Chapter 12
Looking back, Rose had no idea how she made it through the rest of the day. When her uncle Harry told her that Scorpius was wanted for murder, she had promptly fainted. As soon as she came to, she got whisked away so that more people could question her. She stuck to her story, saying that she hadn't seen Scorpius since before the Quidditch game.
All she could remember was her dream and Scorpius asking her to protect him. At times, she was tempted to tell the truth and say that he had been with her, but she didn't. The dream she had of Scorpius seemed so real. It was almost like he could have done it. Besides, after they had sex, Rose fell asleep and didn't wake up for hours. And then, even when she did wake up, it took her a good five minutes to realize that Scorpius wasn't there. Scorpius could have gone and killed his family during the time she fell asleep to when she woke up. And the note he left for her did say that he was going to his house to talk with his father. For all Rose knew, Scorpius could have killed his family.
When the Aurors found the note that she had left in his room, a strong case could now be made against him. That note proved that Scorpius had been planning on going to the Manor that day. When someone said that the note could have been written a while ago, the Aurors cast a charm to check the date and time the note was written. The time matched up perfectly for the crime. Luckily for Rose, the note didn't give her name, so they couldn't tell that she was lying.
The whole reason why they were even questioning her was because she was the only person who lived with him. But, the note told the Aurors that Scorpius had spent the night with someone. That someone could tell them when Scorpius had left. Once the note was found, Rose was brought in for a whole new round of questioning. This time, they were asking her if she had seen anyone around the Head dorms recently and if Scorpius had a girlfriend or anyone he had been sleeping with. These questions were harder and Rose wasn't sure if they believed her when she said she hadn't seen him with anyone.
She didn't know why she was lying. It was partly to not let her family know that she had slept with Scorpius. But the other part confused her. It was as if she was trying to protect Scorpius. Rose knew that he could have killed his family- that he had a good reason to. But even then, he would have only killed his father. His mother was innocent in the whole matter. But she also knew that Scorpius was smart. If he knew he was going to kill his father or family, he wouldn't have left a note saying that he was going to the Malfoy Manor. Because of this, Rose had her doubts. It was possible that Scorpius had gone to talk with his father and things had gone bad. But, it was also possible that someone else who hated the Malfoy family had killed them, then took Scorpius away to frame him. Rose didn't know what to believe. Merlin, she didn't even know how the Malfoy family had died- if was the killing curse, poison, or another grueling process. Until she knew, she wasn't going to pass any judgments.
After she was questioned by the third person, she began to ask her own questions. She wanted to know how the Malfoy family died. Even with that little bit of information, she could start to form a theory proving if Scorpius killed his family or not. Rose hoped that it was the latter, but until she had evidence, she wasn't going to make any conclusions. She also wanted to know if the Aurors had any leads as to where Scorpius was. If they did, this would disprove her theory that Scorpius had been kidnapped. All these questions where whizzing around in her head while she was being brought in for the last interview. The Aurors had set up a make-shift office for while they were working at Hogwarts. This was where her final interview would take place. At least, she hoped it was her final one.
"So, tell me again, when was the last time you saw Scorpius Malfoy?" a female Auror named Tiffany Patel asked Rose. She was the fifth person to be questioning her, second of the Aurors. The first two interviews had been by people at the Ministry, the other by the Malfoy's legal representative. All of them had asked the same questions. Where was Scorpius Malfoy last night? When did you see him last? The questions droned on and on, all the answers running together. Rose really didn't want to go through another interview. She just wanted to go take a warm bubble bath and try to sort out what was going on.
"As I've said before, the last time I talked to him was right before the Quidditch game. Lorcan Scamander can prove that," Rose answered, slightly fed up. How many times did they have to talk to her? Could they all just look at the first report? None of that information is going to change.
"I didn't want to know the last time you spoke to the suspect," Patel said, turning her head up slightly, like something in the air bothered her. "I asked when the last time you saw him was."
"Oh," Rose said, slightly surprised. No one else had asked her that. "I think we were in the Three Broomsticks. I was on a date and so was he."
"Were you together?" Patel asked, her voice becoming louder, as if to catch Rose off guard. It was almost as if she knew that Rose was lying.
"No," Rose cried out, wanting to set the record straight. If anyone found out that she was lying, she could get subjected to veritaserum. And if that happened, she would be in a whole lot more trouble. "I was with Lorcan Scamander. We were sitting at a table in the back. Scorpius was up front on a double date with-"
"You call him Scorpius, not Malfoy," Patel interpreted her answer. "I was not aware that you were on a first name basis with the suspect." Rose could tell that she was just fishing for information, hoping that Rose would slip up. Patel had to know that she and Scorpius had dated. Why else would she be asking these types of questions?
"Of course I am," Rose answered, though she wasn't liking where this line of questioning was going. All of the other interrogators had brushed over her relationship with Scorpius and focused more on when and where she had seen him. "He's the Head Boy, and I'm Head Girl. We have to be on a first name basis if we want to get any work done."
"I see," Patel said as if she really didn't believe what Rose as saying. "Then are you denying that you ever entered a relationship with the suspect?"
"What?" Rose shrieked. So Patel did know about her and Scorpius, though the information wasn't surprising. Still, Rose had to pretend like she was scared, or else no one would believe her. "What do you mean by that?"
"I am simply referring to the Daily Prophet article printed over three months ago, saying that you and Mr. Malfoy had been seeing each other. Are you denying that you were ever in such relationship?"
"I'm not denying anything," Rose answered, getting annoyed. It wasn't any of the Aurors business if she and Scorpius used to date. It wasn't as if they were dating now. Rose's mind flashed back to the night before, suddenly. So maybe they weren't ignoring each other now, but they haven't defined the relationship yet.
"So you are confirming it?" Patel asked, her body getting closer. Rose knew enough to tell that this was why Patel was questioning her. The Aurors wanted to know if she was still seeing Scorpius, even though they haven't been together publicly.
"Yes," Rose answered, knowing that it wouldn't help her to lie. The whole world knew that Scorpius and she had something going on. "Scorpius and I went out. But that was months ago. I don't see how this is relevant to this case."
"On the contrary, Ms. Weasley, this is quiet important," Patel said while her head nodded. "Just from your answer, you now have a motive to lie for him." Rose shook her head, not believing where this was going. All Patel had was a suspicion, she couldn't prove anything. Rose just needed to stick to her story and hope for the best. "Are you perhaps," Patel went on, "lying for him right now?"
"That's ridiculous," Rose spewed out. "We haven't been seeing each other for weeks. Why would I lie for him?"
"Why indeed." Leaning back, Patel said, "How would you describe the break-up? How did thing ends between you and the suspect? Was it a mutual ending, or did someone not want to break-up?"
"I... he broke up with me," Rose answered, knowing there was no point in lying. It was common knowledge among her family and at Hogwarts that she and Scorpius weren't together. Her family knew firsthand how she felt about him at Christmas when she had been heartbroken.
"And did he give you a reason why he broke up with you?" Patel questioned. "After spending time looking over Mr. Malfoy's character, he doesn't seem like the type to not give a reason for breaking up? Had you been having fights earlier in the relationship, or did you feel like your relationship was going fine?"
Rose hated thinking about this. It wasn't anyone god damn business why Scorpius broke up with her. Even when her family or cousins asked her why they broke up, after they were done scolding her for going out with him in the first place, she didn't tell them. That knowledge was for her and her alone. She had been so embarrassed that her first real boyfriend had dumped her, and she didn't like advertising it. But, she couldn't evade the question. Patel would know that something was up if she did. "He told me that it wasn't me, it was him," Rose said angrily. "It was the typical break-up line. He said it had nothing to do with the article. And no, we weren't having any problems before the break-up. We were just fine." Rose hoped that it was enough of the truth that Patel would just leave her alone.
"And do you really believe this?" Patel asked, ignoring her last statement and focusing on the break-up line. "It seems to me like you broke up the first time you saw each other after the article. Tell the truth, did you think it had something to do with the article? You did say that you weren't having any problems before it."
"It may have crossed my mind," Rose said meekly as Patel stared at her across the table. Rose knew better to lie about this. It would seem unrealistic if she hadn't come to that conclusion.
"Forgive me," Patel replied, not looking or sounding sorry at all. Not that Rose was surprised. "I am just trying to understand the situation and get all the facts straight. So he broke up with you after the Daily Prophet wrote about you and him, slamming your relationship. Now do you have any idea why he broke up with you after the article?"
Before she had found out the truth, Rose assumed that Scorpius was ashamed that he was with her. She thought that he didn't want his family to say anything to him about her. Even though he had tried to convince her that the article had nothing, she still felt like it was the whole reason he broke up with her. After all, he really didn't tell her why they were breaking up. Now that she knew the truth, Rose knew that this wasn't the case. Still, she wasn't going to tell Patel that. It would be like handing Scorpius over to the Aurors wrapped in a pretty bow and delivered to their doorstep. "I believe that he was embarrassed to be seen with me. I think he believed that his family wouldn't want us together."
Patel nodded eagerly, like Rose had just handed her a gold brick. "So it wasn't him who wanted to break up with you. Based on your statement, it looks like his family didn't want him to date you. Would you say that his family pressured him into breaking things off with you?" Patel implied, her bright yellow nails clicking the dark wooden tabletop.
"No!" Rose shouted quickly. Patel leaned forward looking hopeful that she was getting angry. Rose knew that this kind of emotion, this kind of trip up, was what she had been waiting for. "That wasn't what I said," Rose said angrily, but quieter this time, trying to get her emotions in check. The last thing she needed to do was lose her head and blurt out something she didn't want to say.
"But you implied it," Patel responded. "So, do you think his family had something to do with your break-up?"
Gathering her composer, Rose said, "I have no idea. We haven't spoken about it since we broke up. In fact, we have really spoke to each other at all since out break-up." Rose felt like she needed to add that last statement. It gave more evidence that she wasn't helping Scorpius or covering up anything.
"I see." Patel shook her head, not believing what Rose was saying. "But, would you be surprised if that was the real reason Mr. Malfoy broke up with you?"
Rose shifted in her seat, not knowing what to answer. If she answered no, it would imply that Scorpius didn't want to break up with her and would give him a reason to hurt or kill his family. If she said yes, Patel would her what she knew anything about Scorpius' relationship with his family. Plus, it would be obvious that she was lying. She was a bloody Weasley, and everyone knew that the Malfoys and the Weasleys didn't get along. Patel wouldn't believe her for a moment. Rose seemed like she had been backed into a corner. So, instead of giving a definite answer, Rose was elusive. "How would I know? We haven't spoken in months."
"Earlier, you said that the last time you spoke to the suspect was right before the Quidditch match yesterday morning," Patel said, double checking her notes.
"You know what I mean," Rose said, wishing that this questioning would just end. "Months is a figure of speech. We haven't spoken properly in months."
"I get it," Patel said plainly. "In my notes here, it says that the Head dorms' fire is connected to the floo network. But, we have check with the floo networks' log and it says that no one has flooed out of this fireplace since last year. The timelines match up to when the article was published. Sadly, we cannot see where people go once they are on the floo network- we can only tell that it was being used. Could this have been Mr. Malfoy, going to see his family after the article was published?"
"Of course no," Rose said, trying to laugh. Internally, she as freaking out. Could she lose her badge for this? "That would have been me. After I saw the article, I left Hogwarts and went to my cousin James' flat."
"Can he verify that you were there?" Patel asked, her mouth forming a frown. Rose knew that she had wanted to find a way for Scorpius to be the killer.
"Yes," Rose said.
"You do know that in doing that, you broke many Hogwarts rules," Patel commented, writing something down in her notes.
"I do know that, but it's the truth," Rose replied, wishing that she could just go. This interview was already longer than all the others.
"Mhum," was all the response she got from Patel. "Now, what time did you return to the Head's common room after your date with Mr. Scamander? Was Mr. Malfoy here? Do you have any idea what time Mr. Malfoy could have left this room?"
Internally, Rose groaned. Rose hoped that she didn't give too much away answering those other questions. Now the regular questions were coming back. Leaning back, Rose knew that this was going to be a long day.