Note: I've written this in British English, so things will be spelt differently than they are in America. Words like gray, mom, color... Ect, are spelt like grey, mum colour. Just wanted to let you all know that any words spelt differently are just the way the British spell them.
Note 2: This is a revised version of the original I posted before. Mostly to fix spelling and grammar mistakes but a few other things have changed as well.
Thank you so much to SunriseImagination for Betaing this story for me. You make this story come alive.
Now on with the chapter!
Chapter 3
November 20th-22nd
Wednesday-Friday
~oOo~
It was two days later when Rose and Malfoy were finally let out of the hospital. To say Rose was close to losing it would be an understatement. After that first day in the hospital wing, Rose had lost that peaceful and calm feeling. Now all she felt was annoyed. Over the years, Rose had spent many hours with Malfoy because he was Al's best friend, but all those times there was always someone else around. Rose never had to talk to him. Now Rose was alone with Malfoy for hours on end with no one there to stop him from driving Rose up the wall.
Things got a bit better the second day after the Bond, seeing as Rose could sit on another bed and not have to be too close to Malfoy to be comfortable. The Bond had calmed down while Malfoy and Rose had been asleep that first day, and once they woke up they found that they could be around five-to-ten feet away from each other without feeling much discomfort.
The second night, Rose and Malfoy slept in separate beds. Madam Pomfrey had to push the beds closer together so that the two could sleep comfortably. In the end, there was barely enough room to walk in between the beds. And though Rose was happy to have her own bed, the Bond wasn't. She had a very strong urge to be closer, to feel Malfoy sleeping next to her like the first night, and no matter how hard she tried she couldn't sleep a wink. The whole night was spent tossing and turning, trying to settle the insane urge she felt.
Rose and Malfoy had lots of visitors in the days spent in the hospital, mostly in the morning or evening after dinner. Rose's four friends and dorm mates stopped by every morning and evening, usually along with Malfoy's friends the Gremlins. Rose would set up a silencing charm between her's and Malfoy's bed during such times and it wasn't very hard to forget that he was there with her talkative friends. Rose's and Malfoy's parents also stayed (Which Rose found a bit weird) during those days in the hospital, brushing off Rose's concerns about their jobs.
Ron and Hermione always had full schedules at the ministry and Rose didn't know how they managed to take so much time off, maybe they had utilized their Golden Trio status to secure the time off
When Rose woke from her restless sleep on the third day, she didn't even bother trying to go back to sleep, knowing it would be useless. Instead, she thought she might as well go take a shower and get ready for the school day. She gingerly got out of bed, and, and being careful not to make a sound, walked the short distance to where Malfoy was sleeping. Rose leant over Malfoy and looked down at him, seeming so peaceful as he slept, and her sleep-deprived brian pointed out to her that he was gorgeous.
Rose shook her head to clear it and remembered why she had come over to his bedside in the first place. Rose placed a hand on Malfoy's arm, ignoring the heat and spark she felt shoot up her arm with the contact and feel of his strong bicep under her small hand.
The Bond caused him to wake almost immediately. He turned onto his back and looked up at her with his hair a-mess and his eyes half closed over his steely grey irises. Rose's eyes were drawn to his half-exposed chest where his shirt had ridden up during the night. Damn, he had perfectly sculpted abs. She forced herself to look away with a blush. Why did he have to be so adorably hot?
"Need something, Love?" Malfoy asked pushing himself up on an elbow and smirking at Rose. He had noticed her staring and made no move to pull his shirt back down annoying Rose further.
"I can't sleep so I want to go take a shower," Rose said and Malfoy just continued to smirk at her.
"And you want me to join you?" Malfoy asked slowly, his voice deep and sleep ridden, his smirk darkening ever so slightly.
Malfoy had always been like this. He would beat up any guy that so much as looked at Rose, then turn right around and say things like this to her. Over the years she had just gotten used to it, but with this stupid Bond, everything Malfoy said sent Rose's brain into overdrive trying to figure out a way to respond.
"Yes- I mean no- I mean yes but not like-Oh, you know what I mean," Rose said giving an exasperating sigh.
Rose's glare intensified as Malfoy chuckled, but he got up anyway so Rose really couldn't complain. Together they walked over to the door that led into the bathroom.
Madam Pomfrey had changed things around a bit so that Malfoy and Rose could shower and change without irritating the Bond. The bathroom was a long rectangular room. When you first walked in, there were two sinks with a large mirror to the right, and straight ahead were two white curtains with a thin wall separating them. Rose walked into the curtain on the right while Malfoy went into the one on the left. Rose barely felt any discomfort as she closed the white curtain, seeing as they were still close together.
Rose was in a smaller rectangular room that was cut into two small squares, at the moment she was standing in a small changing room. Rose wasn't surprised to see her school robes neatly folded on the small bench in the small room. She knew that the old nurse had put them there. Along with a small mirror hanging over the bench, on the opposite wall were a few hooks. One of which Rose saw her heavy black cloak hanging on.
Rose pulled her nightdress over her head and then stepped into the shower in the next room over, pulling the white curtain closed behind her so that the water wouldn't get into the changing room. She turned on the water and let out a sigh as the warm water started to run over her cold body. Winter was just around the corner and almost every room in the castle was freezing cold, no matter how many blankets she had on her bed she was still cold and the warming charm she had cast over herself hadn't helped much in the long run.
Rose closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against the smooth cool tile of the shower wall, just letting the warm water wash over her. Maybe if she stayed here long enough, the water would somehow wash away the last few crappy days.
But no luck.
Rose didn't know how long she stayed like that, just leaning against the wall deep in thought when she was suddenly jerked back to reality by a voice in her head.
"Are you almost done? It's been nearly half an hour."
It took Rose a second to recognize the voice as Malfoy's. It took her longer to figure out why the hell she was hearing his voice in her head.
Of course, Rose thought. Wondering when she had become so slow. He's talking to me through the Bond.
"Yeah I'll be out in a minute," Rose thought back to Malfoy.
It was weird how easy it was to communicate with him. All Rose had to do was think about what she wanted to tell him and he somehow got her message.
"Hurry up or else we'll be late."
Rose could even hear how he thought it, just like if he had said it out loud. She could hear his annoyance and concern for her.
"I know just give me a second," Rose thought back, irritated.
Rose finished her shower quickly, washing her hair in record time. When she reluctantly turned off the water she instantly felt cold. Shivering slightly she stepped out into the changing room, grabbing her wand and casting a drying spell on her hair and herself.
She got dressed, pulling on her school uniform faster than she usually did. Her uniform had changed slightly for the winter months, becoming thicker to keep her warmer. Rose pulled on her thick grey stockings, then her dark grey pleated skirt that ended just above her knees. Next, was her long sleeved white collared shirt. Then, her grey V-necked long-sleeved sweater. Rose knotted her red and gold tie with ease, and tucked it neatly into her grey sweater. This was how it was supposed to be worn but most students just left them hanging loosely around their necks. She tucked her white shirt into her skirt and then stepped into her black ankle boots.
Rose grabbed her school robes and pulled them on, buttoning only two of the many buttons and leaving the rest so her robes hung open like she usually did. Though the students were supposed to button up their robes, no one ever did it, not even Rose who found that it was unneeded.
Rose looked herself over in the mirror making sure she looked presentable. While her uniform was perfect, she looked very pale and there were dark circles under her eyes from her nights of restless sleep. Rose sighed at her reflection. She turned, and grabbed her cloak from its hook, stepped out past the white curtain while she sent another message to Malfoy.
"I'm done, you coming?"
A few seconds later, Malfoy pushed back the curtain and walked into the room trying feverishly to knot his tie while holding onto his own cloak.
They walked over to the sinks and mirrors near the door, and again Rose wasn't surprised to see everything she needed sitting neatly on the countertop. Putting her cloak down gently, Rose grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste. Malfoy did the same, giving up on his tie and leaving it hanging untied around his neck.
Rose finished brushing her teeth and moved onto makeup and hair. Closing her eyes, Rose lifted her wand and flicked it at her face. The familiar warm feeling of the spell came over Rose's face, and a second later it was gone. Opening her eyes, Rose saw that the spell had once again done its job. Her eyelashes were perfectly curled, the mascara was wonderful, her eyeliner was flawless, and her lips pink and glossy. It had even made her skin glow so she didn't look half as pale and the dark circles under her eyes were gone.
Satisfied, Rose started on her hair and instantly there was what looked like a cloud floating above Rose's head. All her hair had been pulled up into it and Rose could feel it untangling all the knots.
Knowing that this spell took a bit longer to finish, Rose hopped up onto the countertop and watched Malfoy as he finished with his own hair and started trying to knot his tie again. Rose couldn't help but find it funny that he couldn't knot a tie, he was a pureblood after all.
After about thirty seconds of watching Malfoy struggle and cursing under his breath, Rose finally gave in.
"Need some help there Malfoy?" Rose asked in an innocent voice, though even she could hear the amusement leaking out.
"I'm perfectly capable of knotting this tie, Weasley," Malfoy muttered back as he once again tried to undo the mess of a knot he had made in the tie so he could try again.
"I'm sure" Rose answered, not being able to hold back a smirk as she watched him fail yet again.
Suddenly, the spell finished its work with Rose's hair and it fell neatly down Rose's back in curly waves. Rose didn't even bother looking in the mirror as she slipped off the countertop. Instead, she stood in front of Malfoy and smoothly pushed his hands away from the mess of a knot he had made.
Rose undid the knot and started to tie the red and gold cloth properly. She could feel her heartbeat quicken as her fingertips graced his neck. There was an electric current between them, a hyper-awareness that turned such a simple task into something dreamlike… something other. His chest rose and fell. She could practically hear his heartbeat pounding in her ears. The silkiness of the tie. The heat radiating off his skin. His scent surrounded her with an intoxicating spice she could not name, and she found herself looking up into his eyes. Had she ever really seen them before? They were so deep. Storms of grey and silver with flecks of blue. There was something intense in his eyes that she didn't understand.
Rose shook her head. What was happening to her? She shouldn't be feeling this way. Especially not towards Malfoy, the boy she so despised. It had to be the Bond.
Rose was grateful when she noticed that her hands had never stopped knotting Malfoy's tie. She finished knotting it quickly, making sure that it hung loosely around his neck the way he always had it. Then, Rose took a much-needed step back and looked in the mirror, trying to look as though she hadn't just lost it while knotting Malfoy's tie.
"Thanks," Malfoy murmured next to her. There was a flush to his cheeks and he wasn't quite looking her in the eye. Rose nodded but said nothing.
"Well let's go then," Malfoy said as Rose finished looking herself over. He gave his hair one last run through with his hand before they pulled on their cloaks and headed for the door.
As the two teens stepped out into the hospital wing, they were both mildly surprised to see a small group of adults all huddled together talking in low voices. All of them fell silent and stepped out of their tight circle as Rose and Malfoy walked toward them.
"Scorpius!" Mrs Malfoy exclaimed lovingly as her son walked slowly toward the group. Malfoy raised one eyebrow in suspicion and Rose could hear him wondering why they were all down there. Rose wondered the same.
"Mother," Malfoy greeted, looking around at the adults with his eyes squinted slightly.
"You look tired Scorpius. Have you been sleeping?" Mrs Malfoy asked looking at her son, her smile quickly fading into concern and spreading over her face.
She was right, Malfoy did look tired. He had dark circles under his eyes and was a bit paler than usual.
"I'm fine mum, stop worrying so much," Malfoy said giving his mother an easy smile that seemed to calm her slightly but she still looked worried.
"Good morning Rosie," Ron said smiling at his daughter before sending Malfoy a glare of utter hate.
Rose shook her head."Please stop glaring dad. He won't disappear no matter how much you glare at him. Trust me I've tried, it doesn't work," Rose said in a way of a morning greeting.
"It's so sweet that you're defending me, Weasley," Malfoy teased, placing a hand over his heart, looking at her as though she'd just given him the one thing he had always wanted.
"Sod off, Malfoy. I still hate you," Rose said rolling her eyes at his antics.
"There's a fine line between love and hate, Weasley" Malfoy said in a soft singsong voice as Rose gave him a withering look.
"That's not a line I plan on ever crossing."
"We'll see."
It was only around 7:00 in the morning and he was already annoying her.
"Enough," McGonagall said loudly as Rose opened her mouth to give a sharp retort to Malfoy's last comment. Rose closed her mouth and gave a huff of annoyance that Malfoy got the last word. Malfoy smirked, obviously very pleased with himself for getting Rose riled up.
"It is far too early in the morning to listen to you two bickering once again, there are more pressing matters to deal with. For the rest of the morning, I want you both to try and get along, understood?"
The Headmistress gave them both a stern glare. Rose nodded feeling a little guilty for getting so worked up and muttered a quick "Yes, professor."
"Of course, Headmistress," Malfoy said after a stern look from his mother.
'Someone looks like she got caught with her hand in the cookie jar.' Malfoy's amused voice echoed in Rose's head and she shot him a glare.
"Would someone mind telling us why you're all down here on this beautiful morning," Malfoy asked before Rose could send an insult to him.
"Ah, yes," The Headmistress said, nodding. "I need you to come up to my office for a while, there are several things we need to sort out before you two can start your day," Malfoy opened his mouth to say something but the Headmistress cut him off. "You will still have time to eat breakfast, Mr Malfoy. I assure you."
Malfoy grinned at the professor and Rose rolled her eyes. Of course, food, that's the only thing he cares about.
"Right, let's get on with it then."
The group walked down the hall in silence, with the Headmistress and Madam Pomfrey walking a bit ahead of the rest. Rose glanced at her parents that were walking in silence next to her. They both looked so pale and there were dark rings under their eyes, giving away the fact that they obviously hadn't been sleeping either.
They started to meet some students when they turned the corner, not many students ever really went down the corridor to the hospital wing without meaning to go to the hospital wing itself.
Rose tried to ignore the outright stares their little company was getting, but it wasn't easy. For the first time in Rose's life, no one was staring at Ron or Hermione like they usually did when Rose's parents were seen in public. No, they were all staring at Rose and Malfoy, some pointed, others started whispering, some just stood there with their mouths hanging open.
"They know," Rose said, looking at a particularly large group of Slytherins who were all staring at Rose, looking dumbstruck.
"Yes," The Headmistress said nodding solemnly. "It's been all over the school this morning. I'm afraid that your secret is out, it won't be long until the news reaches the paper."
Rose sighed. Wonderful. Just another thing to deal with.
"I don't think we could have kept this a secret for very long," Malfoy pointed out.
"Yes, but it's still the last thing I want the whole bloody school knowing about," Rose shot back, very aware of the many eyes that were following her.
"It's not that bad," Malfoy said and Rose's head snapped back to him.
"Not that bad? Malfoy I'm pretty much married to you at sixteen how could this situation get any worse," Rose hissed.
"Enough, both of you," Hermione said sharply under her breath to the two teens. "There's enough going on without you two bickering in the middle of a crowded hallway."
"'It's not that bad'. Really," Rose said under her breath, shaking her head.
The rest of the trip was spent in silence. Rose sent Malfoy glares every once in a while, and Malfoy just grinned back. By the time they arrived at the Headmistress's office, Rose had calmed down a bit. The Headmistress whispered the password, the gargoyles jumped aside, and they all stepped onto the stairs as it started to move slowly upwards.
At the top, the group stepped onto the landing, McGonagall walked over to her office door and opened it wide. Every time Rose came to the Headmistress's office she couldn't help but look around in amazement.
The walls had floor to ceiling bookcases, the cabinets were full of different knick-knacks, there was a large dark wood desk, a grand fireplace, and a collection of paintings above.
"Miss Weasley, Mr Malfoy, please come over to my desk and have a seat. We have much to discuss," The Headmistress called from her position behind her large desk.
Rose took the seat on the right and Malfoy took the one on the left. Their parents took their places next to them.
"So," Malfoy said crossing his arms loosely over his chest and slouching down in his seat and putting one ankle over the other, looking very comfortable and at home. "What all has to change?"
"Well," The Headmistress said giving a stern look for his posture but not commenting all the same. "As you both know, there are many things we will need to change or modify so that you can both live as normally as possible," Rose nodded not saying anything, just watching the professor.
"The first thing we need to discuss is Quidditch," Malfoy shot straight upright in his seat, opening his mouth to say something.
At the mention of Quidditch, Rose got a sick feeling.
"It would be impossible for you to play, as you both well know," McGonagall said before Malfoy could say a thing. "I'm sorry but quidditch is out of the question for the time being. In a few months when the Bond has allowed you to move normally again without irritation, then we can talk about you two joining the team once more."
"But, professor," Malfoy said weakly, Rose knew that he adored Quidditch, and the thought of losing it must be physically painful. "The next match is coming up. We'll be crushed by Slytherin if the team loses a Chaser and a Seeker at the same time."
"You both have stand-in's, I'm sure we will do fine."
"Weasley is the best seeker this school has, taking her out would destroy the team and Al just doesn't play well with my stand-in. You can't take us off the team," Malfoy said pleadingly.
"I have to agree with Malfoy, Al's doesn't play well with Malfoy's stand-in and my replacement is just bloody useless," Rose said and the Headmistress sighed.
"Miss Weasley, Mr Malfoy," McGonagall said looking at them both in turn, "There is no way you can both play. I'm sorry, but until further notice, you are both off the team."
Rose got that sick feeling again. Right at the base of her stomach.
Malfoy looked as though the Headmistress had taken away his favourite toy.
"Just another thing that's been ruined from this ridiculous Bond," Rose said dryly. She ignored the stab of pain she got from saying this hateful comment.
"Miss Weasley, I promise you that I'll do everything in my power to help you two through this. After all, this is only temporary. Once the Bond is not as new you'll both be able to live much more normally," The Headmistress looked at the two with what Rose thought might be a look of pity.
"Yes, but nothing will ever be the same again," Rose said tiredly, "Malfoy and I are still Bonded. Nothing can change that, not even time."
By the time Rose and Malfoy were free to leave, neither were very happy. Like the Headmistress had promised, there was still time to go eat before they had to head off the class. Both were shouldering their book bags, both lost in thought, trying to process what the Headmistress had said.
Rose and Malfoy both stepped onto the staircase and it started to wind down, Ron, Hermione, Draco, and Astoria right behind them. Their parents had offered to walk them down to the Great Hall, and neither Rose or Malfoy had the heart to tell them that they would rather be alone.
So the small group set off together for the Great Hall, though it was a very silent walk. Rose walked in a sort of dream-like state. She didn't see or hear what was going on around her, she was too busy thinking.
The Headmistress had discussed a lot with the two Gryffindors. Since they had to stay close to each other for the first part of the Bond, they had had to change their classes around so that they were taking all the same subjects. Luckily the only difference in the class schedule was that Rose took Ancient Ruins while Malfoy didn't. Rose had reluctantly agreed to drop the class after Malfoy pointed out that it would be nearly impossible for him to catch up if he joined this far in the year.
They were made partners in all their classes; Potions, DADA, Charms, Transfiguration, History of Magic, and Herbology. Which meant a lot of switching around for their old partners.
Rose had to drop a lot of the things she was doing. She would no longer be tutoring the younger students, or help the teachers, and her advanced classes would have to be put on hold. Luckily, Rose would still be allowed to continue her prefect duties and her work with Hagrid.
Then came the topic of where they would sleep. Rose pointed out Malfoy could hardly sleep in the girls' dormitory even though he said he wouldn't mind in the least. This had just ended in Rose slapping him on the shoulder. And since Rose could simply not sleep in the boy's dorm, as her dad so helpfully pointed out they were at a loss.
The Headmistress had stopped a fight from breaking out by telling them that she had already figured that out. It seems that she had designed a smaller dorm room for Rose and Malfoy only. She had turned one of the old dorm rooms in Gryffindor tower into a small living area so that Rose and Malfoy could still stay with the rest of their house. Their dorm room supposedly had a small sitting room with a fireplace and studying area. It also had a bedroom with a bathroom much like the one in the hospital wing that Madam Pomfrey had transfigured for the two.
The subject of where they would go for the breaks came up but Rose quickly shut it down. The Headmistress had suggested that they split up the holidays so that both families had equal time with their child. Ron had gone bright red with anger when McGonagall said Rose should spend Christmas at the Malfoy Manor.
The next thing they had talked about was how they would go about their day-to-day life. Madam Pomfrey had taken over for that part and had explained, for what felt like the millionth time, what Rose and Malfoy could and could not do. They had to stay within five-to-ten feet of each other at all times until the Bond wasn't so new. Moving outside of that would result in both Rose and Malfoy becoming very dizzy and ill and in the end, they'd both pass out. They could not touch anyone other than each other. To come in contact with anyone other than the person you were Bonded with would result in the skin that had been touched to feel like it was burning.
There was one thing that was new in this speech that Rose had not been expecting. Madam Pomfrey had levelled them both with a stern look and said that they would have to learn to stop fighting. Rose had stared at her as though she had just grown a new head, asking Rose Weasley to get along with Scorpius Malfoy was like asking the world to stop spinning. It was never going to happen, and Rose said as much, the two of them were just too different.
The old nurse had given Rose a disapproving glare and said that if she didn't learn to get along with Malfoy the Bond would get irritated. The Bond wanted the two to get along and their constant fighting was not healthy for either of them. It was even more so for Rose because she was the Lead and it would affect her more than Malfoy.
In the end, Rose had agreed grudgingly to try and the nurse looked happy enough. Madam Pomfrey had then pulled something out of her pocket and had handed one to Malfoy and one to Rose. It was a necklace. The chain was silver and just long enough that Rose could hide it under her shirt, and at the end there were a few small circles hanging loosely. Madam Pomfrey had explained that they were special portkeys, each circle was linked to different parts of the castle. The white circle with the red cross on it was linked to the hospital wing, the red and gold one was linked to their new dorm room, the silver one was linked to the Headmistress's office, and the one with the St. Mungo's crest on it was linked to, of course, St. Mungo's.
The Headmistress explained that this was to help them get around easier and, if something were to happen, they would have a fast way to get to help. She also said that the one linked to her office was only to be used in an emergency and the same went for the St. Mungo's one.
All Rose and Malfoy had to do was touch the portkey for three seconds and think about going there and they would be transported.
After Rose and Malfoy had put their portkey necklaces on, the Headmistress had given them their book bags and told them that would be all for the day and that they were free to go.
This was all on Rose's mind as the group walked towards the Great Hall. The corridors had more students in them now than before, and as they walked students parted and made room for the group to pass. All of them stared at Rose and Malfoy with disbelieving expressions.
Rose guessed that it might be kind of hard to believe that Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy were one of this century's soul mates. It had been a whole century since the last soul Bonding, and not many people ever really got to say that they were there to see the newly bonded couple. The last known soul Bonding, which had been quite awhile ago, had been between Titan Orfanos and Annabell Gozzi.
When they finally got to the entrance to the Great Hall, Rose wasn't any happier. She hated students pointing and whispering when they walked by, hated their slack-jawed expressions. It was quite infuriating.
"You'll get through this Rosie," Hermione said quietly as the group stopped in front of the doors leading into the Great Hall.
"I hope so," Rose said with a sigh. Hermione smiled sadly at Rose.
"Have a good day, sweetheart," Ron said looking as though he wanted nothing more than to just hug Rose, but knowing that he couldn't.
"Thank you, daddy," Rose said smiling softly at her dad.
"Come on, love. I'm starving," Malfoy said after saying goodbye to his parents, Rose rolled her eyes.
"Is there ever a time you're not hungry? And quit calling me love," Rose said as they walked into the Great Hall, their parents walking ahead of them towards the teacher's table.
"Never," Malfoy said grinning brightly down at Rose as they walked, answering both questions at once.
Rose had noticed that when they walked into the Great Hall that all noise seemed to just dry out. Everyone's eyes were on them. Rose tried not to care or listen to the whispering that was starting to ripple through the Hall.
Rose couldn't help but smile in relief when she saw her friends sitting at the end of the Gryffindor table, right across from her cousins and Malfoy's friends. Rose was glad that they had all sat together, this way Rose and Malfoy could sit with their friends and not have to worry about being too far apart.
"Ro!" Elizabeth cried happily when she saw Rose.
"There you are. What took so long?" Mary asked as Rose sat down next to her and Lizzy, as Malfoy rounded the table and sat down next to Al and Fred.
"The Headmistress wanted to talk to us in her office," Rose explained grinning at her friends.
"We missed you mate!" Al said grinning at Malfoy, who smiled back happily.
"Oh Rose we're so glad your back, it's been horrible without you," Grace said from her place next to Mary.
"Has it?" Rose asked raising an eyebrow at her friends, they were acting like she had been gone for an eternity.
"Yes," they said nodding fervently.
"Where's Ashely?" Rose asked, suddenly noticing that she hadn't seen her fourth friend when she had sat down. Looking around Lizzy, Rose saw her friend staring down at her plate, her face blank.
"Ash, what on earth happened?" Rose gasped when she saw her friend's face. Her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy, her eyes were bloodshot and she was very pale. Rose could clearly see that she had been crying and that she had tried to cover it up, but nothing could hide it.
Ashley looked up from her plate where she had been pushing her food around absentmindedly, she looked quite startled to see Rose. "Rose," she greeted with forced cheerfulness, smiling tightly at Rose. "Sorry, I didn't see you come in."
Rose looked at her other friends and they all looked back, sadly shaking their heads.
"What happened?" Rose asked again.
"Nothing," Ashley said averting her gaze from Rose's intense eyes. Rose didn't understand it, there was obviously something was wrong with Ashley but she wasn't saying what. The small group of friends never kept secrets from one another, it just wasn't what they did.
"Darling," Lizzy said softly, placing a hand on Ashley's shoulder. "Is it all right if I tell Rose what happened?" After a moment of thought, Ashley nodded.
Lizzy turned back to Rose and sighed. "Ashely broke up with Kile last night," she said quietly so that only Rose could hear.
"What? Why?" Rose whispered back, still very confused. Ashely and Kile had been going out for nearly a year. Rose thought they were happy, in love even.
"She found out that he's been cheating on her for almost two months." Rose made a disbelieving, angry sound and looked at Ashley again who had tears gathering in her eyes. Rose wanted nothing more than to give her a hug.
"Oh, Ash I'm so sorry," Rose said and Ashely nodded, wiping at her eyes. "Do you want me to hex him, I can transform him into a flobberworm? You just say the word and it's done."
Ashley gave Rose a small smile and even chuckled a little.
"Thank you Ro, but no. Albus and James already took care of him." Rose looked over at her cousins to see that all the boys were talking and laughing like nothing had happened. Rose knew that Al, James, Fred, Malfoy, and all the other Gremlins were protective of the house's girls. So it didn't surprise Rose that they had beat her to it.
"So what did the Headmistress want?" Mary asked obviously wanting to change the subject.
"She just wanted to tell us where we'll be staying, tell us how classes will be going from now on, lecture us some more about the things we can't do, oh and she gave us these," Rose said reaching and tugging the portkey necklace over her head.
"What are those?" Lizzy asked looking at the small circles that hung on the silver chain with curiosity.
"Portkeys," Rose replied, turning the chain slowly in the air and letting them look closely at them.
"What?" Mary asked looking very confused.
"They're special portkeys. So say I need to get to the hospital wing quickly for some reason and I'm in Gryffindor tower. It would take forever to get there on foot. So to make it easier all I have to do is touch the white circle with the red cross on it and think about going to the hospital wing and three seconds later I'll be there."
"Cool," Lizzy said, with an awed expression. She loved things like this. "But wait, it's a necklace, that means the port keys are touching your skin. Doesn't that mean that when you're wearing it, if you happened to think about the hospital wing wouldn't you suddenly go there too?"
Rose smiled at her friend. "No, I have to touch the circle with my fingers, I think it like scans my fingerprints or something. That way I won't suddenly be transported when I don't want to be. Make sense?" Lizzy nodded after a moment but still looked a bit confused.
Rose smiled, pulling the necklace back on and turned towards the food. Now that she was here with all this food in front of her she realized that she was actually very hungry. Rose grabbed some eggs, toast, hash browns, and bacon and started eating. Across the table, Malfoy had already started eating along with the other sixth year boys, and Rose tried not to grimace with disgust at the way they were all shovelling food into their mouths like it was their last meal on earth.
"Wait," Mary asked with a puzzled look on her face, "did you say that the Headmistress wanted to talk to you about where you'd be staying now?"
Rose nodded and Mary, Lizzy, Grace, and Ashely all looked as though they'd been hit by a few bludgers.
"You're not staying in our dorm?" Grace asked looking heartbroken and confused.
Rose looked around at her friends in surprise. Had they really thought Rose would be returning to the sixth year girl's dorm? Didn't they realize that Rose and Malfoy were attached by the hip now, that Rose couldn't go anywhere without him? Rose wondered if they had thought that she and Malfoy would just sleep in their dorm?
"Of course not!" Rose said. "Malfoy can't sleep in the sixth year girl dorms!"
"I tried to tell her that I didn't mind but she wouldn't listen," Malfoy said from across the table and Rose gave him a quick glare that said shut up before turning back to her friends.
"See he doesn't mind," Mary said, who Rose knew couldn't care less about Malfoy staying in the dorm, but Rose also knew that the other girls weren't so open to the idea of a boy in their dorm.
"Mar" Rose said with a sigh. "Malfoy can't stay in the girl's dorm, for three reasons. First, McGonagall would never allow it in a million years and second, he's a boy and it would be inappropriate to have in our dorm,"
"And three?" Grace asked after a slight pause.
"There's no way in hell that I'm going to ever share a bed with Malfoy," Rose said firmly.
"You already did that, love," Malfoy said smirking at Rose from across the table. She blushed thinking about that first day after the Bond. Al gave Malfoy a look that was quite clearly a warning that he needed to watch what he said. They may have been best friends since day one, but Rose was Al's cousin and he was still protective of her.
"Oh, sod off why don't you," Rose snapped, sending him a withering scowl before turning back to the girls.
"Look, I know it will take some time to adjust to but this is just how things are now. I may not be staying in the dorm with you guys but I'll still see you, we will still spend time together." Rose said softly to the four girls she considered family, they were sisters to her in everything but blood.
"Alright," Mary said with a sad sigh, turning back to her food. "But it's not the same."
"No," Rose agreed also turning in her seat and reaching to grab some more bacon,"but nothing's the same anymore Mar."
~oOo~
