Chapter 11: The Oath

This chapter is dedicated to Emmydraw, I hope you like it! :)

(Scorpius is a complicated boy, and I love him oh so much in this chapter :) 3

Rose's eyes heavily slunk down the page of withered, blackish blue text. She had no idea when the book was written, but it must have been at least a hundred years old. She sucked in a yawn, the dusty air of the library following the breath. She coughed tiredly and moved her eyes to the window next to her, which was dimly lit with sconces on the left and right. The windows in the library were berated with rain, so heavily that the visibility out the windows was next to nothing.

Ever since first year, Rose had claimed the small table at the back of the library, right next to one of the largest windows. Her seat was positioned cozily between the fiction and classical literature sections.

She stretched, looking down at the pile of books she had consumed in that night alone. Scatterfoot's Ultimate Guide to Waltzing, Waltzing in Vienna, The Basics of Ballroom Step and Other Introductory Dances. She found the diagrams in the books to be rather helpful, although visualizing the verbiage was at times difficult for her. There was no way Scorpius would be right, however – she would learn to dance from books. At least, well enough to get him off her case until she could find another dancing partner.

Perhaps it was the fact that Scorpius has always been so vile to her. He had called her names, teased her looks, and made her insecure about every single part of her - even her brain. But in reality, the far scarier possibility was that Rose had never felt such physical or emotional turmoil while being swayed by him on the dance floor. No one had ever been able to make her feel that light. She was desperate to solve the problem. And this feeling - it was a problem. She couldn't allow herself to lose control over her carefully kept emotions. Even more than anger, there was an emotion far, far more dangerous, known to ruin countries, lay siege to villages, and destroy relationships forever.

Lust.

She blinked blearily back at her books, telling herself that it was a natural reaction to being so physically close to someone. Anyone, it could have been anyone. She let an unhinged laugh escape her lips. Yes, that was it! It was just because he was a boy, not because he was Scorpius! If there was someone else, anyone else on earth she had been as close to, surely she would have felt the same knot in her belly. She slammed the book shut, placing it in her tote bag, and dropped the rest of the stack back at the pickup and sorting counter.

It must have almost been ten pm, she thought, walking through the dim hallways towards the dorms. She hadn't had patrol that night, so of course she used the evening to read, finish her assignments, and study for any possible surprise quizzes.

As soon as she entered the Prefects common room, she saw Henry and Barry, the two male Prefects from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, seated on one of the couches. There were talking in hushed voices, the roar of the fire concealing their conversation. Rose Pretended not to notice, walking by.

"There she is," she heard Barry say. "Ask her now."

Rose had almost walked all the way to the Gryffindor's corridor when she turned on her heel and eyed them suspiciously. Her eyes stung a little from reading, but she did her best to keep her eyelids open as Henry approached her.

"Hey Rose," he said, nervously dragging a hand through his brown locks.

"Hey," she answered, her voice sounding rough and sleepy in her ears.

"So uh…I was wondering…" Henry looked behind his shoulder to his friend Barry, who gave him an encouraging thumbs-up. "There's a Quidditch game on Friday. Would you…did you want to sit with me?"

Rose wondered for a moment, thinking about how she always sat with Alice and Lily during Quidditch games. They all gathered around to cheer on Gryffindor. "Sure," she answered. "Can Alice still sit next to me, too?"

"Yeah, of course!" Henry agreed eagerly. He turned to head off then, looked back at her. "It's a date."

Rose recoiled a tad as she backed away. She was too surprised to say anything in protest, and Henry and Barry left too quickly for her to ask for clarification. She shrugged, figuring she could clear it up with him in the morning. Surely, he hadn't meant to ask her on an actual date date. Not the brown haired, tan skinned, blue eyed, intelligent Adonis from Ravenclaw. No, he had to have meant the word date in a friendly, fellow-Prefectly kind of way.

"You can't go on a date with him."

Ah, of course. Scorpius.

He was standing there, arms across his chest, his pale skin in comparison to Henry's glowing softly under the moonlight from the window at the end of their corridor. He had that same outfit on that Rose had seen him in before; large jumper and plaid pajama pants. Her eyes flicked to her hips, the same hips that had dug into hers only a couple of hours ago.

"What the hell? Why were you spying on me?"

Scorpius leaned against the wall outside of his bedroom door. "I wasn't, I merely overheard as I was getting up to get some water." his eyes darkened as he looked down at her. "But I mean it. You can't. His intentions…they aren't as good as they seem."

Rose laughed, openly and aggressively. "You would know all about intentions. What's your endgame, Malfoy? Terrorize me for the rest of my life, torture me until you have me right where you want me, then maybe you can try to get into my pants?"

The color completely drained from Scorpius' face. "Don't say that," he said, his voice deeper and angrier than she had ever heard it. "Don't ever say that again. I meant it, Weasley, I–"

Rose staggered back, astonished at his intensity. She whipped right back at him. "Oh yes, I forgot, you'd be more likely to have sex with an ogre than me! Perhaps a dead body, or…or…a Death Eater, maybe they'd get you off more!" she growled out, angry tears stinging her tired eyes as she pushed past him to get to her room. She slammed the door, caution and the other sleeping Prefects be damned.

You're an absolute fool, Rose Weasley, she told herself, not even bothering to slip off her uniform as she sunk into her bed. She covered her face with her arms, pulling her knees to her chest and letting out a ragged breath that slowly turned into a sob. Why did she even mention sex to Malfoy? God, if she could sink into the earth right then and there, and cease to exist, she would do everyone a favor.

Malfoy makes you a fool. But isn't that what he wants? Maybe in the past, he had done everything in his power to humiliate Rose. But lately, it certainly seemed as though she was making a laughing stock of herself, and he was doing everything he could to convince her it was otherwise. Like when she tripped while dancing - he told her it was normal and even laughed to ease some of the tension. When she knocked the tapestry over, he lied to cover it up so that she wouldn't be questioned by Tulis. Even when Zarconias tried teasing her after her concussion, Scorpius had stood up for her.

"Lying, stupid git." she said under her breath, although she didn't even know if she believed that anymore. All of her previous conceptions of him were melting away and evolving into new, more confusing, more exciting, more tumultuous emotions.

Rose slept fitfully that night, her dreams a combination of ballroom dances, teacups being set down onto their saucers loudly, roaring fires, and eyes…eyes that stared deep into her. Eyes that looked to be made of molten metal.

Rose must have slept deeply at some point in the night, because she awoke to an utter disaster outside her bedroom window. Alice roused her from her sleep, quickly explaining that Professor Tulis had sent her to warn the Prefects.

"The Prefect wing is one of the only parts of the Castle left undamaged!" her friend was saying, her wisps of uncombed blond hair falling in her face.

Rose stirred, wiping her eyes groggily. "What the heck are you doing here, Alice?" she asked, feeling quite delirious.

Alice pulled Rose by her arm, lifting her out of the bed and showing her to the window. The whole entire courtyard was nearly destroyed by some kind of storm, it seemed. The smaller trees on the edge of the property had fallen into the school's ancient stone fencing, hedges were dismantled, furniture was tossed as if it had been light as a feather.

"Apparently, there hasn't been a storm this bad since the 1600s," Alice was saying.

Rose wiped her eyes again, thinking that surely she was imagining things. "I slept through this?" she asked, turning to face her friend.

Alice was still wearing her light blue pajamas which had cartoons of bunnies all over them. She nodded. "Yes, apparently a lot of people slept through it. Only a few woke up, and when they did, most of the damage was already done. Professor Tulis said something odd was afoot."

Rose's hand flicked to her wand, almost without thinking. "We need to make sure everyone is okay." she said immediately. "We need to go and investigate, find the creature who caused this storm or —-"

"Relax, Weasley." Scorpius and Al were standing in the doorway, both still in their pajamas as well. Apparently the commotion had been so disruptive to everyone's normal schedules that attire wasn't really a priority anymore. Both of the boys walked into Rose's room, eyeing the damage out the window.

"We just got back from Professor Tulis and Professor Longbottom updating us on the situation," Albus explained, leaning down to pet Rose's cat, who was blissfully unaware of the school's predicament, and purred happily as the boy scratched her chin. "Apparently, some of the roofing has suffered. They instructed us to stay in the Prefect's area until they were done securing everything."

Of course, the talented professors at England's largest and most prestigious wizarding school would be able to fix the roof and other damage up in no time, Rose thought, assuring herself as her hand slowly crept away from her wand. "What could have caused this storm? Surely it wasn't natural." she asked, eyeing her friends to see if any one was thinking the same things as her.

Alice continued to look pensively out the window. "I can't imagine it was any old storm. Professor Tulis wouldn't say a word about it, though. I am sure Percy will be spending all day researching the cause. He may even call your mom to come help, Rose."

Rose thought for a moment, grinding her teeth. That had to mean it was bad, if Percy was willing to call the Minister to the school. That had to mean some kind of threat was plaguing the castle. It was a security breach. And they were helpless, instructed to stay confined in their quarters until the worst of the danger passed by. It didn't sit well with Rose.

She opened her mouth to speak again, but Scorpius shut her off almost immediately. "There's no use in arguing with Tulis' instructions, Weasley. Do you want to get us all detention?"

Rose pressed her lips into a flat line. Although he was insufferable, he was right. It was wiser to stay put and listen to the Professor than try to be a hero. How exponentially un-Gryffindor of me, she thought. Perhaps that was why Henry had asked her on a date.

Oh, Merlin, a date. The events from the previous night came rushing back to her. She looked at Alice, realizing she would have to get her friend alone at some point that day to tell her everything. She glanced at Scorpius as well, seeing that he was heavily avoiding her gaze, and keeping a long distance from her. Gone was the intensity she had seen in him the day they danced together, or the day she showed her his scars. Had she gone too far this time? She did say he would enjoy having sex with a corpse. It couldn't get more insulting than that.

For a moment she allowed herself to feel a twinge of regret for the harsh words she had spiraled at him yesterday. He hadn't done anything to warrant them. Perhaps he was trying to ruin her life and make her miserable, but she had played dirty. Maybe she would have to try to find a moment with him alone, as well…to say something, anything to dissolve the awkwardness between them.

"Well…now that we are all here, would you two be willing to help us make decorations for the Tea Party, Albus and Alice?" Rose asked.

Alice squealed in excitement, prattling on about all the ideas she had, and Al and Scorpius grunted in resigned agreement. Scorpius brought several books about the Middle Ages from his room, detailing to a very bored Albus what the general dress and social interactions would have been like in the day. "The code of chivalry," he said, "was of the utmost importance to the Knights of the Round Table. King Arthur requested his knights follow specific rules. They included following the teachings of the Church, Serving the King, protecting the weak, living by honor and for glory, and…" his voice trailed off, and Rose, chatting with Alice, thought she might have noticed his eyes flick to where she sat on her bed. "...treat women with the utmost respect."

"Sounds easy enough to be a knight," Albus commented, laying on his back in the middle of Rose's bedroom floor and throwing a quill up in the air to catch it again.

"Right, well," Scorpius said, turning back to his book and clearing his throat, "Except for the whole fighting to your death kind of thing."

Albus shrugged. "Knights were muggles. They didn't have the means of protection we would have had."

It was then that Lily entered the room, whining for her brother, Albus. "Al, I need you to help me bring my trunk from the dormitory. The Professors said we had to spend at least a night or two with the Prefects, and I can't sleep without a couple of extra changes of clothes!" she whined, stomping one foot.

Al bickered with her for a moment, but eventually he left to help his sister retrieve her things. "Can you help Berta and Lilac lift their things, as well I'm sure they'd be ever so grateful," she asked her brother, batting her eyelashes at him. He groaned, muttering about his sister being a completely spoiled brat.

Scorpius shifted uncomfortably on the floor, suddenly realizing that he was alone with Alice and Rose in a very girly dormitory. His nose sank further into the book he was reading.

Alice sighed, draping a blanket over herself to imagine wearing a dramatic ball gown. "You know, I bet we could make or buy gorgeous dresses for this Tea party, Rose." she said.

Rose looked up from her notes, raising one ginger eyebrow at Alice. "How would we get the material? Or the knowledge to sew such things?"

Alice spun a tad, her legs getting tangled in the imagined drapes of the dress…or rather, duvet cover. Her hand lept from her waist, and the blanket fell. She pointed to her forehead. "I have just the thing!" she exclaimed, and then ran out of the room. "I'll be back in a bit!" she called, leaving the dormitories all together.

Scorpius immediately looked down at his book again, turning the pages furiously as he stayed silent. Rose stood up from her bed, tugging at her pajama pants so they weren't riding up. She walked over to her bookshelf, which was right next to where Scorpius sat on the ground. "You can…sit at my writing desk, if that's more comfortable." she offered.

Scorpius was quiet for a moment, and then, without looking up from his book he said "It would be more comfortable to not be here at all."

Ouch. Well, she supposed he was right, but they had to plan the tea party at some point. She sighed, pretending to look at the self for something to read. Instead, she decided to pick up one of the book's Scorpius brought, and sat on the ground a feet away from him.

Scorpius visibly stiffened, his whole body going rigid like a statue. Rose leaned against the hard bookshelf, crossing her legs. She glowered at Scorpius.

"Is it really that awful to be near me?" she snapped, then regretted it immediately as Scorpius looked up from his book.

There was that emotion again, the one in his eyes Rose hadn't been able to read all those times. His eyes looked weary and tired, yet deep and stained. What was that emotion? Boredom? Exasperation?

Pain?

"I don't know what's worse, being told I seem like my sexual preference is a Death Eater, or a corpse," he snapped back, slamming his book down next to him and glaring back at Rose. "Or perhaps it was bad enough being told I would force myself upon any woman, let alone you, Rose." His voice broke horsley as he choked out her name.

Well, perhaps she deserved that, Rose thought, a bit of shame dripping into her chest. "Look, Malfoy, I shouldn't have said that. We both have said ridiculous things to each other in the heat of the moment."

He was quiet, his stare cold and calculating. Rose swallowed and built the courage to continue. "I was just offended. Offended that the one time a guy asks me out, you would immediately try to ruin it for me."

Scorpius chucked, tearing his eyes away from her. "Yes, because I just love to ruin your life, is that it?" he said softly, inquiringly. As if he was speaking to himself, not her. "I suppose that's why I take such joy in sticking up for you, rescuing you, doing anything at all to make your life easier."

Rose bit down on her bottom lip. "I've been an ass," she blurted out, not able to meet Scorpius' surprised stare.

Seconds ticked by, the two of them sitting there, moments away from speaking and yet breathing in the silence. The unspoken truth lingering there, milliseconds from being tangible, and yet never rearing its ugly head. The truth, of course, was that that was the closest Scorpius was ever going to get to an apology from Rose Weasley.

Scorpius turned his hand around in front of him, inspecting it as he breathed slowly. "I once made an oath similar to that of the Knights," he said, and Rose looked at him inquiringly. He set the hand down once again, on top of the book he had just been reading, and Rose noticed for the second time his signet ring, which was the same color as his metal eyes with a round emerald gleaming from the center. A carved snake wrapped itself around the band of the ring.

"What was the oath?" She asked, barely above a whisper.

Scorpius clenched his jaw, the vein in his neck standing out against his alabaster skin once more. "To protect," he answered, softly. "To restore something to its former glory."

Rose stared down at his hand. It must have been the Malfoy signet ring, she thought. Given to him by some elder in his family, she thought. Lucius himself, she wondered? No, surely not, the Malfoy family had long since cut all ties with the Death Eaters and what they stood for. Lucius had been locked up, and no one had had any contact with him in decades.

"And…why did you take it?" she asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

Scorpius' pained eyes looked at her stoically. "Because my definition of glory is different from everyone else's."

The other truth, of course, was that something was opening up inside of her, a depth of her that she didn't know was ever there. Something that was willing to accept and welcome the platinum-haired boy's small and quiet signs of affection. Whatever they meant, their purpose, or their plans, Rose didn't know. She never even realized she began to accept them until it was too late.

When Alice did come back, after what felt like forever, she didn't stagger away in surprise at the sight of Rose and Scorpius sitting abnormally close together. Instead, she was entirely focused on the bundles of fabric she held in her arms, her eyes growing with delight.

She presented Rose with the dresses, all beautifully crafted to perfectly replicate the attire of the Middle Ages. "Where did these come from?" Rose gasped, standing to admire the beautiful swells of fabric. They were a bit ragged, torn in a few places, but she could tell that in their original state they had been stunning.

"Hogwarts used to have a performance once a year, you know." she stated. "My father told me about it once, and how the old theater Professor would make these elaborate costumes, long before he even went to school here. There is a whole trunk load of them, in the storage space the Professor's use! We could give a dress to each Lady in attendance!"

"But…how will we restore them?" Rose wondered, her hands grasping a particularly interesting dress which was crafted with pearl-colored silk and hemmed with emerald green velvet.

Scorpius stood, looking amusedly between the girls. "I bet Alice was banking on you to help her with that, Weasley." he said. "You know all kinds of mending charms. I've seen you use them at the Burrow before.

He had noticed that? It was true, whenever the girls were panicking about their stockings tearing or a string coming loose from a knitted sweater, Rose had patched things up with either Reparo or Ligatum Filum, the two most common mending charms.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Those are just easy little charms," she said, her hands finding another dress, which was a beautiful lilac gown with puffy sleeves and a particularly low, beaded neckline. "I'll have to do some research. I bet with a more advanced copy of a charms guide, I could really get into mending these."

Eventually, Albus returned, sweaty from carrying trunks up to the extra Prefect rooms where a lot of the Gryffindor girls would be bunking that night. The rest of the day was spent poured over historical texts, as Albus and Scorpius made banners to welcome the Shanghai students and Alice and Rose giggled over the details of the tea party.

She couldn't help it, her eyes flicked over to Scorpius more than usual, only to embarrassingly find him smiling back at her. His smile was small and quiet, but it was a positive expression all the same. Rose draped the skirt of one of the dresses over herself, pretending to sway in it. Alice and Albus laughed, but Scorpius looked at the ground in cold silence.

"You will look lovely, Rose!" Alice complimented her friend. Albus nodded in agreement, but Scorpius…he looked away, pointedly not saying anything at all.

At that moment, Rose would have paid a hundred galleons to know what he was thinking.