if we threw a celebration to honor you both becoming prefects?" He asked.
Scorpius scoffed. "Honor her for becoming a prefect, she's the one who actually wanted the position." He let a moment of silence pass. "Don't repeat this - but I'm pretty sure she's the only one who deserves it, anyway."
Al ogled his friend. "What are you talking about? You two are the brainiest goody two shoes I know! The only time either of you don't follow a rule is when you're fighting with each other!"
"Rose may be an insufferable pain in the ass, but she has real drive and passion when it comes to education. Don't get me wrong, I love my studies, I'm just not as…outspoken as her."
A revelation hit Scorpius then. A perfectly fitting reward for a perfectly prideful person. He wasn't lying when he claimed she deserved the position more than he did. A sneaky smile crept onto his face. "I've got an idea."
"You want to write her name in the sky?!" Alice laughed. "I can only imagine all the shades of red she'd turn if we did that."
"C'mon, Alice, it would be awesome! We just have to convince Fred to make a special firework for her." Al coaxed.
"It will make her irate," Scorpius said calmly, almost reveling in the idea.
Alice shook her head. "It won't make her as angry as you think it will. I actually think it will end up being quite enjoyable." She grinned and ran off, ready to flank Fred with the idea.