"Hello?" I took a deep breath. "Scorpius? Dinky?"
There was a loud snap and Dinky appeared in front of me. "Miss Rose has returned!" Dinky cheered. "Dinky's prayers have been answered. Master Scorpius is in the saddest of moods. Miss Rose can always make Master Scorpius smile."
Not this time, Dinky.
I examined one of the many living rooms/parlours Malfoy Manor had. The heavy emerald curtains were drawn now. I clasped my hands together unable to shake the nervous flighty feeling I always got when I entered Malfoy manor. The manor was silent, even though it was around dinnertime now for normal wizarding families. Could the Malfoy's be considered a normal wizarding family? I think the house elf heads in the hallway were a solid answer my question.
"Dinky was just washing up. Should Dinky alert Mr Malfoy of your presence or will you and Master Scorpius be hanging out in secret?" Dinky let out a sound that sounded strangely like a giggle.
"Can you just get Scorpius? Please, Dinky, if you don't mind-"
A bow, snap and he was gone again. I rubbed my eyes, they were red and I knew it. I had to tell them Harry Potter had been taken. It felt important. I was loyal to Scorpius above all else. We were in it together and owling him would've taken longer than the Emergency Prophet.
I waited in silence counting the portraits in the room (28), the chairs (5) and praying Mr or Ms Malfoy didn't find me first or anyone at the Burrow. I had told Hugo I was taking a walk, he wasn't very interested in what I was doing and everyone else was too busy making up theories about what happened to uncle Harry. I couldn't sit and listen to it.
"Rose." Scorpius marched over to me. He had changed clothes. Without hesitation I threw myself at him and hugged him, burying my face into his t-shirt. I got a strong whiff of expensive-smelling soap. "What are you doing here?" he didn't sound angry, he sounded happy but he kept his voice low. After a second he pulled away from me. "What's wrong?"
I put a hand to my mouth. I couldn't believe what I was about to tell him. I hugged him again, he squeezed me tight in response.
"That man with the bag over his head…" I said my voice was muffled. "That- that was Uncle Harry."
"Merlin," Scorpius said deadpanned.
"Yeah, Merlin," I said. "I thought it was the right idea to come here and tell you."
Scorpius pulled away from me. "Does anyone know you're here?"
I sighed and tried to smile because getting upset wouldn't help at a time like this. "No. No one was looking for me. My parents are at the ministry, Hugo's babysitting and everyone else is sitting in the dark dreaming up what happened to uncle Harry. It's horrible."
Scorpius pressed his lips together. "They're pure dung then."
"Scorpius!" I frowned. "This is a time of crisis."
"Let the Aurors do the searching. He's just one middle-aged wizard. Who used to be a hero." Scorpius stated. I could feel his temper rising underneath the words. He looked tired.
I suddenly wanted to scream at him. "He is a symbol." I snapped. "He stands for peace and equality. The death-" the look on his face told me not to say that word. "Bad wizards taking him and possibly killing him is the start of a war."
"You don't have to be part of a war. Rose, you are blowing this out of proportion!"
I laughed bitterly. "Yeah, right, whatever, Scorpius. You're making so much sense!"
"At least I'm not whining!" Scorpius snapped dangerously. His eyes turned cold. It made my stomach twist. "It's a freaking wonder you weren't put into Gryffindor!"
"Ravenclaws have logic!" I fumed. "Slytherins believe what they want to believe. They are self-preserving!"
"Merlin, you are just…" Scorpius put a hand to his face, digging his nails into his hairline.
"Right?"
"No!"
Someone started clapping in the doorway. We both turned.
"Father." Scorpius groaned.
Draco Malfoy stood in the doorway with a sneer on his face. "So the great Harry Potter has vanished. I didn't need the Daily Prophet to know that you two screaming at each other is loud enough for me to hear perfectly clear from my office on the other side of the manor. Do you know anything else about it? Anything you haven't screamed at my son?"
I gritted my teeth. "He was the man with the sack of over his head." I turned to Scorpius. "I think I'll leave now."
"Don't be dramatic." Scorpius retorted.
"For the record, you are both right, if that helps with your quarrel." Mr Malfoy crinkled his nose. "I'll be in my office." Mr Malfoy took off again. What a strange man.
Scorpius took a deep breath and sat down. I moved towards the fireplace. Then stopped, there was something wrong. I cautiously sat beside him.
"Scorpie?" I tested lowly. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," he replied.
"Well, don't take 'nothing' out on me," I said shortly. I stood up and he pulled me back down onto his lap. I gasped at the sudden pull but didn't move away from his warm touch. He wrapped his arms tight around me.
We were quiet for a long moment before the silence, like it always did, ate into me.
"I never bloody thanked you for saving my life." I choked out. The realisation was sudden. Was that why he was so cold?
"You don't have to." Scorpius pushed a hair out of my face. Another ten seconds passed. "You can thank me for it the next time we're in a broom cupboard."
I giggled, I couldn't help it, his warm breath was tickling my neck. Maybe that was it. A simple thank you. I didn't take him for granted.
"Harry Potter's my uncle," I said. "Not just a blank person-"
"Rosie?"
"Scorpie?"
"We can talk about this later or some other time?" Scorpius asked. "Can't we just relax and enjoy one another?"
"Why are we in a bathroom?" I ran my fingers across the cold black tiles on the wall. Scorpius had taken me to the very of edge Malfoy Manor to a bathroom I never knew existed attached to a room that looked like it hadn't been used in the last century.
"All the guest rooms are soundproof," Scorpius explained. "We're in the bathroom because my mother won't think to look in the guest bathroom. She'll think we're in a room. I don't think Mother knows you're here anyway. She spends her evenings in her own study."
Scorpius filled the space between us. My heart sped up as his hands went to my cloak. He undid the clasp quickly letting my cloak fall to the floor. The sound filled the tiled room like thunder. It all felt like flashy magic to me, the good kind.
"I thought we came up here to talk?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Overrated," he was looking me up and down. "And this is like a broom cupboard."
I hated broom cupboards.
"It doesn't feel right," I said gently. "My parents- my family are panicking and I'm in here with you doing… nice things."
"You said you had about an hour, let's make the most of it," Scorpius smiled. His smile was unbelievably reassuring. "Rosie, I miss you. Doing this isn't going to change anything. Earlier was crap, I want-" I sat up on the counter next to the sink, letting my legs dangle. He stopped and moved in front of me. I pecked his lips to see what it would feel like. Even though I couldn't admit it out loud, I wanted to kiss him. I wanted him to hold me. We almost died. The wizarding world could be collapsing as I ran my hands across his shoulders until they met at his neck. I didn't feel guilty like I thought I would, when our lips met, instead sparks shot through my every nerve.
I didn't stop kissing him, I kept going each one getting harder and more desperate. His hands ran up my legs making me shiver.
"Scorpius…" I moaned, as he broke apart from me and kissed me behind the ear. I raked my hands through his hair.
I didn't know what time it was when we stopped but my head was spinning and my lips were swollen, aching and cracked. I shut my eyes focusing on the feeling of Scorpius' fingers trailing across my exposed stomach. We were lying in the bath with our clothes on and with no water. Me on top of Scorpius, rising and falling with his chest.
"So beautiful." He whispered into my ear, making me flush all over. He kissed my temple. "I don't think I'm ever going to fight with you again."
"I know how to win you back anyway." I murmured, half-laughing, half-falling into a doze on his chest. "You were right this is nice."
I was ignoring everything except Scorpius, it felt like coming up for air. The buzzing questions about how I was going to explain my swollen lips and the raw skin around them didn't have to matter right then.
But just like all dreams, you have to wake up at some point.
Later Scorpius was reluctantly leading me down the stairs. The entire manor was dark, the torches came to life as we walked past and Scorpius led me to the fireplace. He wrapped his arms tight around me in the dark room. He kissed me softly and longingly.
"I love you," I whispered in his ear. I could feel him beam.
"I love you more." he murmured back. "Write to me."
"I will tonight." I murmured back, brushing my fingertips under his t-shirt feeling his skin for what could be the last time for weeks. "Bye," I gently twirled out of his grip.
"Bye, Rosie." He said, as I grabbed a fist full of floo powder, "The Burrow," I said, and I was gone in an uncomfortable flash of hot green.
