Chapter 15

"WHAT?" her father shouted as his coffee cup slipped between his fingers and fell to the floor. It shattered into a million pieces, but Ron didn't pay attention to that. "What did you say?" he asked again in an equally loud voice.

When Rose had woken up that Monday, she knew she had to talk to an Auror. What she didn't know was that her dad along with Uncle Harry were the ones who were heading this case. It would have been bad enough to tell an Auror that she didn't know. Rose knew that her family would find out, but she didn't want to be the one to tell them. Now, her dad was going to be the first one to find out about her and Scorpius.

"I said I was the one that spent the night with Scorpius," Rose explained to her father again. She had already told him that when she walked through the doors of the office. "The note you found? That was meant for me." Rose willed herself to stare into space. She could feel her fathers', uncles', and every other Auror in the room had their eyes on her. Her mind was blank. It was the only way to get herself through this conversation. Practicing her mind being blank created a shield between what she heard and how she felt. This method would only work for a short time, though.

"I get that part," her father was saying. "What I don't get is why? Why were you with him? I thought you two weren't speaking. I thought you too were broken up? Were you lying to us? Do you know where he is? Did you help him kill his family?"

At that last remark, Rose felt a sting and winced. The blankness in her mind shattered and was replaced with rage. How could her very own father accuse her of such a crime? And how did he know that Scorpius killed his family? Scorpius hadn't even been proven to be the murderer. She was about to yell back when Harry grabbed both her and Ron by the arm and moved them into a smaller room. He made them sit down in chairs across from each other. Harry stood. Suddenly, Rose felt like this was an interrogation again.

"I get that you are mad, Ron, but for right now, don't think of Rose as your daughter. Instead, think of her as a prime witness and possible aid to the murderer and a suspect caught lying under oath. For the sake of getting through this, please try. Or," Harry said, looking as Ron, "do I have to get someone else in here?"

"I'm fine," Ron muttered as her sat back in his chair. "I'll be fine."

"Good," Harry said with a tight smile on his lips. Rose could tell that he hated doing this, but as the Head of the Department and involved in the case, he was required to be here. "Now let's begin."

Harry sat down in the chair next to Ron. It was really beginning to feel like an interrogation. Rose thought back to what her father had taught her about interrogation. He said never to lie, even if it meant going against everything she stood for. She was supposed to sit straight up in her chair and keep eye contact with the questioner. Ron said that eye contact was one of the biggest tools in determining the truth in the case. Rose also remembered to keep her answers nice and short, not providing details when no one asked for them. Ron told her to be as helpful as she could be to the investigation, but not to make things up. They had practiced many times when she was younger when the press had been all over her and her family. She just had to take a deep breath right now and pretend that they were practicing right now.

Harry put the folder on the table and opened it. Out of all the investigation folders she had seen, this was by far the largest. It saddened Rose to think that it was Scorpius' folder. She looked at her Uncle as he put up a shield around the room to keep out unwanted listeners. She also saw him create a video device that the Aurors use when talking to their suspects. Before when she was interviewed, none of this stuff was necessary. Now, since her role in the investigation changed, it was more serious. Rose just hoped that they wouldn't give her the truth sermon. There were some things she wanted to keep a secret.

"So let's begin," her uncle said, turning on the device. "Case number 53942 - Scorpius Malfoy v. Wizarding World. Investigators: Harry J. Potter, Head Auror of the Auror Department, and Ronald B. Weasley, Deputy Head Auror of the Auror Department. Suspect in Question: Rose H. Weasley, 7th Year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Rose was shocked at how official this was sounding. It sounded like she was in a lot of trouble. Harry continued. "Suspect came forward and said she was lying under oath in early interviews on the subject. Because of her age, no truth sermon will be given at this time, though it is subject to change. Let's begin."

Relief flooded Rose. She wouldn't be forced to tell the truth with the truth sermon. At least now she could choose when to lie. All she had to do was make the lies believable so her uncle and father wouldn't get suspicion. She glanced at her dad. His fingers were wrapped around the side of his chair so hard, they were beginning to turn white. Rose was sure that by the end of this, her hands would be white as well.

"So, could you please give us a rundown of what you did three days ago on Saturday?" Her uncle asked without delaying anymore. He just wanted to get this over with.

"Well," Rose began," three days ago was the morning of the big Quidditch game. In the afternoon, we could all go to Hogsmeade. I had made plans with my Hogsmeade date, Lorcan Scamander, to meet him at the game. I had also promised Lily that I would bring a box filled with something to the game."

"Lily?" Harry asked, his head never lifting from the page he was staring at. "Lily who? And do you know what was in the box?"

"Lily Potter," Rose said dryly, wanting to add in a smart comment about her being his daughter, but she didn't. Making jokes at a time like this wouldn't help her case at all. "And no, I didn't know what was in the box. I still don't know in fact. I haven't seen Lily since I gave her that box." This was a little white lie, but it wasn't really important. She had seen Lily, but hadn't talked to her.

"Very well," Harry said, making a mark on the page. "Continue."

"Okay, well as I was waiting for Lorcan, Scorpius showed up."

"Why were you on a date with Lorcan if you were going out with Scorpius?" her before silent father asked, staring at her.

"I wasn't with Scorpius at the time. We only got together very recently," Rose explained. Keep the answer short and don't provide extra information she told herself. Her father looked like he wanted to question that, but he didn't. "Anyways," Rose continued, "we were talking until Lorcan showed up. I gave the box to Lily and then left Scorpius standing there. Lorcan and I went up to our seats and the game began. We chatted during that game about school and non-important things. After the game, we went to Hogsmeade and into the Three Broomsticks."

"Did you take a carriage, because there isn't any record of you taking them," Harry said frowning as he looked down at his papers. "Did you perhaps go somewhere else?"

"No, we walked for the fresh air," Rose explained, trying to get her story back on track. She was already sweating like a pig and she hadn't even begun to tell the big lies yet. Harry was writing something on his paper. "It was Lorcan's idea. I wanted to take the carriage, but he insisted on walking, even though I had gotten enough fresh air during the Quidditch game."

"I understand," Harry said. "When was the next time you saw Scorpius?"

"At the Three Broomsticks. Lorcan and I were sitting at a table in back when Scorpius, Lysander, and their dates came in. Lorcan went up to get drinks and I saw Scorpius and his friends sit down at a table in the middle. I was drinking butterbeer, and you know that I can get drunk really easily. I may have been feeling a bit tipsy when Lorcan started coming onto me."

Ron's hands tightened around his chair even more and turned whiter. Rose hated to make her father's view of Lorcan change, but she could lie. At least, not yet. And Lorcan hitting on her was the reason she left the bar in the first place.

"Don't you think that was irresponsible of you?" Her father asked. "Getting drunk with someone you didn't like and didn't trust?"

"I wasn't drunk," Rose defended. "I was merely tipsy." It wouldn't do well for her case if she looked like she was drunk the whole night. Then everything she said wouldn't be taken as the truth, but more like suggestions. "And I do trust Lorcan. I just didn't like him in that way."

"Continue with the story," Harry cut the argument off.

"Right. I really hadn't enjoyed my date and told Lorcan that I just wanted to be friends. Then Lorcan kissed me, and I stormed out of the Three Broomsticks because he wouldn't stop. There was a blizzard outside, and I couldn't see anything. After looking for a carriage, I decided to walk back. I stopped outside the Hogwarts gates and sat down on the bench."

"So we have all that information," Harry, looking up at her for the first time. "What happens next is a bit fuzzy. In earlier questionings, you said after sitting there, you went up to your room and stayed there until the next day. Is that what really happened?"

"No," Rose stated, her hands beginning to feel clammy. "When I was sitting on the bench, Scorpius found me. He must have followed my footsteps in the snow. We began to talk."

"What did you talk about?" Harry pressed her. Rose willed herself not to look scared or twitch. She looked straight into Harry's face, just like she had been taught.

"I was mad at him. Seeing him with another girl in Hogsmeade was too much for me. I realized that I still loved him," Rose said. "Some hateful words were exchanged, and eventually, I started to storm off. I slipped on the ice and fell into his arms. As we were staring into each other's eyes, we both realized that we couldn't be apart anymore. Then we kissed."

"So this is when you got back together with him?" Ron asked, his face turning red. "You didn't talk at all? You just forgave him and kissed?"

"Yes," Rose said plainly, hoping that they wouldn't ask her why they broke up in the first place. Of course, she couldn't be that lucky.

"Did he tell you why he broke up with you in the first place?" Harry asked staring at her.

This was where the lying was the most difficult. Her uncle and dad were trained to be able to tell if a person is lying. Rose hoped her story seemed truthful enough. "No, he didn't. I did ask him, though. He said it was a stupid reason that didn't even make sense anymore. He told me he loved me, and that it was the only thing that mattered."

Rose paused as she watched her uncle look at her. Harry seemed to believe every word, but Rose could see a bit of doubt in his face. Her dad's face was bright red, but there was nothing she could do about that.

"I see," Harry responded, noticing that Ron was staring at her. "That does sound like a typical teenager, breaking up for no reason. You were his first and only girlfriend. Perhaps he was scared of having such a deep relationship."

"Perhaps," Rose responded realizing what her uncle was doing. Though he didn't believe that what she said was the real reason, he wasn't going to press her for it. He had planted another seed for why Scorpius and she broke up.

"So what happened after you kissed?" Harry continued without missing a beat. "Is that when you went up to your room?"

"Yes," Rose responded, growing red. She hadn't imagined that the first people to tell that she had sex with someone would be her dad and uncle. "We were very careful not to be seen walking up. Most of the students were in Hogsmeade, so it was a bit easier. After getting to our common room, we rushed up the stairs to his bedroom."

"His bedroom?" Harry asked sharply. "Are you sure? Because your room looks like it was slept in as well."

"No, his bedroom. I'm sure," Rose said. "The next morning I went to my room to make it seemed like I slept there."

"So you spent the night in a boy's room. A boy, I might add, that you weren't even dating. That in fact had broken up with you months before. Who is now being charged with murder?" her dad, who had been silent for the duration of the questioning before, asked. His face was the famous Weasley red and his hands were still tightly wrapped around the chair.

Rose put her face down for a moment. She had been trying not to think of it that way, but when her dad said those things, she realized it was the true. She had slept with her ex-boyfriend whom she had been fighting with. It sounded so bad. "Yes," whispered Rose, her face beat red as well.

"And what did you and the suspect do?" Harry asked, his face turning slightly redder as he realized where the line of questioning was going.

If her face was beat red before, it was now fire truck red at this moment. Both her dad and uncle's faces were a weird shade of red as she began to answer. "We… well… you see, we…." She stopped. She couldn't say it. Not with her dad in the room.

"Yes?" Harry prompted her, gazing off into the distance.

"We slept together."

"And then the next morning he was gone?" Harry quickly asked as if to wipe away the memory. Rose could tell that this line of questioning was making him uncomfortable because a pinkish hue was on his cheeks. Her dad looked like he wanted to scream and kill someone, but his lips remained in a tight line across his face.

"Yes," Rose answered, trying not to blush. "What I said earlier was true. I didn't wake up once during the night. I never her Scorpius leave the room. After falling asleep, the next memory I have is waking up to an empty room."

"And when you left you found the note that he had written?" Harry asked while writing something in his notes. Rose nodded, not trusting herself to say anything. "Why did you leave it in his room?"

"If I had kept it, someone else might have found it." Rose explained. "I didn't want it to fall into the wrong hands."

"I see. Is it correct to assume that you have had no contact with the suspect since that night?" Harry questioned.

"That is correct. And I would tell the Auror Department if I did," Rose responded. She wanted to be seen as being helpful. Then they would have no reason to think she was lying.

"Yes, that would be helpful," Harry said standing up. "Now is there anything the defendant would like to say in her defense or any closing remarks?"

Rose looked from Ron to Harry. In her training, she had always been told to never say anything but what the questioners asked her. She was going to tell them something she should never tell them, but she had to say something, anything, to make them doubt Scorpius. Besides, they couldn't question her after the closing remarks. They would have to save that for later questionings. "I just have one thing." Both Ron and Harry looked up is surprise. "I know that this must seem like and air-tight case, but it's not. I know from what Scorpius has told me that he didn't have a good relationship with her father or grandfather. But his mother and he were very close. I don't think he could have killed his mother. While I have no proof, this is what I believe. Also, Scorpius isn't stupid. If only male members of the Malfoy family knew this potion, he wouldn't have used it. It can very easily be traced back to him."

Rose paused and looked at her uncle and father. They seemed to be hanging on to every word she said. "I just have one more thing. Even if Scorpius did this, he would have to come back eventually. He loves me and would do anything for me." Suddenly, her mind flashed back to the dream, or nightmare, she had of him. He really would do anything so that they could be together. "Even if he's on the run, he will contact me."

Rose looked up at Harry defiantly. The mask on his face was unreadable, but Rose could tell that he was just itching to ask her more questions. But, as the law stated, he couldn't. At least, not until the next round of questioning. "Very well," Harry said with a tight smile on his face. "This concludes the first round of questions with Ms. Rose Weasley. Follow up questions may follow. This was Head Auror Harry Potter and Auror Ronald Weasley."

Harry turned the video device off and started fussing with his papers. Ron sat stoically, not moving, with his papers out in front of him. After glancing and seeing the Ron wasn't going to say anything, Harry looked back at Rose. "You may leave now. I trust that you can find your way out." Rose nodded slightly and was out the door in a flash. She could tell that the Aurors around her were all staring at her, but she didn't care. She had never felt freer in her life. Without a second though, Rose rushed out the door and into the open corridor.