A/N: This is short I know, but in my defence this chapter was supposed to be a part of the last one but it was too long for that so...I sort of extended it. Which is good, because it gives you more to read, ultimately!
And, I am putting up the Epilogue tomorrow!...which is a sad event and I will probably cry. Okay, maybe I won't, I'm actually quite heartless. Let's see if you all can make me cry from sheer sorrow/pain from when you punch me for this chapter/onions.
Thanks to all those who reviewed, I love you all! Sniff! Oh, God. I'm buying tissues in advance and putting them in my zombie apocalypse survival kit.- SaruDM, Kirra993, raspberrysorbet, euphoenix, Love without expectation, arrrgghimapiratenow, Rachel, Missdagane, TheInnerMusingsOfMe, annagray, Sundance1989, lilbuddie715, Zara Alexandros, Cass, Amy, XXXmeggie-loves-to-readXXX, tikincloks, ClimbingMonkey13, Clanmei and Internet Person!
Rachel- Yay, you caught my subtle wordplay/pun! What you interpreted is right as well, of course, and my idea was that he'd be like, 'Your glass if half-full because I'm not going to kill you at the very least, right?' It has a triple meaning!...woah. As for serious fluff, welllll, there's some fluff in the Epilogue but none of that shag-your-brains-out-because-i'm-sexually-frustrated stuff. It's more domestic-y. Oh, you'll see.
Internet Person- I salute you. A week without internet and I would probably shrivel up and die in a corner somewhere, only for my lifeless husk to be discovered later when a brave soul ventures into the toxic zone that is my bedroom. I took your advice and put some vegetables in my noodles. I didn't eat them. But I feel v. healthy now! :D And I'm getting anxiety attacks as well because my life will be rendered meaningless when this story is over. (Sort of.) So, to appease you and convey my thnxxx, chapter 22!
Cass- You bring tears to my eyes. Really! *Sniff.* Lemme know what you think of that fic, I totally love it. (And no, I don't know the Greatness that is the author of that story.)
Chapter 22:
He had his wand out before she could do any damage.
"Crucio!"
White-hot knives ripped through her as she was blasted back, slamming into the far wall.
Blood and pain clouded her vision as she slumped over, the curse still wracking her body. It broke off abruptly, but her muscles rang with the aftershock.
Rose wiped the blood out of her eyes, her hand coming away slick and covered in it.
The duel raged on in front of her, the bangs and colours of the curses being fired both ways flagrant in the small room.
She gripped the wall, trying to stand and falling back; her knees seemed to have lost all feeling and in her current state she couldn't find it in herself to be surprised by Scorpius' timely entrance. All she felt was relief- tons of it.
But it wasn't over yet.
"Rose…"
She dragged herself to the elder Malfoy, clutching the side of his bed for support. Bile rose in her throat as she stared at the vicious cut across his chest, stretching from just below his heart to his stomach. It could have been worse though; it could have been through his heart.
He turned his head towards her, the small movement taking immense effort. "The knife," he rasped out. "Get the knife."
Her eyes widened in alarm as she scanned the floor for it. She spotted it against the far wall and forcing herself to rise to her knees, half-crawled and half-stumbled towards it.
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The moment he'd burst through the correct door, he'd been greeted with the sights of his worst nightmares: His dad, bleeding and half-dead and Rose strangling an old man on the floor.
Well, okay, so his nightmares had never gone exactly like that but it was close enough.
He'd snapped out of his momentary stupor when the man beneath Rose picked up his wand and cast the cruciatus at her. Rage and shock fueling him, he'd propelled himself forward, barely aware of Lockhart gaping at the scene from the doorway.
He was now locked in combat with the man, and as much as he hated to admit it, it was difficult trying to keep up with him.
Dodging his killing curse, he cast a stunner, erecting a shield with a flourish. The man's eyes bugged out in fury, jaw clenched as he dismantled the shield within moments, unleashing a fresh torrent of dark curses.
Everything was moving so quickly he could barely form the curses- and not of the magical variety- running through his mind.
Jumping out of the path of an oncoming sectumsempra, he chanced a glance at the other side of the room.
Rose was determinedly dragging herself towards a seemingly random spot- away from the door, and Draco was trying to staunch the flow of blood with the hospital sheets, his face completely white.
"Rose! Get out of- Protego! Impedimenta!- fucking bastard!-"
Cursing violently, he turned back to his assailant, blocking a volley of purple and green jets of light. A red beam slipped past his attention, sending him backwards into the wall.
His shoulders impacted with it first, jarring the rest of his body violently. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he sprang up, ignoring the disjointed feeling in his shoulder and the sharp tang of blood in his mouth where he'd bitten his tongue.
As he raised his wand, already casting defensive spells he failed to notice that Gilderoy Lockhart had spun around and run back down the corridor, trailing coloured paper as he went.
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Rose clasped the knife yet again, her hands slipping over it a few times. She wiped them against her clothes, trying to get rid of the layers of blood on them.
Her head was bleeding profusely and she couldn't feel anything except pins and needles in her left leg. She whipped around as Scorpius yelled her name telling her to get out before abruptly breaking off and cursing instead.
Her eyes widened as she saw him flying back into the wall the way she had just moments ago. Making her decision, she scooped up the weapon and bracing herself for the pain, lurched to her feet, staggering forwards as fast as she could.
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Ron roared and charged forward, hospital gown trailing after him as he raced through the corridor. A panicked Fred Weasley ran after him, closely followed by Hugo and about three aurors. Trailing after all of them was an excited yet bewildered Lockhart.
"-Ruddy bastard messing with my daughter! I'll kill him! I'll kill him!"
"Uncle Ron, wait! You're heading the wrong way!"
"Dad! Dad, your gown! Oh, Merlin, my eyes!"
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Scorpius spat blood out of his mouth as the dark wand dug into his throat, forcing him to look up.
He'd managed to land a direct hit on his opponent but he'd just skidded back a few inches rather than colliding with the wall as he ought to have. There was no doubt in his mind that this was the psycho they'd been hunting for over half a year.
The manic gleam in his eyes and the feral enjoyment he seemed to be deriving from this were proof enough.
One of his spells- a simple ramming one, rather than a dark curse- had caught Scorpius again and he was fairly certain he'd heard a few of his ribs cracking. Before he'd managed to recover from the blow, the man had crossed the room in a few strides and had his wand jammed against his throat, kicking Scorpius' wand out of the way.
"I guess I'll have to kill you after all," he said cheerfully. "Right before I kill your father and that silly little girl back there."
"Fuck off." Scorpius said, equally cheerfully.
This seemed to amuse the man greatly as he burst into raucous laughter. "Would you believe, that's exactly what your father said- right before I stabbed him, the filthy traitor. I'm going to make your girlfriend watch while I kill you, slowly and I can guarantee, painfully."
He was clearly expecting a reaction but Scorpius had stopped paying attention a long time ago; he was more interested in trying to figure out what exactly Rose was trying to do.
She'd dragged herself upright and was stumbling towards them, leaving behind a trail of red footsteps. Her right hand was closed around something but he couldn't see past the figure blocking his view.
Sincerely hoping she was leaving, Scorpius tuned back into what the killer was saying.
"- maybe I'll even have some fun with her before I kill her. She's a bit young for me to be honest, but quite feisty. What do you think, eh?"
What Scorpius thought had nothing much to do with whether the man in front of him ought to have fun or not.
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Ron kicked the door open, hospital gown safely transfigured into robes. He roared yet again, waving his wand about.
And stopped as he took in the carnage in front of him.
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Rose was vaguely aware of the door swinging open. All she knew was, it distracted the killer and as he looked up from his victim, she saw an opening.
And she took it.
Darting forward, faster than she'd have thought possible, Rose threw herself at Edgar Bones and watched his face grow slack with shock as the blade in her hand sank through his heart.
He gaped at her senselessly for a few moments, unable to believe what his eyes were telling him. The colour seemed to drain from his face and instead spilled out on to the floor, running from the wound in great streams of red.
"How…..?" His voice was a low whisper, barely audible over the loud silence in the room.
And then, finally, his heart juddered to a stop and his eyes rolled back in his head.
The last thing he ever saw was the girl he'd tried to kill, a dispassionate expression of cold relief fixed firmly in place on her blood-stained face.
There was a heavy silence in the moments that followed, as the late arrivals stared dumbfounded at the final act of a play laid out in front of them.
Rose turned, shoulders slumping with exhaustion, mind reeling with disbelief, trying to grasp that it was over- to the blond kneeling next to her, staring at her with a mix of awe and fear.
"Well," Scorpius said, trying to sound upbeat. "That was sexy."
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Excerpts from the Daily Prophet:
Killer unveiled; death toll ends at 20(?)
(21th September, 2029)
The shocking revelation that rocked the wizarding world has finally been confirmed: The mysterious killer who left a trail of gruesome murders in his wake- of former death eaters and aurors alike- was none other than Edgar Bones, former member of the Original order of the phoenix, presumed dead in the First War.
Bones was certifiably a maniac. Residual memories examined by healers have confirmed that Bones has been living for nearly fifty years under the false name of Charles Humperdink, reputable member of the 'Most Extraordinary Society of Potioneers'. Mr. Humperdink has been in attendance at the past decade's worth of ministry balls and events and many embarrassed ministry employees have refused to comment.
Minister of Magic, Oswald Beamish said to a DP reporter: "Humperdink? Humperdink? How do I know who Humperdink is? Do I look like a fellytone book to you? Humperdink, indeed!"
The death toll has reached an estimate of 20 murders including Theodore Nott, Gawain Robards, Ivan Kar….
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Rose W. cleared of charges; Wizengamot apologizes
(4th October, 2029)
Rose Weasley, daughter of war heroes Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley who faced trial by the Wizengamot for murder of one Edgar Bones(see: Charles Humperdink) has been acquitted of all charges. The Wizengamot has ruled that the act was carried out in self defense as well as the defense of two other individuals present at the scene.
According to Herman Blinkhorn, Chief Warlock, "She was doing us a service really. That Edgar was a bad egg- we'd have had to leave him to the dementors and you know how excited that lot get at being served souls- Won't stop asking for more. Damned nuisance."
Ms. Weasley conducted herself with dignity during the period of the trial and…
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Excerpts from Witch Weekly, women's magazine:
(15th December, 2029)
'This reporter's suspicions have been confirmed! We had hinted rather strongly that the duo, Scorpius Malfoy(yum!) and Rose Weasley(Meh…) had reignited their romance when they left on a hush-hush trip to Egypt together. The trip was short-lived but their love for each other certainly isn't! (Unfortunately.)
This witch(Marlene Skeeter's the name, honey and don't you forget it!) and a trusty pair of extendable ears have caught on to quite a few intimate conversations between the two over the past two months. Here's an example:
ROSE: I….I'm…Merlin, I can't even say I'm sorry, can I? What would be the use? It seems a bit inadequate somehow.
SCORPIUS: It was a misunderstanding. And you don't need to apologize for something that happened five years ago. We needed the time apart anyway.
ROSE: Yes, but….I feel so stupid! If there's some way I can make it up to you-anything at all-
SCORPIUS: Anything? Well, I can think of a few things…
At this point, the reporter's extendable ears were chewed through by a venomous little garden gnome who is currently hanging from his ankles in the backyard. All we know is, at this point the swoon-worthy Malfoy bachelor(?) leaned forward and whispered some undoubtedly naughty things to a very red Rose Weasley.
Oh, if only he would say anything, anything at all to the rest of us! –cries violently-
Anywho, just last night while out clubbing and searching for delicious prey(re: younger men), this reporter spotted none other than this dynamic duo closeted in a secluded corner along with Dominique Weasley and….wait for it….our very own playboy, Alec Zabini!
Mm, overload of hotties, eh? Scorose seemed rather lovey-dovey and wrapped in each other, gazing into each other's eyes and occasionally being pelted by peanuts (courtesy of Domini/Domec/Wabini).
What are these two lover's intentions towards each other, one might ask? Well, fear not, for it's our job to find out and find out we will!
Hope to have news for you lovely readers soon!
-Marlene Skeeter, columnist with Witch Weekly magazine.
Lookie! I put in evil Skeeter's kid! Don't ask me why she has the same last name as her mother, I'll have to make up some cover story about her mum is divorced/gay/a feminist.
I hope those articles helped clear up some of your confusion regarding how E. Bones managed to stay hidden for xxx years.
And I really don't want to say Goodbye, so I won't!...I'll say that next chapter which is the last and therefore tragic(for me).
I'll see you then, my lovely, awesome, happy, non-frilly, polka dotted, T-Rexes.
And lastly, Did this ending surprise you? Did you think wuss-y Rose had it in her? Did you like the final glimpse of Ron Weasley acting stupid? And did you actually read this author's note? *dun-dun-dun-dun*