The next morning Rose awoke a bit late, having decided to enjoy being able to sleep in. This meant that the Great Hall was quite full when she arrived for breakfast. As she made her way to the Hufflepuff table she spotted three notable absences from the Gryffindor table. Harry, Ron and Hermione were missing. Professor Quirrell was also missing from his seat at the staff table.

As the day went on wild stories began to fly around the school concerning the events of the previous night. Rose didn't believe half of them. Hermione and Ron turned up at lunch and Rose got part of the truth, a chilling tale of a 'Sorcerer's Stone' that someone was trying to steal in order to bring 'You-know-who' back to full strength, an idea that sent a shudder down Rose's spine. Of a game of wizard chess with the highest stakes imaginable, a life or death riddle and Harry leaving to face his rival and being brought out of it unconscious, the precise details of the battle unknown.

Rose joined Ron and Hermione on a visit to a still unconscious Harry in the hospital wing. Ron and Hermione were quite distressed about everything. Rose left a flower and a chocolate bar for whenever he woke up. It was one amid a small pile.

Harry remained unconscious for three days and the rumors surrounding what had happened continued to fly around. When he finally woke up Rose decided to join Ron and Hermione on a visit to finally find out what had really happened that day.

This was one of the times when the truth was even crazier than the wild rumors. Harry had left Hermione behind after the riddle and went on to face Professor Quirrell, but he hadn't been alone. Hidden under that absurd turbin had been none other than 'You-know-who' or 'Voldemort' as Harry was determined to call him now. He'd possessed Quirrell in order to get the sorcerer's stone and regain his own body. Harry had very nearly been killed however a trick with an enchanted mirror allowed him to obtain the stone and his mother's sacrifice had allowed him to defeat Quirrell who had died, unfortunately 'You-know-who' hadn't died and Dumbledore had told Harry that it was possible he'd find another way to return.

The four of them continued to chat until Madame Pomfrey turned up and insisted they leave and let Harry get some rest. That evening, the end of year feast was held and it appeared Slytherin had won until Dumbledore awarded points to Gryffindor for the sorcerer's stone incident and the Gryffindors beat out Slytherin marking Slytherin's first loss in seven years. This caused an outbreak of cheering from the other three houses. Rose wasn't sure how to feel, she cheered along with everyone else but she knew how disappointed her secret pal would be about this development, all in all it was a rather exciting end to the year, Rose could only hope that the Gryffindor trio would keep out of any more trouble.

The rest of the year passed easily and in all the excitement, Rose had nearly forgotten her exam results were still to come, come they did however. Rose was pleased to see that she had passed with semi-decent marks, which made her happy. She couldn't wait to show mum and dad how well she'd done.

The day before the Hogwarts express was due to take them home, Rose was once again to be found basking in the sun by the lake, kicking her feet in the cool water when she was joined by Draco again.

"How ya doing?" Rose asked easily as Draco dipped his feet into the water as well.

"Alright." He said "My exam results aren't going to impress my father but at least I don't have to stress about it anymore."

"Where's your buddies?" Rose asked, staring around for any sign of Crabbe and Goyle coming to break up their conversation.

"Don't worry, Roselynn. They're stuck back in the common room packing." Draco said mildly. The two of them sat in silence for a bit until Draco broke it.

"I should go before anyone comes looking for me."

Rose nodded, "Yeah I got a few things I need to pack yet."

The two friends got up and put their shoes back on, there was another pause in which they looked at each other, both thinking the same thing.

"I guess..this is goodbye for the year, huh?" Rose asked finally.

"Yeah," Draco replied, "Rose...I'm…I'm actually gonna miss you."

He flushed a bit and Rose felt her own cheeks start to burn, he'd admitted that he was going to miss her and, for the first time, he'd used her nickname. She smiled and ran a hand through her unruly hair

"Yeah...me too." She admitted.

Draco headed off across the grounds and Rose waited a bit before heading back herself. Once she was back in the common room she carefully packed her few remaining possessions, including her stuffed dragon, and ensured that she hadn't left anything. The next day Rose ate her final breakfast in the Great hall and then boarded the train that would take her home for the summer. As usual, Rose was excited with the end of the school year and the prospect of summer with no work to do for a few months if she got her summer essays out of the way as soon as she got home, but she was also a bit sad to be leaving. She was going to miss her friends, especially Draco since she wouldn't even be able to write to him, wandering around the grounds and of course her piano room. She shared a compartment with Susan, Megan and Cedric on the way home and the four Hufflepuffs joked and played a few last games of exploding snap. Soon enough they were pulling into King's Cross station.

The platform was busy and bustling as everyone gathered luggage and exited the barrier in twos and threes, Rose waved goodbye to her friends after they'd crossed through the barrier and found mum and dad waiting for her. She scampered over and hugged them both tightly, through a gap in her dad's arms she spotted Harry following a very grumpy looking man out of the station and, not too far away, Draco was meeting his family as well.

Rose walked out of the station hand in hand with her mum as dad pushed her trunk for her and she couldn't help but hope that Harry and Draco would be okay.