A/N: Hello my lovelies! How have you been? I had been slightly caught up in another fanfiction I'm writing at the moment (it's about Loki, if anybody is interested to know; you can go check it out – it's called A Mother Knows Best – I promise you wouldn't be disappointed). But then I started missing Rose and Scorpius and Albus, wondering what would happen next. So here I am, with another chapter, waiting anxiously to know your opinions. Do let me know if you are finding the story intriguing enough. Otherwise I feel like I'm struggling in vain.

To all those who showed their support in the meantime—Psycho-babydoll, kimberlycox08, HarrietMitchellx, billabong100, maria. , Saturn10710, Sylphfire, and last but not the least, mireen16—thank you from the bottom of my heart, for boosting my confidence. I would be more grateful if you leave a review in the next chapters – your views do matter to me very much.

Ok…so without further ado, I present *drum rolling* 'Shocking News'.

Disclaimer: All the original characters of the Harry Potter series are the express property of J. K. Rowling.

-oOxOo-

Scorpius watched as Rose slowly turned her head, her eyes full of questions he was asking himself too.

He was reeling under the onslaught of information pouring out in front of them as the elders forgot he and Rose were present there too. And in the back of his mind, Scorpius couldn't help but think that what Al had told him earlier at the ball was somehow closely tied to what the elders were discussing – the mysterious disappearance of the werewolves, the movement of the mountain trolls – even giants may be, as Mr. Weasley didn't fail to remind the rest of them.

All these struck Scorpius as extremely disconcerting, to say the least. And then Mr. Potter's ominous statement – that may be there were sinister forces working behind all this – something strange yet familiar – something that they all had experienced before. In short, history was repeating itself once again.

A chill ran down his spine. He shivered lightly, sucking in a quick breath of cold air.

'We can't,' whispered Rose, quietly but firmly. 'They won't let us.' She jerked her head towards the three men still speculating and arguing amongst them.

'But we have too,' said Scorpius, hearing the note of urgency in his own voice.

Rose frowned. 'What do you mean?'

'Listen,' he said, 'Al revealed something to me at the ball – something that didn't make any sense to me at that time but is starting to now.'

Rose fully faced him now, her brows drawn and eyes sharp. The tear stains had dried leaving faint tracks.

'He said that Delphini Diggory was not who she seemed to be. In fact, her name may not even have been Diggory at all.'

'What! You mean – like an imposter?' she asked hesitantly.

Scorpius nodded, 'Al was intrigued by the fact that Amos Diggory did not seem bothered about the matter – as if he was convinced he had a niece by that name – and he never in his life had a niece!'

Rose looked over at the elders, thinking deeply. 'That's strange,' she said slowly. 'And you feel we should find Al and make him tell all this to the elders?'

Scorpius nodded again, 'I have a strange feeling it has got something to do with these developments.'

They stopped just in time to hear Mr. Potter ask hastily, 'Have you seen him?'

Mr. Weasley nodded. 'I could do nothing. I lost them in the crowd. They must have Disapparated once they reached the periphery.'

Father broke into their conversation, 'Nott, helped by Perkins – Perkins! How can it be possible? He is a highly trusted man. He was never on the dark side!'

Mr. Potter's face turned graver. 'This is a dangerous accusation you are making, Ron. Perkins isn't someone to be just frightened into betraying us. Unless –' he paused.

'It could be that he was under a Confundus charm,' suggested Mrs. Weasley.

'Exactly.'

'But how can you say Nott was there?' said Father. 'He is under high security as my father.'

Scorpius watched his mother slide her hand around his waist and give him a squeeze. His father leant into her.

'Perhaps he was not guarded well enough!' Ron Weasley stared at his father menacingly. 'Or perhaps he was helped by some old friend – '

'Are you suggesting I helped him?!' asked Father, his tone incredulous.

'Malfoy is right. How can you say he helped him? The Ministry has kept an eye on him ever since the Great War,' said Mr. Potter.

'And yet Nott was found in possession of a Time-Turner – something that had ceased existing since –,' Mr. Weasley jerked to a stop.

There was a deafening silence.

Scorpius could hear his own heart beat a tattoo in his ear. He looked sideways to find Rose listening, with a shocked expression in her face. Her mouth hung open.

'Hush,' said Mr. Potter. 'This is not the place to discuss such things!'

The elders looked about uneasily. The air had suddenly grown a whole lot tenser.

Scorpius jumped when Rose grabbed his hand forcefully and whispered, 'We must tell them about Delphini.'

'But – '

'No buts. I think it's really important to let them know what we know. It could be vital information.'

Scorpius looked at her hard and long. 'How do you know?'

'The Time-Turner,' she said quietly. 'I thought it was all rumour. But it's real. And if it was in the hands of Theodore Nott – I don't even want to think what the consequences would be.' She shook her head. 'We need to warn them.'

'Ok,' said Scorpius, 'But first we must find Al.'

Rose looked at her father uneasily. 'Alright,' she agreed, 'but make sure they do not see us.'

The two of them crept away slowly, mindful not to cause any unexpected noise. Each crunch of the gravel sped up their heartbeats till they could almost feel it rattling against their ribcage. Their breath curled upwards, rising before them like thin mist.

The front lawn was deserted as most of the guests were busy at the dinner table. The smell of roast lamb and thick stews and boiled potatoes wafted in the air causing Scorpius's stomach to growl. But he didn't pay attention. Time was of essence.

They marched past the figure of Hagbert the Humble, swept into the Great Hall and promptly got lost in the crush around the tables. Food was piled high in each individual sideboard. People walked back and forth, fetching items to eat or drink, choosing from the various delicacies displayed on these sideboards. The hall echoed with the chatter of the guests and students. The professors were nowhere to be seen.

'Oh dear,' whispered Rose worriedly. 'How do we find Al in this crush?'

'C'mon,' Scorpius tugged at her wrist. He had just spied Lily and Hugo making their way to a corner, with their plates held in their hands. They would at least have some idea where Al was.

They navigated through the human sea, frequently dodging plates overflowing with delicacies and goblets filled to the brim. Hugo was halfway through his third slice of pie when they arrived. Lily grinned and offered them her plate.

'Here. Have some treacle tart,' she offered.

Rose shook her head, 'Thanks, Lil. But we need to find Al. Do you know where he is?'

Scorpius kept looking around. May be he could catch a glimpse of Al.

'I think I saw him walking towards the stairs,' Hugo said with his mouth full.

They whisked around and made for the stairs leading to the first floor. They were halfway up the broad marble staircase when they bumped into Al himself.

'Where have you been?! I have been looking all over for you!' he said, his face scrunched with anxiety.

'We were –'

'Looking for you too,' said Rose quickly, coming to Scorpius's rescue.

'I have some grave news,' said Al. 'I heard Headmistress McGonagall hurrying away to call a quick meeting just now. She was looking for my father and your parents,' he looked at Rose.

Scorpius and Rose exchanged puzzled glances.

'Why?' asked Scorpius.

Al looked around to make sure no one else was around them. Then he lowered his voice, 'Apparently Amos Diggory was found murdered in his bed. The Avada Kedavra,' he said, nodding at their shocked faces.

Rose lowered her hand from her mouth. 'Oh no!' she mumbled. 'There's no time to lose.' She whirled round and began climbing down the stairs, two at a time. Scorpius set off after her, Al following close behind.

'Hey!' said Al, panting, as they meandered past the crowd in the Great Hall, 'why did she run like that?'

Scorpius yelled over the din, 'Can't explain now. No time.'

They raced through the Entrance Hall and down the front stairs. Rose skidded to a halt beside the elders. They whipped around at the commotion. Scorpius and Al arrived two seconds later, clutching stitches at their sides.

'Where have you been?' Mr. Weasley demanded.

'We… were trying…to… find Al,' she gestured to Al, whizzing and out of breath.

Al looked puzzled to find himself in the middle of an impromptu meeting. 'What's going on?' he asked, sensing the tension and looking from one face to another.

'What was he doing, going with you?' Mr. Weasley asked pointedly, jabbing a finger in Scorpius's direction.

'Give it a rest, Ron,' said Mrs. Weasley exasperatedly.

Scorpius had reached a decision by then he stepped forward.

'Sir,' he said, trying to ignore the frogs leaping inside his stomach and addressing himself to Mr. Potter, 'I think you should want to hear what Al found out this morning.' He turned his head to see Rose nodding vigourously.

Al was frowning, confused by everything.

'Tell them,' Scorpius urged him with his head.

'Tell us what?' asked Mrs. Weasley, looking at them with narrowed eyes.

The others waited, silently watching.

'It's about all those disappearances,' said Rose. That got everybody's attention.

'Go on,' urged Mr. Potter, suddenly interested.

Al took a deep breath. 'I think Delphini Diggory is a fraud,' he said.

Father raised one of his brows, 'And this is important because – '

Mr. Potter looked doubtful.

Scorpius plunged forward. 'No, hear us out. I think no one by the name Delphini Diggory exists. Because Amos had no sibling, and neither did his father.'

Mrs. Weasley looked at him alarm. He nodded. 'Al dug out the Diggory family tree and confirmed it.'

'Then who was she? The one who was helping him around?' wondered Mr. Potter.

'We don't know,' said Rose, her face ashen. 'But whoever it was must have been very clever. She or he, if it was someone using Polyjuice Potion, managed to Confund him into thinking she was his niece.'

'I still don't understand how it is related to all this,' Mother remarked for the first time.

'Amos Diggory was found murdered in his bed,' Al blurted out.

The silence stretched out till all could hear their heartbeats screaming in their ears.

'Bloody hell!' exclaimed Mr. Weasley, and for once his wife didn't admonish him for it.

'Who told you this?' asked Mr. Potter urgently.

'No one. I heard the professors discussing it. The headmistress wanted to see you. I guess they are searching for you at this very moment.'

'Alright. This is a bad news. You three,' he said, pointing to Al, Scorpius and Rose, 'come with us. We need to find the headmistress as fast as we can. I hope no one else hears about it till we have managed to find out who was responsible,' he muttered to himself.

The gravels crunched under their feet as the elders started shifting, hurrying back to the castle.

'What about us?' asked Father. Scorpius anxiously looked at Mr. Potter, since he seemed to be the one in charge.

'You too,' said Mr. Potter. Scorpius blew out a short breath.

Mr. Weasley was just about to turn (not before sending a glare towards Scorpius), when suddenly, everyone, including him, was taken aback by the ferocity with which Mrs. Weasley grabbed Mr. Weasley's collar, hissing, 'Oh no you don't!'

All the others took a hasty step back. Mr. Weasley looked like he feared for his life. He should too, thought Scorpius, judging by the murderous look on her face.

Rose's eyes seemed ready to pop out.

Mrs. Weasley, however, appeared unfazed. She let go of her husband's collar and clutched something tightly in her fist, glaring at it as if it had offended her to the highest degree.

'What is it, 'Mione?' croaked Mr. Weasley, righting his collars.

'We were being bugged,' she said, apparently disgusted.

Scorpius watched as the Golden Trio gave each other knowing looks and pulled out their wands once again.

'What are you doing? What's going on?'

Scorpius watched as his mother silently reached for her wand too. Father stayed her hand.

'It's nothing, dear. They are just making sure we won't be spied upon again.'

Scorpius looked on fascinated as the Golden Trio pointed their wands collectively at Mrs. Weasley's clenched fist.

'On the count of three,' said Mr. Potter. 'One – two – three –'

Mrs. Weasley unclenched her fist just as the three silent spells collided. There was a loud whoosh – and then –

Scorpius felt his jaws drop to his knees. Rose let out a tiny yelp of surprise as did Al beside her.

A woman stood where Mrs. Weasley's hand had been. A woman in electric blue robes, chipped nails painted scarlet, tightly curled blonde hair and horned spectacles.

Rita Skeeter was in their midst.

ooooo

TBC…

Review!

And do forgive if there are any mistakes in the chapter. I make a terrible proofreader...