A/N: Sorry this has taken me so long to update! I had family in that haven't been here in eight years, and we had to entertain them! So needless to say, it was difficult to get any writing done. I'm a bit behind, as I'm stuck halfway through Chapter Eleven. But I'll catch up soon enough! Anyways, here we go, so forgive me? Please?
CHAPTER 10
"She'll be fine, but she has to get to St. Mungo's immediately. How's Hugo and Molly?" Albus questioned, as he had seen the eldest of Percy's children and Rose's brother fall as well. James came over to help hoist Rose up.
"Teddy's taken Molly and Hugo to St. Mungo's. She was hit by four stunners at once. She'll be fine, but she needs to be looked after. Hugo was only hit by one, he was revived but still brought for precautionary reasons." Victoire explained. "Lucy went with them. How's the fight looking?"
"According to dad, we're winning. Lucius disappeared after attacking us, but Dolohov was apprehended, as were the ones that Rose took down. There were only a few black cloaked men standing when we left," Albus gazed back at the fireplace. "Help me take her to St. Mungo's James?" James nodded and they entered the Fireplace, Albus grabbing the Floo powder. Next thing they knew, they stood in St. Mungo's.
The plump blonde woman behind the Reception Desk gave them a funny look, "More of you eh? I suspect you'll want the fifth floor. Go ahead then."
Dragging Rose up four flights of steps was no picnic, but the brothers finally made it to the Spell Damage floor. Inside Healers in bright coloured robes bustled about.
"Could someone help us?" Albus called out.
An old woman, who looked strangely familiar to the boys scrambled over.
"Healer Pomfrey at your service!" she cried, "What seems to be the problem?"
"Pomfrey? As in Madam Pomfrey from Hogwarts?" Scorpius stared.
"Yes, that's my older sister. Now enough about me, what is wrong with the young lady?" the Healer asked, taking control of Rose's body by levitating her to the nearest empty bed.
"We were just attacked – our whole family – by a rogue bunch of Death Eaters and their leader Lucius Malfoy in Diagon Alley…" Albus explained.
"Oh my Merlin! Are you boys alright then…tell me what was she hit with. We just had another red-haired girl and boy brought into the next room over. Are they family?"
"Yes, that's our cousins Molly and Hugo. Are they alright?" Albus answered
"They'll be fine dear. So was this one hit with stunner as well?"
"No. Some purple-flamed curse. I've never seen it before. But apparently the Death Eater Dolohov has used it on her mother before while she was in Hogwarts. My dad said something about it being less powerful when used non-verbally. And since I had silenced the Death Eater, he had no choice. Apparently when said aloud the curse can kill you…" Albus stared worriedly at his cousin laying limply now on the bed.
"Oh yes, OK dears I'll pull up the files and see what my sister used to treat the mother. What was the mother's name?"
"Hermione W-Granger m'am," James spoke for the first time.
"Bless me? Granger? As in married to Ron Weasley? As in this is Rose Weasley, her eldest child and daughter? Why that must make you boys Weasleys as well!"
"Actually no, I'm Albus Potter. And this is James, my brother," Albus said, pointing to each of them in turn.
"Bless my soul; a Weasley, and the Potters. Your cousins Weasleys as well? I can have them moved in here. Miss Rose should not be moved unless it's a dire necessity," Albus nodded.
Moments later, Teddy and Lucy walked in, followed by a levitated Molly Weasley and a groggy looking Hugo, who walked slowly in tow.. Lucy had tears in her eyes, as she stayed as close to her sister as possible, and Teddy rubbed her back soothingly, holding Hugo upright.
"What happened Albus?" Teddy asked, staring intently at Rose's unmoving form. "Is she OK?" Hugo seemed to notice his sister was in the room then, for he rushed to her side.
"Rose?" came his voice, cracked as if he hadn't spoken once since he'd been revived.
"She was hit by some odd purple flamed curse. But dad says she'll be fine. Her mum was hit with the same one while in Hogwarts," Albus picked Rose's hand up and gripped it tightly. "I hope everyone else is OK…"
"WHERE IS MY DAUGHTER? ROSE! ROSE, IT'S DADDY!"
"Ron's here…" Teddy said, a smirk on his face.
Moments later, a fuming Ron Weasley stumbled into the room, followed by his wife who was sobbing and grasped onto her son standing beside her daughter's bed. Second later Percy and Audrey entered as well, heading straight for their daughter in the other bed, Lucy at their side.
"What's happened?" Ron shrieked at Albus.
"Aunt Hermione. Do you remember the curse the Death Eater Dolohov used on you. The one with the purple flame? Well he used it on her as well…" Albus said, looking at his aunt as Ron sobbed over his daughter.
Hermione's voice cracked. "Verbal…or non-verbal?"
"Non-verbal. I silenced him," Albus grinned at his achievement.
"Then she owes you her life Albus. The curse surely would have killed her had it been verbal," Hermione's eyes glistened with tears. "She won't be able to go to Hogwarts with you boys tomorrow. But she'll be there by the weekend. Would you boys kindly get her notes for her? She'll be quite sore from what I remember. Ten potions a day I was on. Ten! By the end of the week she'll be a lot better. Especially here. I was only taken care of at Hogwarts, but this place is state of the art!"
"Ironically, Auntie, her Healer is Madam Pomfrey's younger sister," Albus chuckled.
Hermione groaned, "She better be just as good, if not better."
Reaching over, she grasped her daughter's hand in hers and held it tight. While Ron sat in a chair next to the bed, sobs raking through his lanky body. It was torture for him seeing his daughter unmoving on a bed, with nothing he could do about it. Hugo stood idly beside his father, but there was clear anguish on his face.
"Alright, out! Out all of you! If you're not immediate family of either child, then out!"
Albus, James and Teddy exited the room, leaving behind both families to wait with their daughters.
The fireplace in the lobby they stood in suddenly burst with green flames and many members of their family began stepping through. First to come was Ginny Potter as she raced for her boys and adoptive son. The fire burst green again and in came Dominique and Louis, with Lily and Scorpius in tow, followed by Fred and Roxanne.
"Oh thank Merlin you three are alright, Victoire told me you headed here, and I feared the worst!" she pulled all her boys into a protective hug. "Your father's alright, but he's stayed behind to help the Aurors that finally arrived. Who's hurt?"
"Molly, Hugo and…Rose," Albus said, choking on their names.
"Oh sweet gobstones, are they alright?" Ginny asked, panicked.
"Molly was hit with a bunch of stunners at once, but they said she'll be fine. And Hugo was just hit by one stunner. He's awake now. Rose was hit by an almost lethal curse. She'll be fine though, I managed to silence Dolohov so the curse wasn't given verbally, which would have killed her. They're in that room," he pointed back to the room in which Ron and Percy's family now resided.
"Is anyone else hurt Ginny?" Teddy asked.
"Angelina took a pretty nasty Sectumsempra, but Harry caught it before it could do any damage. Fleur took several Crucio's, but she'll be OK we think. Bill's bringing her here now, and George is bringing Angelina."
Just as this was said, Bill stumbled through the fire, his blonde wife bridal style in his arms, and rushed to the nearest Healer. They weren't long followed by George who was supporting Angelina, helped along by Astoria. They were lead into the room next to Rose and Molly's.
"Where's Mr. Malfoy?"
"He stayed behind to help Harry," Ginny said, looking grim, "Trying to clear up the damage done by his father I assume. The bloody man got away, can you believe that? Him and Dolohov escaped their bindings and Apparated away, followed by several other cloaked men who hadn't been captured. I'm glad you are all going to Hogwarts tomorrow, you'll be safe from harm there. And James, you've only got two more years to smarten yourself up for NEWTs mister, so you better crack open those books of yours. You only got eight OWLs. I hope your happy. I bet Rose will get all twelve!"
"Mum! Eight was one of the highest in my grades! I did a right lot better than Fred. He only had seven!"
"Lucy had ten," Albus piped in.
"Shut it four-eyes," James said, sticking his tongue out at his younger brother while Ginny smacked her eldest upside the head. "Ow!"
"That's for being a nuisance," she said grinning.
The Weasleys and Potters sat around the waiting room for what seemed like hours. They were aloud to visit the injured now. The families said one last good bye to those laying in the hospital beds and left accordingly as some family members still hadn't packed for Hogwarts.
Ginny agreed to take Hugo and Lucy home with her, and send them off on the Express tomorrow. Hermione promised to make it up to her son by taking him to Hogsmeade when she and Ron brought Rose into school the weekend. While Percy promised Lucy to be there in the morning, he just didn't want to leave Molly alone tonight. Hugo and Lucy, happy with their bargains trailed along with Lily, Albus and James as they left in the fireplace.
Angelina, swearing she was fine, allowed George to take their children home to get ready as well, as did Fleur. After all, they had to go to Hogwarts in the morning, and it was well into the night now. Victoire and Teddy stayed with Fleur though, assuring Bill and George they would watch over both the women.
Soon, only a few of the Weasley's remained. Hermione and Ron with their daughter, Percy and Audrey with theirs, and Angelina and Fleur, having been transferred to their room, along with Victoire and Teddy. The room was a bit small for ten people, but it was comfortable having everyone so close.
…
Rose didn't wake until late the next morning. Groggily, she sat up in her bed, trying to remember what had happened. All she could remember was a brilliant purple flash of light and then nothing. Hermione lay slumped over her bed, and her father was no where in sight. Across from her was Molly, Audrey sitting next to her bed sullenly as her daughter slept on. Angelina, next to Rose's bed, had long awoken, and was sitting eating a delicious looking array of foods, Fleur was across from her, picking delicately at the food tray in front of her, Victoire asleep at her side on Teddy's lap, who sat quite awake.
Teddy caught Rose's eye and winked. Fleur, having noticed, brightened up immensely.
"Oh Rose, 'ow are you?" she asked, her French accent, though not as strong as it once was, having been around the Weasleys for so long, poked through her words.
Angelina having heard Fleur, turned to Rose's bed, a smile sitting on her face. "Oh I'm so glad to see you're awake dear," her smile grew, if possible.
Audrey gave her a look as if to say she agreed.
Hermione awoke then, and the first thing she noticed was her daughter's brilliant brown eyes looking down at her.
"Rose!" Hermione sprang up and wrapped her arms tightly around her daughter. Rose winced, but accepted the hug none-the-less, glad here mother was there for her. "Oh Rose, I've been so worried. Now don't panic, but you've been asleep all night. I told the boys you'd arrive to Hogwarts by the time the weekend came…"
"NO WAY! I missed the train!" Rose stared at her mother, her mouth wide open.
"It'll be fine dear, Headmistress McGonagall knows."
"NO! It will not be fine. No way am I missing my first night in Hogwarts as a Prefect!" Rose struggled to get out of bed, only to wince as her chest moved. "Ow!"
"Fine, look, I will compromise. How about I apparate with you to Hogsmeade, and you can meet everyone off the train, and go to the Feast. But the moment you've brought all the first years to the Tower, you go straight to the Hospital Wing for treatment from Madam Pomfrey. I will make sure you do by Floo."
"That's brilliant Mum!" Rose hugged her mother.
"Well the train doesn't get there until roughly six tonight, so for now, how about you sleep, and I'll make sure you have everything packed. I'll follow your packing list, OK?"
Rose nodded. "Oh, and your father will join you for lunch, I'll make sure they bring you some breakfast now that you're awake." Hermione exited the room, but not before blowing a kiss to her daughter.
Victoire awoke then, letting out a large, very unladylike yawn. Teddy only chuckled, but Fleur glared at her oldest child. Laughing, Victoire slid off of Teddy's lap and approached Rose's bed.
"Glad to see you're awake kiddo, I don't know what I would have done if you'd – " Victoire stopped herself. "Well, you know." Hugging her younger cousin, she smiled. "At least everyone is fine now. Molly was awake earlier this morning, but went back to sleep after Lucy left to head off to the train. Fred and Roxanne were here too to visit Aunt Angelina, and even Albus and Scorpius came to see you, but you weren't awake yet. They left those," pointing to the pile of stuff on the desk beside her bed.
Turning, Rose found piles of Chocolate Frogs, Drooble's best blowing gum, Lemon Drops, Liquorice Wands, Cauldron Cakes, Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans, and much more. Rose felt as if she'd hardly missed the train with all the sweets before her. Those boys knew her too well.
Grabbing a Chocolate Frog, she ripped the wrapper open, and grabbed the little guy before it could hop away. She found the easiest way to end the charm was bite their heads off, so she did just that. The sticky Chocolate Frog lay motionless now in her hand. Rose took this time to see what card she had gotten. Turning it over, she grinned at the sight of sneering Professor Severus Snape. Her uncle Harry had to do a lot of persuading and pay a lot of money to get him on a card, but it finally went through. It was also apparently rare to get him, so Rose slipped it in her pocket to show Albus later.
After having a fair snack, she moaned with joy as an Assistant Healer brought more food in in the form of breakfast. The plate was piled high with bacon, eggs, sausages and toast, plus a large glass of orange juice and some fruit.
By the time Rose had finished eating, the plate was entirely empty, not a scrap left behind. Teddy laughed as she chugged the last of her juice and laid her empty glass back down on the table.
"Hungry?" he asked her.
"I was starved!" she exclaimed, laughing along with him as she moved her empty tray aside. "So what happened after I was cursed? I barely even remember that."
"Well," Teddy began, "Albus and Lily dragged you out of there, and the fight continued on now that everyone under seventeen was out of there. Harry managed to round up a bunch of Death Eaters just as several Aurors showed up to clear them out. Lucius, Dolohov and several others vanished before they showed up and they're still loose somewhere. We've got Draco and Astoria under severe protection, and Scorpius is on his way to Hogwarts. Several Aurors are on the train as precaution, but he'll be fine, as will everyone else.
"But we'll be keeping an eye on you and Albus as well, after he attacked you guys for the second time, he knows you're friends with Scorpius. Hogwarts is the safest place to be, thank Merlin."
By the time lunch rolled around, Audrey and Molly had left, Molly being deemed healthy enough to go home, as did Fleur and Victoire. Teddy, however, stayed to keep Angelina and Rose entertained.
"You know Rose, in their second year, your father and your Uncle Harry missed the train to Hogwarts," Angelina said, smiling at the memory.
"Really?" Rose asked, intrigued now of the story sure to come.
"Yep. Some house elf named Dobby was apparently trying to 'Save Harry Potter's life'. Quite funny really. He barricaded the entrance onto the Platform, and your dimwitted father suggested their Flying Ford Anglia. Needless to say they flew to Hogwarts that night. Caused a lot of damage to the Whomping Willow they did. Apparently that car is still hiding out in the Forbidden Forest. George reckons the centaurs are trying to figure out if Venus sent it to them in some celestial form of a gift. I reckon it's just been in hiding."
Laughing, Rose realized another voice had joined in their laughter. Turning she saw her father in the doorway.
"Hi dad," Rose said with a grin, "You never told me you flew to Hogwarts once!"
"I thought I'd be better off not giving you ideas," he said with a grin, "Glad to see your awake Rosie. I brought you all some good home-made lunch. No more Cafeteria food for you three."
Holding up the tiny basket in his arms, he flicked his wand and the basket grew to four times it's size with food spilling out of it. "Hermione didn't want you guys going hungry."
Tucking in to the wonderfully home cooked meal, the four of them told other Hogwarts stories while they ate, Ron even telling them about the Chamber of Secrets, and how Ginny had been possessed by You-Know-Who's memory trapped in a diary. Angelina told them of when Harry first joined the Quidditch teams and how ridiculously uncoordinated he had been in many of the first few practises. Molly kept quiet, too intently listening to her elders speak, but Rose took turns with her stories.
By the time dinner rolled around, Rose was allowed to leave alongside her mother and father. Apparating home, she stumbled out of her parents grips from the jerk she received, and landed on the couch.
"How long until we leave mum?" Rose asked.
"An hour and a half dear. You can take a nap if you wish," Hermione said, smiling at her daughter. And Rose did just that.
Crawling up to her room, she slipped under her comforter and drifted off into a soundless sleep, where she dreamt she wasn't on ten different potions a day and was just getting off the Express with the boys.
…
Apparition was still a little painful, but it was worth it when Rose found herself in Hogsmeade waiting for the train to arrive with all of her fellow students on board. She'd be damned if she missed her first night as a Prefect. She'd already missed the meeting, and would have to have Scorpius fill her in on everything she had missed on the carriage ride up.
Hermione, saying good bye to her daughter, apparated home with a loud Crack, leaving Rose with Hagrid on the Platform.
"So Rose, heard ye all had a runnin with some Death Eaters yesterday," Hagrid commented, breaking the silence between them, "Glad ter hear none of ye were hurt bad. Molly junior, Angelina and Fleur alright then?"
"Yeah, Molly is fine. As is Aunt Fleur. Aunt Angelina might have to stay another night, but she's fine," Rose smiled at her family's strength. Nothing could take the Weasley's down.
"Ah! Here's the train then, off ye go now, find yer friends. Sure Albus an' Scorpius'll have lots ter tell yeh. FIRS' YEARS O'ER HERE!" he suddenly bellowed as the doors to the train opened.
Surprisingly, first off the train were Albus and Scorpius as they raced towards her.
"I thought you weren't coming until Saturday at least!" Albus cried, hugging his cousin.
"We saw you on the platform and had to push a bunch of Hufflepuffs out of the way just to see you first!" Scorpius grinned at their work.
"Aw how sweet! Now let's get a carriage, you have to tell me ALL about the Prefect's meeting Scorpius," she grinned, dragging the two boys off by their arms.
Climbing into the first carriage, they were joined quickly by Sarah, who was gushing over Rose, intent on knowing that she was OK. When Rose assured her friend she was fine, Sarah sighed with relief and leaned skilfully into Albus' side.
"I missed you Albus…" she purred slyly.
Rose giggled, and Scorpius snorted. Albus turned red, Rose swore if he had been a Gryffindor, he'd be the same color as the tie he would have donned.
"Missed you too Sarah," he grinned, wrapping his arm around her.
It was obvious to everyone now that they liked each other. But according to Sarah's whining, he still hadn't made anything official. And she was feeling put out because of it.
Sarah pouted, sticking her bottom lip out. Ever since the end of last year, she had transformed into that small shy girl to the outspoken one that was now before Rose. It had surprised Rose a bit, but it surprised Albus the most. He feared he had changed her. Which, in retrospect, was true. But it was more because Sarah felt like she could be herself in front of Albus, and not have to hide behind her smarts. Only Rose beat Sarah in every class. She was Rose's academic rival in reality, and Rose enjoyed every moment of it.
Scorpius just laughed. His best friend was completely oblivious to the upset girl in his arms. If Rose ever looked at him in that way…
No. Scorpius mentally slapped himself. After this summer he promised himself that until his grandfather was caught, he couldn't even think of Rose in that way, let alone actually try to be with her. It was bad enough that he tortured Rose and Albus because they were his friends. Imagine if Rose was his girlfriend. She'd be a walking target, and he couldn't allow that.
"So Scorpius, what did I miss at the meeting?" Rose suddenly asked, breaking the awkward silence that had seemed to fall upon them.
"Well," he said, reaching in his bag and handing her a sheet of paper. "That's a list of all the passwords. All prefects need to know them in the case of an emergency. The paper will update itself if a password were to change. There's a patrol schedule on the back. They're mixing it up this year. You'll have a different patrol partner every week, it's sort of a system. So let's see, you're with Leah from Gryffindor first week. Only ten to eleven on the fourth floor. That's an easy shift. It's all classrooms, no closets or anything to check. Next week is – "
Scorpius stopped mid-sentence.
"Who Scorpius?" Rose asked, concerned, "Who am I paired with?"
"William…Dolohov…" Scorpius cast his eyes down.
Rose and Albus tensed.
"Seriously? How can they even think of doing that! Rose. Talk to the Heads. They'll fix this. Mandy's Head Girl, she'll know what to do…" Scorpius rambled.
"Look don't worry about it. I'll give the first night a shot. Maybe he's nothing like his grandfather? If he is, then I'll go to Mandy," Rose said, firmly. Albus and Scorpius knew she was not to be argued with and dropped the subject.
"On the plus side, you're with me the third week!" Scorpius said, trying to cheer her up.
"That's great Scorpius! And we get the Astronomy Tower! That's always easiest. You just go up there, kick everyone out then lock the door and you're free for an hour to do as you please!" Rose grinned. This however, made Scorpius' ears turn a light pink, which Albus happened to catch.
"Anyways, did I miss anything else?" Rose asked.
"Oh. Professor Wood was replaced by Professor Jordan, as you suspected. Oh, and something new has been added. You know how the Head Boy and Girl only had an office before?" Rose nodded, "Well, in an attempt to promote house unity and such, Head Boy and Girl now get their own Common Room and single quarters to use as they wish. They can stay in their dormitories if they want, or sleep there. Whatever they prefer. Mandy was delighted when she was handed the note by Professor Corner. You know why?"
Rose grimaced a little. It still hurt sometimes to hear him talk about Mandy. Although the two of them were just friends now, Rose couldn't help but picturing her on his lap that night in the Great Hall in fourth year. "Why?"
"Because Head Boy is Justin Flint."
"No," Sarah suddenly piped in.
"Yes," Scorpius said, clearly mocking her, but a grin slid on his face.
"You mean the guy she's totally been crushing on since like second year? As in hottest bad boy in Slytherin? As in totally available and suave guy with the highest grades in seventh year? I think I just swooned…" Sarah drawled off. Albus smacked her lightly upside the head, while she responded with a giggle.
Rose only rolled her eyes. "Well we all know what they'll use that Common Room for then…" she said, grimacing.
"What's wrong prude-pants? Rather not hear about the birds and the bees?" came the voice of William Dolohov in the next carriage over. Thankfully the carriages began to move then, as he would have seen Rose's cheeks begin to flame red.
"Don't listen to him Rose," Albus said, his face growing dark. Albus had never liked William before, and he definitely didn't like him now. They would just have to do their best to keep him far away from Rose as possible.
"I'm fine," she said, but her voice shook slightly, and they could tell she was lying.
…
The four of them sat quietly through the Sorting and the Feast, not really saying a word Rose took two more of her ten potions she had to take that day, the rest she would receive from Madam Pomfrey.
When it came time for the Prefects to lead the first years upstairs, she followed Scorpius and the other Prefects and they led the way.
At the top of the tower, Rose reached out and knocked on the door, remembering how it was her first time entering the tower, and being first to answer the question.
'Welcome back old friends, and welcome all new ones.' The eagle's voice filled the small tower stairway, several first years jumping at the sound. 'In Ravenclaw dwell those with intellect and wit, am I correct?' The first years all nodded. 'So unlike any other house, we like to use your talents any chance we can get. To enter your Common Room, instead of giving me a pre-chosen password, I like to challenge my students with a little riddle. The riddle must be answered correctly in order to enter, though. Sometimes it's difficult, other times it's simple. I try to go easy on you first years. But rest assured, I won't always.'
"Er…what if we don't answer it correctly?" asked a blonde boy at the front.
'Then you must wait for another student to approach and help you, or for one to exit from the inside.'
"Well that's rubbish! What if we get stuck out here all night!" cried a sneering black haired girl near the back. Rose wondered why this girl hadn't been placed in Slytherin where it seemed she belonged.
'Then you learn a valuable lesson, don't you? Not everyone knows the answer to everything. Everyone has room to grow in their abilities.'
"Alright now, the first years need to be getting to bed. Give them their first riddle now," Mandy prodded the door.
'Alright, alright: My mother feels I am a pain; yet with her I do remain. 'Til I leave at last her house; for the neck of a rich man's spouse.'
Rose had to bite her tongue not to answer right away, and it seemed the answer dawned on Scorpius as well, as he suddenly grinned.
Leaning into Rose, he smirked, "This one's easy…" he whispered.
Only moments later did that same black haired girl in the back blurt out the answer. "It's a pearl for Hippogriff's sake!" she groaned. "You know, a pearl starts as a grain of sand, that irritates the oyster. So it coats it in the substance that makes it a pearl. Then the pearl is removed and sold on a necklace to a rich man's wife! Easy!"
'Correct young one. Miss Bradley I presume. Ah yes, daughter of Patrick and Cho Bradley. Lots of talent in that brain of yours, and I expect it will show in your classes. Now run along students, it's quite late!'
Entering the Common Room, Rose smiled as the first years stared around in awe. Mandy gave the speech about the dormitories, and then everyone was off.
"Ah! Rose!" Mandy bustled towards her and Scorpius. Albus and Sarah had just entered the Common Room as well and they approached Rose and Scorpius. "Glad to see you're alright! I suppose Scorpius here gave you all of the info?" Rose nodded, "Good. Oh, and one more thing. We need to hold another try-outs this year. As Ryan and Charles graduated, we have a Beater and Chaser position open. We got the pitch first this year, two weeks from Saturday, and I need everyone there, OK?" Rose nodded once more. "Good, because we definitely need a Keeper for the Chaser try-outs! Albus and Scorpius, you both better be there too!" They copied Rose's nod.
"Wouldn't have it any other way Captain," and with that, Scorpius smirked.
"Anyways, I got to head up to the Hospital Wing. No matter how much I hate it, I promised mum I would. I'm just going to change into some pyjamas, grab my stuff for tomorrow, and head up there."
Hopping up the stairs to the girl's dormitories, Rose donned the fresh new pair of deep blue Ravenclaw pyjamas she had purchased the day before, and threw her school clothes in her bag. She left her books, as she could grab them once she had her schedule in the morning.
She found Scorpius, Albus and Sarah sitting on a couch by the fire together.
"I'll see you guys at the breakfast table then?" Rose asked.
"Of course Rose! Oh the room will be so boring without you tonight!" Sarah said, pouting.
"It'll only be until the weekend. That curse took a lot out of me yesterday. Only reason I'm not in a bed right now is because of the extra dosage of a Pepper Up potion that I'm taking!"
The boys waved good bye as Sarah hugged Rose before she left. Traipsing out into the corridor, she trudged her way to her least favourite part of the castle.
"Ah! Miss Weasley, I was just wondering when you would arrive! Your potions are by the bed side. But as you seemed to be doing quite well at dinner, I've lowered your dosage. You'll be good as new by Saturday, mark my word!" Rose grinned, "Now dear, how was my sister? I have not seen her in a while, and this was my first time hearing from her in several months."
"Oh she's doing lovely Madam Pomfrey, she took good care of my family and I while we were in St. Mungo's. But no one beats your care, of course!"
Madam Pomfrey blushed with appreciation. "Nonsense dearie. Now drink up and get a good night's sleep. I'll awake you for breakfast in the morning if you wish." Rose nodded. "Good night Miss Weasley." And with that, she bustled into her office for the night.
Rose climbed into the bed that had been laid out for her. Taking the five potions laid out for her, Rose slid down under the duvet and sleep overtook her in moments.
…
"Good morning boys!" cooed Rose as she sat across from Scorpius and Albus at the table, with Sarah on her left.
"Hey Rose, how was your night?" Sarah asked.
"Boring. But at least the potions put me right to sleep, so it wasn't so bad," Rose said, grimacing as she turned to pick some toast out of the basket. "Shoot," she hissed between her teeth, grasping her side.
"Rose? Are you OK?" Albus asked, worried for his cousin.
"Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Just moved something funny, that's all," placing her hand with some pressure on her side she felt a little better. "That's much better."
Scorpius stayed silent. He was too worried about Rose, and didn't want to give her the wrong impression.
Professor Duke was coming around then with everyone's schedules. Rose grabbed hers, and muttered a thanks to the Professor as he passed on.
"OK, so Transfiguration with the Hufflepuffs until eleven. Then Potions for an hour with Gryffindors. Oh how lovely…" Rose glared at her schedule, "Arithmancy followed by two hours of Defence Against the Dark Arts with the Slytherins." Groaning, she finished off the food before her, and hurried from her chair. "Sorry guys, got to grab my books now or I'll be late, see you in fifteen minutes!" she cried over her shoulder racing from the Great Hall.
"Sweet! That means I have a free period after lunch!" Albus said, clapping his hands together. "As do you, I believe?" he directed towards Sarah, who consequently blushed and nodded. "Good," he finished, a smirk growing on his lips.
"Well we better head off, or we'll miss our chance to grab our books!" Scorpius said, dragging his two friends out of the Great Hall.
Transfiguration passed by easy enough, with McGonagall droning on about how this was their OWLs year, and they would be getting a load of homework, starting with that very night. They were to practise using the spell Duro and write three feet on what it does and why this spell would be useful in modern life.
"For Merlin's sake. The spell turns things to stone. Simple. And she expects three feet. Good Godric, McGonagall is losing it!" Rose groaned into her hands.
"It's bound to at least be easier than the Potions class we're about to endure. I just heard a sixth year Hufflepuff mutter something about Blood Replenishing Potions for OWL students. They're NEWT level!" Scorpius whined.
"Oh we'll be fine Scorpius. I'm worried about poor Albus here. We all know how dreadful he is at Potions," Rose grinned.
"I'm not that bad! I got an E on the final exam last term! I wasn't that good at the practical, that's all! But my written exam was perfect!" Albus huffed and crossed his arms.
"Oh hush now Albus. We all know that with me as your partner this year, you'll be fine. You had Robert last year remember? His always somehow managed to make everything explode in your faces. It's a wonder that boy even has eyebrows!" Sarah laughed.
"My mum says his father was the same," Rose grinned. "Robert's dad Seamus Finnigan was in their House and year when they were at Hogwarts. He was ruddy at Potions too!"
"Anyways. We better hurry, Professor Goldstein hates when we are late…" groaned Sarah.
Finding spots at the back of the room, they paired up before anyone else could sit beside them. Rose pulled out her new cauldron from the storage room, and cracked open her pre-read Potions text.
"As you may have already heard – " came the voice of their Professor from the front of the room. "I have been testing all of my OWL students with a more difficult Potions. This Potion's results will affect how I grade the rest of your Potions throughout the term. If your Potion turns out exceptional, which is rare, then I will expect the rest of your potions this year to follow, or your grades will be low. If your potion turns out dreadful, and the rest of your potions seem to follow, then your grade will be low. If your potion is somewhat on a lower scale, and the rest of your potions improve. Then high marks will be awarded. Understand?" Nods went around the room.
"Now, turn to page six hundred and thirty four. There you will find the Blood Replenishing Potion. Yes, I am aware this is a NEWT level potion. But I wish for you to attempt it anyways. All the ingredients are in the cupboard. Begin."
Rose stood abruptly, as she had already flipped to the page and memorized the ingredients list. "I'll retrieve them. You start the fire under our cauldrons please?" Scorpius nodded, and she began to collect the ingredients.
By the time class ended, the room was filled with a thick deep purple smoke that had emitted from Robert Finnigan's cauldron, Leah Vance shaking her head beside him.
Rose and Scorpius' cauldrons, however, were the prefect deep red that the book described, with the odour of iron emitting off of the liquid. It burned Rose's nose to smell the scent of blood, but she ignored it.
Even Albus' potion was a nice red color, although it could have been a bit darker. And Sarah's potion nearly matched theirs perfectly.
As the Professor came around the room, he marked the cauldrons accordingly. Robert received an Acceptable, as his potion had somehow turned red amidst the smoke, and held the right odour. Only one person received a Dreadful, Zacharias Ackerley hung his head in shame. It seemed he had forgotten his Belladonna at the beginning and his potion had turned an unfortunate green.
When Professor Goldstein approached their table, he smirked.
"Now here we have some nearly perfect potions. An E for you Mister Potter, while the rest of you receive O's. Forty points to Ravenclaw for an exceptional job." Clapping, he returned to the front of the room and dismissed them.
"That wasn't so bad now was it Al?" Sarah asked him.
"No, but you still all did better than me," he groaned with a pout.
"But you always beat us all in Charms. Except when it comes to the written exam portion. You're Bat Bogey Hex was awesome last year, you even made Professor Corner cower and award you fifty points!" Rose gushed.
"True…" Albus said, brightening up.
"And you had one of the highest marks in Defence last year!" Sarah bragged.
"Also true…" Albus was smiling now.
"Feel better now Al?" Scorpius cooed.
"Yes, now shove it. It's lunch time and I'm starved…" racing ahead of them, Albus burst into the Great Hall. Rose simply rolled her eyes as she followed her cousin to their table.
"I am not looking forward to this afternoon. Defence will not be my favourite subject this year, I can tell." Groaning, Rose began to fill her plate.
"On the plus side, when it comes to the practical part, you can hex him and make it look like an accident!" Albus said laughing.
Rose smacked him upside the head. "I can't do that silly." As Rose tucked into the ham sandwich on her plate, she watched as Professor Duke made his way down the table, but seemed to be heading for them.
"Hello Miss Weasley, Mister Potter, Mister Malfoy and Miss Boot. I just wanted to let you all know that as this is your OWLs year, you are all expected to attend a career consultation with myself sometime before Christmas. Feel free to come any time you wish, my door is almost always open. However, if you have not come to see me by December…I will personally hunt you down. Anyways, carry on," with a wink he was off.
"For a Professor, he's pretty hot," came a female voice beside them. Looking down Rose saw Connie grinning, obviously the one who had spoken. Felicity just sat there quietly. Ever since last year, she had taken to just ignoring them whenever she was in their presence. Especially Rose. The only one whom she ever spoke to in their group was Scorpius. But he only replied out of politeness, not a want to.
"I will agree with you on that Connie," Rose said, smirking in Sarah's direction.
Scorpius felt his stomach settle uneasily, and the urge to vomit suddenly rose up his throat. Grabbing his bag, he stood from the table. "I'll see you in Arithmancy Rose," he said, surprisingly with a calm voice.
Rose watched bewildered as Scorpius stood and left for no reason. How odd of him. Then again, with recent events, he was aloud to act weird.
But Scorpius never showed up for Arithmancy, and when Rose entered the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, he was not present, and she had been the last to enter before Professor Macmillan closed the door.
Slumping in her desk, Rose groaned as the Professor droned on about OWLs like every other one had today.
Something caught her eye then, and looking down she saw a crumpled up piece of paper that had just landed on her desk. Looking around, she saw William Dolohov to her right diagonal grinning smugly at her, and motioning for her to open it.
With careful hands, she pried the paper open. On it was a small note.
'You. Me. Astronomy Tower. Midnight?' was all it read.
Rose just happened to remember suddenly the two prefects who were conveniently patrolling the Astronomy Tower tonight, and with a plan weaving in her head, she nervously looked up at the boy and nodded her head. He proceeded to smirk at her, then turn around. William would probably tell all of his friends what he planned to do to her, but Rose didn't care. If he tried anything, word would get out of what she would do to him.
As class ended, Rose followed Albus and Sarah out of the Castle and onto the grounds. It was still a lovely day outside, and dinner wasn't for another two hours. Rose decided to tell them of her plan.
"It's dangerous Rose," Albus warned.
"I know, but I can handle it. And we all know Lucy will rip him limb from limb, and Fred will make sure he knows who the Weasleys really are," Rose grinned, it was perfect.
See tonight on Prefect duty were her cousins Lucy and Fred. How in Merlin's name did Fred ever become a Prefect, no one really knows. Perhaps to show James a good example? Or to straighten Fred up himself? McGonagall was crazy, that was it.
So she planned to meet William up there, and see what his intentions were, while Lucy and Fred would wait in the shadows if anything wrong were to happen. Speaking of which, Rose needed to find them to inform them on the plan.
And more importantly, find out what happened to Scorpius.
A/N: So? Like it? :) I thought it was good, and I liked giving Madam Pomfrey a sister! Oh and I didn't randomly write William into it. He's actually been in the story the whole time, I just never mentioned his name. See I had all the students in Rose's year sorted out in my head.
In Ravenclaw were Rose, Albus, Scorpius, Sarah, Connie, Felicity, Jacob and Tyler.
In Gryffindor, Dominique, Leah Vance, Wendy Bones, Bella Tunstall, Mitchell Scott, Zacharias Ackerley, Chris Jones, Alex Davies and Robert Finnigan.
In Hufflepuff, Jenna Creevey, Charlotte Macmillan, Alexis Abercrombie, Kaleigh Barbary, Cameron Peakes, Isaac Collins, and Allen McLaggen.
In Slytherin, Lilah Derrick, Ashley Harper, Emily Pritchard, Mark Ellsworth, Ben Underwood, William Dolohov and Peter Jugson.
Hope that clears some things up! So do you forgive me? Hope so! Reviews please?