Chapter 14
Concentrating on running up to the Astronomy tower was all Rose could think about to keep herself from crying. The motion of running, the movement of her feet, up and down the stairs, kept her sane. She couldn't think about it here-not in the corridors that were streaming with people. Not in the stairwells that lead up and down from classroom to classroom. It was a Sunday night, and most students, besides those who were scrambling to finish their homework, were out and about, enjoying the last day of the weekend before buckling down for the harsh light of Monday morning. Rose just hoped that no one would be in the tower tonight as it was a Sunday coming off a Hogsmeade weekend. The more popular nights were Friday or Saturday, the nights that you didn't have to worry about waking up the next morning.
And with no Scorpius here...
The random thoughts that were swirling through her head seemed to stop with a halt when she thought of Scorpius' name. From the library to where she was now, her mind had been filled with just getting to the Astronomy tower and nonsense about school to keep it off the matter that was bugging her. Just thinking about Scorpius's name almost caused her to lose her cool in a corridor full of students. But she couldn't now, not when she was in front of all her classmates who she was sure by now knew all about the Malfoy family's passing.
When she reached the base of the winding staircase leading up to her safe haven, Rose stopped. It wouldn't do her any good to run up there if someone was already busy there. She knew that regular couples who visited the tower had come up with a system to let others know that they were up there. The problem was, Rose had no idea what it was. She and Scorpius always stayed in their dorm or in a broom closet. Coming up to the Astronomy tower to too much of a risk for them. It was time like these that Rose thanked her lucky stars that she was Head Girl. With her authority, she could make anyone in the tower leave. Thanking her time, though, for she didn't want to see anything, Rose stepped on one step at a time, being careful not to make them squeak. If some was up there in a compromising position, Rose would just leave them be since she wasn't official on rounds. She tried to be quiet, so that no one would hear her coming up. If anyone saw her, they would think of the worst, and she did not want that to happen. Upon reaching the top, Rose let out a sigh of relief. There wasn't anyone up there. It was empty. She could be alone.
Rose sat down hard on a stone bench and looked out at the sky. The sun had already set, but the stars weren't out quiet yet. This was her favorite time of night. When she was a little girl, her mother would take her out into their backyard on clear winter nights. Her mother would sit her down and tell her to close her eyes and just listen. Rose seemed to be able to hear much more in the night with her mother than any other time. She had shared this with Scorpius earlier in the year. He had taken her outside once or twice and they would just sit there listening to the bugs and the water. They would sit there and watch the sky until the first star appeared and then make a wish. Rose remembered wishing that nothing would change from that moment- that she would just stand still in a happy memory. It was so peaceful then, just being with him.
Oh, Scorpius. Now that she was alone, she let her mind wander onto him. There was no on up here to see her cry. And cry she would. Already, Rose could feel the tears start to drip down her face. She couldn't believe that Scorpius could be guilty of such a heinous crime. And, she supposed, he is the type of person that everyone would suspect. No one really liked him outside his small group of friends. All the girls he hung out with didn't like him as a person, but more as someone to get with. And his family was a black mark on his record. The Malfoys weren't respected and, given their history, Rose knew that many people wouldn't be surprised if Scorpius murdered them. After all, they would say, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Rose hated thinking this, but it seemed like Scorpius was the only one who could have done it.
Before, she didn't want to make any judgments, but after what Al told her, about the poison, it seemed like Scorpius was the only person who could have made it. Tears dripped down her eyes and onto her cheeks. Rose hated thinking this. She felt like she was betraying him. Like she was betraying something they had. But she really wasn't. After all, when she was asked about him, she lied and protected him. Sure it was protecting herself as well, but mostly it was to protect him.
Rose sighed again. Her life was getting so complicated now. Why couldn't she just go back to the summer? Back then, life was so easy. She knew she hated Scorpius and the rest of the Malfoy family. She knew how the year was going to go with her being Head Girl. She had a plan for everything she was going to do with her life. Now, everything had fallen apart and turned rotten. She fell in love with the boy she was supposed to hate, she had done nothing to better the school as Head Girl, and she didn't know what she would be doing after graduation. Her head felt like it was about to explode. And it was all because of Scorpius.
Even though he was probably the killer, Rose still loved him. If she was going to be honest with herself, she would say that she had never stopped loving him, even after he broke her heart into a million tiny pieces. Something about him being the murderer just didn't add up and Rose was determined to figure it out. She loved him, so she was going to fight for him.
It was now a little after 9 o'clock. The tears had stopped, but she could tell that her eyes were still puffy and red. She would stay up here for a little while longer. Rose could see the stars clearly now from where she was sitting on the bench. She knew that she had to go in soon and try to get some sleep in her old dormitory, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the beauty of the stars. They were never-changing. Every night, without fail, the stars would stay still while the earth moved. She wished that her life was like that, everything moving around her while she stayed still and never changed. But, she supposed, it would get boring after a while. It was fun to think about, though. She stood up to get a closer look at them, not noticing that she was standing on the ledge of the tower.
"Rose!"
Rose whipped her head around to see who was coming up the stairs. She just wanted to be alone. Uncle Harry was there, and he had a look of horror on his face. Rose raised her hands to attempt to dry her eyes. She didn't want Harry to see her like this.
"Get down from there, Rose," he shouted at her. Rose glanced down from where she was standing on the edge of the Astronomy tower. The ground seemed so far away from where she was. She took a step back, not wanting to fall.
"Hi Uncle Harry," she said, though back now, still looking out at the night sky. Rose could still feel dry tears on her face and wanted nothing more than Harry to leave.
"Rose, you may feel sad and depressed, but jumping is not the answer." Harry responded cautiously.
"What?" Rose whipped her head around a second time and looked at her uncle. He had crept up behind her and had his wand out. His face was pure white and looked like he was seeing a ghost. "What are you talking about? Jumping?" Thoughts were swirling in her head, and Rose couldn't make sense of what her uncle was saying.
"We can help you, Rose. You aren't in any trouble. Just get off that ledge." He stopped moving when she turned around, but he still kept his wand out. It all made sense to Rose now.
With a dry laugh Rose said, "I'm not committing suicide." She was still upset about Scorpius, but she wanted going to kill herself over him. It would be like Romeo and Juliet, except she didn't think that Scorpius was dead. And Scorpius wouldn't kill himself over her. "I'm just here to think."
She saw her uncle visibly relax, but keep his wand out. "Can you just please step away from the window?"
Rose stepped down from where she was standing out on the ledge. She could tell that her face was still stained with tears and her eyes were puffy, but there wasn't any way to prevent Harry from seeing that. Her uncle watched her face carefully, finally putting his wand back in his pocket. He sat down on the bench and Rose sat next to him. She knew that he would want to talk.
"So," he began after a bit of awkward silence, "what were you thinking about up here?"
"I don't know," she said, hoping that Harry wouldn't bring up Scorpius. She couldn't deal with that with him here. She had just finished crying about him. She didn't want to start again so soon after. "I guess life in general. The whole world seems to be spinning and there's nothing I can do to stop it." Even if she didn't want to discuss Scorpius, she could still get advice from her uncle. Whenever she needed advice in the past, Harry was always there to listen.
"I'm sure you feel like that now, but life will eventually even itself out," Harry said, not even looking at her once. Rose glanced at him and his eyes had glazed over like he was remembering the past. Her parents' eyes did that when they thought of something that happened to them in the past. "When I was your age, everything that could go wrong for me went wrong. Voldemort was taking over and there was nothing I could do to stop him. I was on the run with your parents and some days, I couldn't see the end of the war. I would wake up wishing that Voldemort would find and kill me just so I could stop the pain."
Rose looked down at her lap. Whenever she was reminded of what her parents had to suffer when they were her age, her problem always seemed so petty. Even with Scorpius and the murder, it was nothing compared to what her family faced under Voldemort's terror. Harry continued.
"Each day seemed grimmer than the last one. There wasn't any hope for us. For me. But somehow, through it all, I was still determined that kill Voldemort. I knew that I had to succeed of that I wouldn't see anyone that I loved ever again." With this statement, Harry looked down at her. It seemed to Rose that he was trying to tell her something without using words. Rose would bet anything that it had to do with Scorpius. "Love will away conquer anything. Even when life seems dark, there had to be hope."
There was silences that engulfed them now. From a glance, Rose saw that Harry was still deep in thought about his past. Rose knew that he was probably remembering everyone who died and what he could have done to prevent it. It was them that Rose realized that she didn't want to live her life like that. She didn't wasn't to have any regrets about what she did when she was young. She wanted to live life to the fullest. A tear dripped down her face. What was going on with Scorpius- that would be what she would regret when she was her parents age.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked, interrupting her thoughts.
"No," Rose cried out, her calm, pulled together act breaking. She flung herself into her uncle's arms like he was the only thing that could save her from drowning. The tears that she thought she was done shedding came out as well. Harry's arms wrapped around hers to keep her still, but Rose still felt herself trembling. All the motions she was keeping inside of herself for the day came flooding out. Harry didn't ask any questions, but continued to hold her still. Rose was grateful for that. She wasn't ready to talk yet. She knew that eventually she would have to tell Harry everything, but not tonight.
Tomorrow morning, she was going to walk up to the Aurors' office and tell her uncle, father, and any other person that was there that she was the one Scorpius was with the other night. Her family would be mad and ashamed, but it was the truth. Rose didn't want any regrets in life, and lying about her relationship with Scorpius was already one she had. It was time to come clean about her and Scorpius. She would tell them everything. Well, mostly everything.
She still believed that Scorpius was innocent. She had too. All the evidence was pointing towards him, but he was smart. If he was going to kill his family, he would not have written a note telling someone where he was going. Scorpius would know that the note would be enough the make him a suspect. And if he had killed them, he wouldn't have used a potion that would pin-point him as the only person available to commit the crime. He would have used a curse, something that was untraceable. And when he went to the Manor, he didn't plan on killing his family. From what she heard about the poison, it seems like one that takes more than a couple hours to brew. Scorpius wouldn't have had enough time to create the poison if he didn't plan on using it. There was no way that Scorpius could have murdered his family. Now that she was thinking things through clearly, it didn't make any sense.
So, she wasn't going to tell them why Scorpius went to the Malfoy Manor. All that would show was a reason for him to kill his father. Since the note didn't say anything about her knowing why he was going to the Manor, so she would be safe. After she confessed, Rose knew that it would be the number one question everyone would ask her. Coming up with an alibi on the spot was difficult, as she learned earlier today. At least now, she could think about what she was going to say. No, it would be much better to play the part of adoring girlfriend who was scared for her boyfriend's safety, but knew nothing. It would probably be more believable was well. She had not proof that her and Scorpius were together, but she knew that the Aurors would believe her. She did have a past with Scorpius that they seemed to be interested in. She would just tell them what they want to hear because it was the truth.
So now, she was just going to let herself be held. She could worry about all that tomorrow. Right now, Rose was just going to relax. She knew the next few days were going to be hectic, and she needed her strength. Her family was going to be brutal to tell. She knew the public wouldn't react well either. There had been so much drama with her and Scorpius this year, and this discovery was going to be the cherry on top. Rose just hoped that Scorpius would turn up soon. And unharmed. The thought of him being hurt, or Merlin forbid dead, made her heart skip a beat. She couldn't handle that right now. Rose sighed again. These thought could wait till the morning. Right now, relaxing was on her mind.
"Everything is going to be alright, Rose" Harry whispered into her ear, breaking the silence. "I won't let anything hurt you. Everything will work out in the end. I'll always be there for you. I promise."
Rose hoped that he could keep that promise, even with the confession she was going to be sharing tomorrow. She knew he was confused right now and didn't know why she was so upset. But he didn't pressure her to talk. And Rose would glad. She would talk to him in the morning.