Disclaimer:Harry Potter, the subsequent characters, and universe belong to J. K. Rowling.
Summary:Ron suspects that Rose might be dating Scorpius Malfoy. He enlists the help of Teddy to figure out if he's right, but Teddy becomes quickly entangled in the situation. Rose/Scorpius Rose/Teddy.
Author's Note: I apologize for the length of this chapter, but no one will read this apology because none of you read author's notes. Admit it! I'm on to you.
Anyways I am changing this to a T rating and if anyone asks me to switch it back to M I will, but no one has given me any input on ratings so I am making this decision on my own. I've gone mad with power I tell you! Absolutely mad!
Part 7: The Bracelet
Even if Teddy wanted to heed Scorpius's warning about avoiding Rose, he really didn't have a choice in the matter. She seemed to have taken him on as a sort of project. Honestly, if he didn't know Rose so well already, he probably would not be enjoying her charitable attention. She tended to be a bit controlling and short tempered, but it was something Teddy was familiar with, so he fondly allowed her to nag him and just ignored her as he chose. Teddy also got to spend ample times with Albus which generally lightened the time he and Rose spent together.
Al appeared to be a bit shy at school, especially when you compared him to his out going brother and bubbly sister. Teddy figured it had something to do with being sorted into Ravenclaw, then again Rose seemed outgoing enough. Despite his shyness, he seemed to take a liking to Dannyboy quickly enough. Teddy was wondering if he should be concerned about Al's tendency to fraternize with Slytherins. He had known Al and Malfoy were friends, but they spent practically every free period together with Rose of course.
Teddy's presence sure threw a wrench in that dynamic. The general population of Hogwarts did not know about Rose and Malfoy, and it looked like they wanted to keep it that way. Given Ron's reaction to the letter, Teddy had no doubt that it was a wise idea. This was all well and good, but Teddy was pretty sure he was intruding on what used to be Rose and Scorpius time considering the constant glare Malfoy locked on him when he spent time with them. Teddy also suspected that Al knew about the relationship and had a feeling when it had just been the three of them the group had been a more friendly place to be.
With Danny's presence it was a tense environment. Rose and Malfoy acted civilly towards each other, but the conversations generally lapsed into uncomfortable silences. All four were enjoying one of these awkward moments now as they sat out on the sloping lawn of Hogwarts studying and chatting. The only person who seemed unperturbed by the silence was Rose. She was contentedly searching through books and hadn't seemed to notice the lull in the quidditch conversation.
Teddy hated these silences because it caused his mind to wander and worry. He worried about Victoire and their lack of communication. He had told her that he was on a job and wouldn't be able to mail her and any mail she sent wouldn't reach him as it would be intercepted by the ministry to keep his cover from being blown. She hadn't responded to that letter, at least not that Teddy was aware of. Beside his problems with Victoire work wasn't going well either.
He and those working inside the ministry had very little luck with the investigation. They couldn't discern a motive or a possible suspect. The only evidence they had uncovered at this point came from Teddy's snooping around the potions cupboards. Professor Wick's had kept meticulous records about his stores. It seemed he was slightly paranoid, but possibly for good reason considering he ended up dead. After comparing the inventory and the actual ingredients, Teddy noticed a few vials and jars were missing. Most of the ingredients were used to make the poison that killed Wicks. However, this information only led to more questions. They hadn't seriously considered the possibility before, but now it appeared the culprit was likely a resident of Hogwarts which meant possibly the students.
The ministry was keeping this theory hushed up. No one wanted to admit that option. Plus, if parents got wind of their children being suspects or in danger they might pull them out of school which would only further hinder the slow moving investigation.
Teddy scratched his left eyebrow uncomfortably trying to distract himself from his thoughts. Malfoy's constant glaring was also not helping him to relax; he cast his eyes away from Malfoy and tried to focus on something else. Teddy's eyes wandered across the books sprawled out on the grass which Rose was leaning over furiously searching for references. Her hair was loose and tangled with grass and other vegetation from constantly shifting her position as she studied. Her eyebrows were slightly furrowed as she glanced between two of the larger volumes deciding which to move on to next. Rose made an excellent distraction. Teddy had quite forgotten about Malfoy's blatant hostility as he focused on her fingers nimbly skimming the leather covers of the books somehow coming to the conclusion that the one on the right would suit her purposes best. Rose flipped the book open and pulled her lower lip in between her teeth as she began skimming the contents.
Suddenly the arm Teddy had been propping his head up with as he leaned on his side watching Rose was kicked out from under him. He face planted into the damp grass before he had a chance to catch himself. He heard Albus's unmistakable snort as if he was trying to hold back a laugh. Teddy raised himself from the ground crossly glaring at Al and then at Malfoy whose leg which had previously been bent now stretched out to where Teddy's arm used to be. Malfoy was valiantly trying to hide a smirk, but succeeding no more than Al trying not to laugh. Rose had just looked up from her book and glanced from Teddy to Malfoy.
"Sorry, slipped," Malfoy apologized with a look of exaggerated regret.
"Scorpius," rose chided and reached over to swat his prostrate leg. However, Teddy couldn't help but notice her mouth held a hidden smile.
Malfoy looked mortally offended. "The goody goody, Rose Weasley, striking another student? Won't the headmaster be appalled to hear about this!" Malfoy exclaimed.
Rose's eyes flashed playfully. "You wouldn't dare Malfoy."
"And why not," He asked raising an elegant pale eyebrow. "I have no Gryffindor scruples holding me back." Teddy thought he probably didn't have any scruples Gryffindor or otherwise.
Rose winked and tapped the side of her freckled nose, "Ah, but I have at least a shelf on my bookcase dedicated to holding blackmail material for one Scorpius Malfoy in case I should ever need it."
Al put his arm around Malfoy's shoulders in consolation participating in the ruse. "It's true I've seen it. I've even contributed my fair share, sorry to say mate." Al did his best to look Morose, though Teddy thought it looked more like he had caught his thumb in the door and was grimacing in pain.
"Al, you traitor!"
"But she promised to hand over any and all evidence regarding some of my minor misdemeanors," Al offered in explanation.
"And some less minor," Rose amended.
"You both should have been sorted into Slytherin," Malfoy accused jokingly.
"Ravenclaw, Slytherin, same thing really," Al said as he placed his hands behind his head and leaned back in the grass. "Oh, except we're smarter."
Teddy rolled his eyes at the three. How could they possibly have kept their relationship secret, when it appeared that they had almost forgotten about his presence? He decided to remind them that Dannyboy was watching before they ran off together to catch a quick snog.
"That's a nice bracelet. Where'd you get it Rose?" He interrupted the friends' playful banter.
Rose looked over at him with a smile. "Oh it was a gift from Sc…" she seemed to come to her senses and Malfoy had sent her a warning look. "From a friend of mine a few years back." She finished lamely. She seemed to realize she would need to change the conversation quickly to cover up her blunder.
Rose removed her bracelet and scooted closer to Teddy, so her hip was almost touching his side. He could feel the heat of her body she was so close to him. He was so distracted by her closeness that he startled a little when she dangled the charm bracelet in front of his face. The bracelet was a silver chain with five small emeralds evenly dispersed around the band. She had several charms that she had collected over the years hanging from it. "Each of the charms represents someone I know. See, here I am." She pointed to an intricately carved silver rose hanging from the chain.
Teddy looked over the rose, but his eyes were immediately drawn to the coiled snake that was hooked right next to the rose. It looked like an identical miniature of the snake that had killed Professor Wicks minus the needle like teeth. Teddy unconsciously reached for the bracelet wanting to examine it more closely, but Rose jerked it away before he had a chance to touch it.
"No way," she said shaking her wild red hair. "No one gets to touch this but me. I didn't talk to my brother, Hugo, for a month after he lost my charm for Al. Luckily, Al made me a new one, but I don't want to risk blowing up at you." She blushed slightly. "I have a bit of a temper," she confessed.
Of course, Teddy knew Rose had quite the temper, but Danny didn't. "I couldn't believe that," he said sincerely.
"Believe it," Malfoy and Al said together. They looked at each other and then started laughing. Rose got a little red around the ears before joining in and eventually Teddy let out a couple of forced laughs.
He would have liked to join in the fun, but he was very suspicious of Rose's charm bracelet and especially about the person represented by the snake. Teddy looked over at the blonde slytherin apprehensively. Was the boy capable of murder?
Additional Author's Note: I do love reviews, but who doesn't love getting reviews. Then again how many of you print them out and snuggle them at night as if they were your security blanket?