A/N: Quickest update I've had in a while! But with no homework or studying to do, I have a lot more free time, even though I am still busy at my workterm during the day.
This chapter kind of flowed effortlessly for me, and there's going to be a lot of secret surprises! A lot is revealed, while a lot more is kept secret! Enjoy!
Also, thanks everyone for the amazing reviews, you make me blush and giggle like a school girl :3
CHAPTER 17
Rose had yet to see the figures coming towards them, as she was facing in the other direction, but a sharp prod to her side made her turn her head. Instantly panic set in and she removed herself from her cousin's arms, but not without using him as a crutch of sorts.
"Albus…Albus what do we do?" she hissed as they made their way further from the property. Going back was not an option, but several wizarding families lived nearby, perhaps if they could make it to one of their homes…
"Run!" Albus grasped Rose's small hand in his and tugged hard, pulling her behind him as he ran. Rose responded to the yank on her arm, unfortunately it was her right arm, and the pain it caused made her slightly dizzy, and she could feel the trees and houses nearby spinning in her mind.
Rose realized with delight, though, that she had managed to still have her wand the entire time, and thanked Merlin for her luck. Immediately she fired spells behind them using her left hand, praying that they wouldn't miss their targets. In the not so far distance, they could hear several grunts in response to her jinxes, but not as many as Rose had hoped.
Wincing, she turned and began to fire another spell over her shoulder, only to be knocked back by another force landing roughly on the grass behind her. Rose heaved as her breath was knocked out of her once more. Albus rushed to her side, hoping she was alright, and began pulling her to her feet.
All the cloaked wizards and witches were getting closer, advancing on them every second. Rose thought carefully of a spell that could stop all of them from hurting her and Albus again, and she heard her mother's voice in her head.
Remember, there's always Protego if you run out of spells!
Rose gripped her wand and shouted, PROTEGO TOTALUM!
Instantly a bubble-like force sprouted from her wand, heading straight at their attackers, knocking them completely off of their feet. Rose stood in shock for a moment at the strength of her spell, she had only been expecting a small shield, not something with this much force.
Albus gripped her arm again and not a second later they were running back to the property in hopes to get to safety. Their best bet was to get to an adult who could Apparate them to Rose's house with the others. This was not their battle to fight.
Rushing back through the front door, they dodged another spell just in time. Rose could feel her broken ribs constricting on her lungs making it harder to breathe. Her hand made its way to her side and her fingers wrapped themselves over the pained area.
"Rose are you – "
He never got to finish his sentence before a stun spell hit him square in the back and he fell forward unconscious. Rose rushed to his side, but a hand clamped itself around her upper arm and began dragging her away.
"ALBUS!" she managed to screech before being dragged into a small closet under the stairs.
It was dark, and Rose couldn't see a thing, there was hardly any room, and if she stood perfectly straight, her head would hit the ceiling. The person who had grabbed her seemed to notice this as they too were crouching in a similar fashion it seemed.
"Let me go," Rose hissed, trying to remove the grip on her arm that had begun to hurt.
Rose only saw a gleam of teeth before hearing the man – the voice clearly belonged to a man – say Imperio.
And everything went black.
…
Hermione searched desperately for her daughter. At this point, she was the only member of the family unaccounted for, and Hermione worried that she had gotten lost somewhere in the forest behind the property, or worse, had been taken captive.
"Harry, is there anywhere we haven't looked?"
"Well – "
"Well what?" Ron had entered the room. "Where Harry?"
"There's the cupboard under the stairs, but it's locked you see…"
"Locked?" Hermione's eyebrow rose.
"Well, I couldn't open it. Alohamora would not work. I'd never been in there before anyways, you know, bad memories and all…"
Hermione pushed past Harry and Ron and began muttering incantations and waving her wand in different patterns. Finally there was a click, and Hermione rushed to open the latch.
Inside was a bound and unconscious Rose, explaining why she never responded to their calls or tried to make any noise to be found. Hermione rushed to her daughter and enveloped her into her arms.
Hermione began untying the bonds as soon as Rose had been moved into the sitting room. Harry and Ron stood back solemnly, hoping that Rose was alright. Finally Rose was free of her bonds. Hermione swished her wand and uttered Ennervate.
Rose stirred slightly, and began moaning in pain when she accidently moved in her state of awakening. "Mum?"
Hermione sighed with relief and patter her daughter's hand. "We'll get you to St. Mungo's dear, don't you worry. You'll be fixed up in no time." Hermione smiled and brushed the hair from her daughter's face. She let Ron pick their daughter up bridal style and carry her through the Floo Network, as Apparating would be painful for her.
Minutes later she was in a bed besides a still unconscious Albus. Rose couldn't really remember what had happened last night. She remembered falling down a hill, and a lot of running. She could remember the strong shield charm she had cast, and how they had escaped momentarily. Rose also remembered Albus being hit with a stunner, but after that, nothing.
Hermione informed her daughter of the other casualties. There, unfortunately would be some mourning for their family this holiday.
Rose cried as her mother told her of how bravely her Aunt Audrey had fought, andHeHHhh had managed to save Alice from the Cruciatus curse, and in return had paid for her bravery. Her Auntie Gabrielle had also perished the night before, in a brave attempt to protect her niece Dominique, she gave her own life.
The tears welled in her eyes as she realized how serious this was getting. They meant business now, and Rose planned to take them down, no matter what the cost. It was her family, and they had nothing to do with whatever the eldest Malfoy wanted.
Scorpius came to visit that afternoon, apologizing profusely, and together they cried over the loss of family, as Scorpius was just as much a part of her family as his own. Albus awoke just before dinner time, leaving Rose the unfortunate job of telling him what had happened. James moaned from a bed across the hall, apparently he had been hit with a nasty entrail-expelling curse, and they were still trying to repair the damages done by the spell. Luckily it had been reversible, but the scars would never go away.
The only other person seriously injured was Victoire. She had taken four stunners to the front, and they feared damage to her unborn child.
Scorpius promised he would explain why he had to leave earlier tonight when she was out of the hospital, as he didn't want people overhearing about his parents being in hiding and such, but he promised it was nothing serious.
Dominique visited later that night, when Albus had gone home and Scorpius had returned with him. Technically it wasn't even visiting hours, but she obviously didn't care.
"Rose, Rose I can't do it. I can't do this now, I just cannot go through with it!" Dominique wasn't crying, but pain was evident in her voice.
"Dom, you have to. For crying out loud, Teddy is still here. Go talk to him now!"
"No. Not until Vicky is out of hospital at least. I feel so guilty, it's my fault that Auntie Gab is dead, she died because of me. And now I'm going to tear apart the most perfect couple? No way."
Rose rolled her eyes at her cousin. "Dom, Auntie Gabrielle's death was not your fault. It was her decision, you didn't push her in front of the spell! And, look, I know you love Teddy and all –" this received a loud Shh! from Dominique, Rose simply sighed in response, "But I doubt this bit of news would ever tear them apart. At least not permanently. They're going to fight, maybe even take some space for a bit. But they love each other Dom, and I doubt they'd break up so soon in their marriage. But most importantly, they will not blame you…entirely. Sure Vicky will probably not speak to you for a while, but sisters forgive eventually. They have to."
"Rose, you better be right. But I'm still not talking to them tonight. They still haven't heard anything about the baby. If it's bad news, I don't know what I'll do." Dominique looked wistfully at the door.
"It's fine Dominique. But you better tell them before we go back to school, or I'll see to it myself that they find out."
Dominique glared at her, "You wouldn't dare! You swore on witch's honour!"
"Ah, but Albus did not."
Dominique stared at Rose in shock. "When did conniving Rose return, and what have you done with the calm and quiet one I was getting used to?" she smiled slightly.
"You can blame Scorpius for that one. He's a bit of a bad influence, you see," Rose grinned. "Anyways, I'll be out of here by tomorrow hopefully the doctors said. The bones are pretty much healed. You should go before you get caught."
Dominique smiled at Rose, "See you late cousin." And with that she strode from the room elegantly, as Dominique always seemed to do, no matter her emotions or secrets she withheld.
Rose turned over and closed her eyes, wishing herself into a dreamless sleep. But, she was, unluckily, not obliged.
In her dream she was in that little closet once more, but it was almost an out-of-body experience. She watched as the man pointed the wand at her and said Imperio, and Rose gasped, not remembering this part of the night.
"Now Rosie dear, you must never repeat what I am about to tell you…"
The rest of his words became a muddled blur, and Rose felt as if someone had cast a Muffliato curse on her. Rose watched as the man continued to speak, and she tried to read his lips, but it was impossible.
Dream Rose nodded her head in a trance-like motion. Rose watched in horror as the man stunned her non-verbally with his wand, bound and gagged her, and then left, sealing the door behind him.
Rose awoke with a start, but the memory of the dream was quickly subsiding. She knew she couldn't tell anyone, not if she tried. But that didn't mean she couldn't try to get the spell removed somehow, even though she didn't know what she was supposed to have done under the curse. But it couldn't be good.
When her healer visited her that morning, she prepared herself for her question. Surprise set in when she saw Madam Pomfrey's sister was assisting her once more.
"Healer Pomfrey. Can I…can I ask you something?"
She nodded her head, "Of course dear, anything. I'll do my best to answer. If not, I'll try to find someone who can," a smile graced her lips.
"Can an Imperius curse be removed once set?"
Healer Pomfrey seemed thrown off by the question. "I'm sure it's not unheard of, but I am not familiar with any incantation. Perhaps I could retrieve the head of the Spell Reversal Department for you?"
Rose nodded and thanked the woman as she checked all of Rose's vitals.
"After you have your question answered you'll be free to leave Rose, you seem to be doing just fine." And with another grin she was gone.
Rose sat up straight as another healer brought in her breakfast, and she tucked into the hot meal eagerly. The tea soothed her throat, and the porridge felt heavy in her stomach, but she was satisfied.
Rose was just starting to doze off when there was a knock at the door. A woman with reddish-blonde curly hair entered. Her lime green robes were bright to Rose's eyes and she almost had to squint to look at her. She seemed familiar, and Rose realized she'd seen her before.
"Hello Miss Weasley, I presume you are feeling much better?" Rose nodded, "I hear you have a question for me?"
Rose peered at the woman again; it was only now she noticed the little pock marks covering her skin that looked like scars of an acne-filled childhood. However, upon closer examination, she noticed the surprising shape the pocks seemed to take across the woman's face.
'SNEAK'
"Ah, I see you've noticed. Naturally you would, given your lineage. Hermione Granger's daughter I believe?" Rose nodded, "Well, your mother is who I have to thank for this handiwork."
Rose stared at the woman in shock. "My mother?"
"Yes. My name is Marietta Boot, or as I was known during my school days, Marietta Edgecombe. Let's just say I justly deserved them, and I regret why I received these marks in the first place. I'm still not the biggest fan of your mother, but we get along."
Rose simply nodded. Now realizing where she recognized the woman. This was Sarah's mother, and they had met when the Malfoy family had invited them to their house for Quidditch. Rose had never had the chance to meet Sarah's parents, since she had left in such an embarrassed state so early on.
"Anyways, your question?"
Rose stumbled for a moment over her words, unsure how to phrase it without sounding suspicious.
"Is there a way to…well see, I'm not even sure if there is a point to this, because I don't know if it really happened…but is there a way to remove an Imperius curse once it's been set?"
Healer Boot looked thrown off for a moment, she had not expected such a question from the girl.
"Why do you ask?"
"I think I know someone who is under one, but they're not sure if they are or not. See they don't remember it, but they dreamt that it had happened, or at least, thought it was a dream, and they want to be sure that it's not true."
The woman eyed Rose carefully, could this be a confession or her own handiwork? Or is this 'someone' really Rose? She decided not to question it and just go with the hypothetical story.
"Well there's always Finite Incantatem, but it's not always reliable, and the only way you can know if it worked is going against what you've been told, and sometimes that can get you killed. However, there are other spells, much more difficult, but I can look into it if you would like. I'll put my research team on it. Don't worry Rose, we'll get your friend out of whatever mess they are in."
Rose smiled, the healer had figured her out, it seemed. And she managed to not speak about what had happened to her specifically, only a hypothetical situation. Loopholes were wonderful.
It was after lunch when Rose was finally inside her own home. This time she had luckily not missed the train ride back to school, as it left the following morning. There would surely be some gossip this time around. The family was no longer being attacked in public; we had been ambushed in the private of our own home. Was anyone safe? Especially when these people could get their way in to the home of none other than Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived, himself.
There was a tapping on the window, and Rose laid her eyes upon the tawny owl tapping on their window with its beak. Undoing the latch, Rose allowed the owl to hop slightly into their kitchen. A letter was attached to the bird's leg addressed to Rose, so she untied it quickly before giving the owl a few treat pellets and letting it wait on the roost with their other owls, she began opening her letter.
Rose,
I am sorry once again for the trouble my family has caused yours. Your grief is my grief, and I am deeply ashamed of my grandfather's actions.
Regretfully, my reason for having to leave before the party was unfortunately not a very good one. Father Flooed the Potter residence to tell me that my mother had fallen ill, and that she needed a Healer right away. He asked if I could watch her as he retrieved a Healer from St. Mungo's. I apologize, but my mother is now feeling much better. Just a case of Scrofungulus. Luckily it was cured, no worries.
I hope everything is alright with you, I will see you tomorrow.
Love,
Scorpius
"OOH! Looooove Scorpius! Scorpius looooves you Rose!"
"Shut up Hugo!" Rose's face flushed instantly. Apparently her brother had been reading the letter over her shoulder and had only taken in the last annotation. "He finishes all of his letters like that, always!"
"Suuure Rosie! MUM! DAD! ROSE GOT A BOOOYFRIEND!"
"SHUT UP HUGO! NO I DON'T!"
What a typical Weasley household afternoon.
"What's this Rosie? A boyfriend?" her mum sounded hurt, "And you never told me?" That explains it.
"A boyfriend? He better be just a friend who happens to be a boy." Rose's father looked murderous. "No one is laying a hand on my Rosie."
"Oh shut up Ronald, let the girl speak. Perhaps we're mistaken, Hugo does like to frame his sister," Hermione smiled at her daughter.
"Hey!" Hugo shouted, "Do not!"
"Oh?" Rose turned on her little brother, "What about the time you caught Crookshank's tail on fire? Or the Butterbeer you drank all by yourself from dad's stash? How about the time you snuck out and blackmailed me into covering for you? Or when…"
"When did you sneak out Hugo?" Hermione looked at her son sternly.
"Oi! Rose! They didn't know about that one!"
"Oops!" Rose smiled innocently at her brother, but she knew all too well what she had been saying and hoped he would be caught for something finally.
"We'll talk about that after. Anyways, what's the story Rose?" her father eyed her sceptically, his gaze burning into the letter in her hand.
"Hugo's lying, just because Scorpius ends his letters with Love Scorpius, doesn't mean he loves me like that. That's how he always ends his letters," Rose could feel the heat rushing to her face as she explained the situation. And she didn't necessarily say that she didn't have a boyfriend, so she wasn't lying, was she?
"Alright Rosie dear," Hermione smiled knowingly at her daughter and Rose felt like her mother somehow knew everything. "Let's go make sure your trunk's all packed, shall we. Ron, help Hugo."
Rose knew all well what this meant. Girl talk while her father and brother blew off Hermione's instruction by sneaking out to get ice cream.
Indignantly, Rose followed her mother up the stairs, pleading with any great wizard that her mother would be understanding and would be OK with everything. Her mother always knew how to break things to her father, and if all went well, Rose and Scorpius might be allowed to stay together.
Hermione bustled about Rose's room for nearly ten minutes before she heard the audible sound of the front door closing, signifying the boys had "successfully" snuck out of the house for their pre-dinner desserts.
Turning to her daughter, she smiled. "How long?" Hermione had figured it out the moment the blush crept up her daughter's neck in the true Weasley fashion, not at all a Granger trademark.
Rose seemed to splutter for a moment, "Wh-what are you talking about? How long what?"
"How long have you and Scorpius been dating dear," Hermione plastered a smile on her face to show her daughter that yes, she was upset to be finding out so late, but that she was perfectly OK with the relationship. After all a person's actions dies with the person, and what the Malfoy family has done in the past, or what the senior Malfoy member has been doing in the present has no effect who Scorpius is. He was a good kid, with good intentions, and her daughter was clearly infatuated with him.
Rose hesitated at first, but finally felt at ease when her mother smiled. "Would you be hurt if I said more than a year?"
Hermione's smile faltered for only a fraction of a second, but then returned to its brilliance. "Rose dear, I'm just amazed you managed to keep such a thing a secret for so long. Who else knows?"
"Albus, Sarah and Dominique. And I think Lily, and obviously Hugo, suspect something has been up," Rose smiled, "It wasn't easy to keep the secret, but we just kept to ourselves like we always did and acted normal, like nothing was out of the ordinary. We didn't want his grandfather finding out, you know?" Her smile turned sheepish and she looked at her feet.
"Rose dear, it's nothing to be ashamed about, I understand. I just wish you would have told me sooner. Your father doesn't need to know how long, but he does need to find out about this relationship. I can try to break it to him once you go back to school if you'd like?" Rose nodded. "OK dear, now let's go through your trunk. I was serious when I wanted to make sure you have everything." Hermione smiled at her daughter, and they began the tedious task ahead of them.
…
"So they know?"
"Well, not exactly Albus. Just mum does officially. She's going to try to break the news to dad once we're back to school. Hugo suspects now, and plans to hunt you down Scorpius, so watch your back," she smirked at the blonde.
Rose fiddled with the charm bracelet on her wrist. Albus had given her a new one, as a sort of late Christmas present/early birthday present. The small blue shield reflected the morning light back at Rose and she smiled. The significance of the shield was crucial to her, as even her mother was impressed when she had heard of the powerful shield charm her daughter had performed to save her and Albus.
"I can handle him Rose, I just need to turn on my Malfoy charm and arrogance," Scorpius tried to smirk, as he would put it, devilishly, but this only made Albus and Rose laugh at his efforts. His smirk turned into a pout as he realized he was being made fun of.
"Oh what would our friendship be without that Malfoy charm and arrogance?" Albus crooned dramatically, clutching his heart as if in pain. Scorpius threw him a glare, causing Rose to snort, in a very unladylike fashion, in amusement. "But you're still keeping a secret from everyone else, right?"
"Maybe…maybe it's time the family knew," Rose bit her lip as she thought of the prospect of telling all of her cousins that she had been lying to them for the past year.
Scorpius gulped. "Everyone?" he asked, his voice raising an octave out of nervousness.
"Or maybe a few at a time…"
"Don't do that Rose. Remember when Lucy kept the secret about her and that Hufflepuff kid for like three months, and she told only a few cousins at a time, and not only did it blow up in her face, but some cousins felt hurt when they weren't told first," Albus shook his head. "I think it's best to just call a family meeting tonight in the Room of Requirement. Scorpius, you're officially invited of course."
Scorpius nodded, but you could tell he was nervous.
"Don't worry big boy, you can hide behind me for protection," Rose smiled at him and patted him on the knee. This didn't seem to help much, but the nervous look on his face dissipated slightly. "Anyways, Albus, hand me your Frog card."
"His what?" Scorpius seemed confused.
"I need to let everyone know about the meeting. After New Years I developed a way we can call family meetings. I got the idea from this year's Christmas story." Albus passed Rose an ordinary Chocolate Frog card that had what looked to be a greasy old man staring out at them with cold eyes.
"What are you doing with the Professor Severus Snape card then?" Scorpius was intrigued. He had a feeling he knew what she was about to do.
"Well, my mum told me how when our parents were in school and they were having secret meetings to learn Defense Against the Dark Arts – no one was teaching it right – that they needed some way to call a meeting without looking suspicious," Rose held the chocolate frog card up, "The idea was a Protean charm. She used Galleons – fake ones mind you – and set a Protean charm on them, so when a meeting was to be called, my mum changed the date on Uncle Harry's coin and the date changed on all of the coins, and the holder of any of these coins would know it changed because it becomes very hot until you have looked at it, ensuring you don't miss the meeting time."
"So this card has a Protean charm on it then?" Scorpius smiled at her brilliance.
"Yep, every member of the family has one. Sometimes the card has significance to the beholder. Albus here has one of his namesakes. Mine is Paracelsus, you know, the alchemistic genius? James has his dad, Lily has Gwenog Jones. You get the idea." Scorpius nodded. "Anyways, I actually have one here for you too. Let me get it." Rose began rummaging through her rucksack, her arm seemed to keep going until her shoulder was hidden from view.
"Undetectable Extension Charm? Brilliant!" Albus grinned.
Rose blushed sheepishly. "Thanks. Anyways, this is taking forever, Accio Card." Rose's arm came out holding another Chocolate Frog card and she passed it to Scorpius.
Scorpius looked down at the card in his hand. Instantly he recognized the woman in the portrait. With her blonde hair streaked with grey, and her piercing eyes, Narcissa Malfoy was just as beautiful as ever. But there was just one problem, Narcissa Malfoy didn't have a Chocolate Frog card
"But – "
"I know, I know. She doesn't have a Chocolate Frog card. That anyone knows of." Rose grinned and turned to Albus, prompting him to explain.
"She helped my dad you know, in the battle. I know it was just to save your dad, but she's pretty much the reason the good side of the war won. My dad insisted that if they weren't going to put a Narcissa Malfoy card on the market, to at least make him one and he planned to give it to your grandmother someday when he found it appropriate. I couldn't take the original, naturally. A simple Geminio charm sufficed. Just don't spread this, it's supposed to be a secret."
Scorpius felt a few tears well up in his eyes, not wanting to be caught crying, he turned to look out the window and quickly wiped his eyes hoping they never noticed. "Thanks guys. This means a lot."
Rose took her wand and performed the charm on the Snape card, changing the card's expiry date to today, and changing birthplace to ROR to signify where the meeting would be held, and the card number to 900, letting her family know the meeting would take place at nine o'clock. She smiled at her handiwork, and it only grew as she saw Scorpius lift his up, signifying that he had felt the warmth of the charm working in his hand.
"That's brilliant Rose," he beamed at her.
The door opened then, revealing Sarah as she dragged her trunk in behind her. They still had yet to leave the station because for once Rose's family had been early and they had to wait longer than ten minutes just to leave.
"I felt the card heat up Rose, is there a meeting tonight?" Rose had Owled one to Sarah the day before because Sarah had said she wasn't sure, but she might have been late for the train.
"Officially on the invite list too?" Scorpius smiled at her as she sat beside Albus, who helped her drag her luggage where the other's rested.
Sarah pulled out her card, revealing the portrait of Rowena Ravenclaw. "Yep, got mine yesterday." Smiling, she tucked it back into her sack. "What's the meeting for anyways? I'm assuming you called it."
"Well, my mother has discovered us – " she pointed at herself and Scorpius, "out, so I know that it's probably time we let the rest of the family know. If they ask how long, well they're going to kill me for keeping it a secret for longer than a year."
"Too bad. It had nothing to do with them, you were just doing it for your own safety and comfort," Sarah leaned back in her seat, "I am behind you one hundred percent. Besides, it's none of their business anyways." Sarah haughtily stuck her nose up in the air.
Rose took out the water bottle she had in her sack, only to realize it was empty. Reaching for her wand, she was about to recite the usual refilling spell when Albus suddenly stopped her.
"Can I do it, please?" he asked, fingering his new wand gingerly. His parents had bought him a new one after lecturing him for two hours on how to keep his wand safe. Most of the lecture had come from his mother, though, while his father only nodded along sheepishly, having broken his own wand once.
The cherry wood gleamed in the morning sunlight, and Albus beamed proudly.
"Oh go ahead Albus," Rose smiled tentatively, for fear that the wand would backfire or explode.
Albus cleared his throat, and aimed the wand at the bottle's mouth. "Aguamenti."
Water flowed crystal clear from the tip of his wand and poured effortlessly into the bottle's neck filling it up. Rose let out a sigh of relief that the wand had performed well, and Sarah patted him on the shoulder in congratulations.
When the bottle had filled, Rose nervously lifted the bottle to her mouth and took a swig, contemplated it and then swallowed. "Wow Albus! It's even cold, I'm impressed!" Rose continued to drink her water, beaming at her cousin.
Several hours later they arrived in Hogsmeade Station. As they exited the train, the four Ravenclaws made their way towards the carriages. Around them, Rose could hear the unmistakeable sounds of whispering, and as she glanced around, students were pointing at them and looking away once Rose glanced in their direction. Frowning, Rose held her head high and pulled Albus along beside her.
"We're in the gossip it seems," she hissed into his ear.
"Pay no heed Rose. Besides it wasn't your house they broke into now was it?" Albus embarrassment could be seen in his large green eyes.
Rose looked at her cousin, "Sorry Al," she said quietly, pulling him in for a sideways hug.
It seemed Scorpius had located a free carriage and the four hopped inside, sitting in the empty seats. The other four seats were quickly filled by Lorcan, Lysander, Louis and a small Hufflepuff that none of them could put a name to.
The trip was short, and what felt like moments later they were all sitting at their respective House tables in the Great Hall, awaiting the Welcome Back speech and feast. Professor McGonagall stood before them and held her arms high.
"Welcome back students. I hope your holidays were well, and the time with your family and friends enjoyable. Some of you may have heard of some incidents over the holidays – " her eyes landed on several Weasley family members amongst the students, including Rose and Albus, "Let it be known that the incidents have been taken care of, and we ask of you to keep gossip at a minimal if at all none. It would be respectful and kind of you. Now, I know after your train ride back some of you must be famished, so tuck in!"
Professor McGonagall stepped back and the tables instantly filled with a delicious array of food.
"Well that was certainly nice of Professor McGonagall," Rose said with a smile as she delicately filled her plate, using a fork and knife to eat her mashed potatoes to avoid a mess on her robes.
"Yeah, dad Flooed her last night and asked her to do so. He was afraid Lily and I would be teased," Albus said darkly, "I hope he knows I can handle myself…"
"I'm sure he knows that Albus," Rose smiled reassuringly.
"Yeahff Alfbushh, jourr daahhrrd tchrusts youff," Scorpius said through the food in his mouth. Rose smacked his arm.
"In translation, that was 'Yeah Albus, your dad trusts you'," Rose rolled her eyes at the blonde boy beside her who was still stuffing his face. Scorpius only grinned with his cheeks full of food and shrugged his shoulders as if to agree.
"I have a surprise," Albus suddenly said, perking up. "I meant to tell you guys on the train but I completely forgot!"
Rose, Scorpius and Sarah looked at Albus, waiting for the 'surprise' he was going to give them.
A minute seemed to pass by, "And what is it?" Scorpius finally asked, completely out of patience.
"Oh, right!" Albus reached into his bag and pull the corner of something out of it, allowing only the four of them to see. The silky material flowed over his hand as it shimmered in the candlelight of the Great Hall.
"Is that…?"
"Quite right Rose, nicked it off James," Albus grinned mischievously. "It's not like James needed it anymore anyways. He's not the one sneaking around Hogwarts. By rights, it should have been given to me back in September!"
Rose rolled her eyes at her cousin, but noticed the confusion on both Sarah and Scorpius' faces.
"This is an Invisibility Cloak – "
"Not just any Invisibility Cloak Rose, The Invisibility Cloak," Albus smirked proudly.
"Right. This is The Invisibility Cloak. Once belonging to Uncle Harry, and his father, and his father, and so on. You may know it from The Tale of the Three Brothers? Albus here is a descendant of the great Ignotus Peverell himself.
"The oldest, asked for a wand more powerful than any in existence. So, Death fashioned him one from an Elder Tree that stood nearby.
The second brother decided that he wanted to humiliate Death even further, and asked for the power to recall loved ones from the grave. So Death plucked a stone from the river, and offered it to him.
Finally, Death turned to the third brother. A humble man, he asked for something that would allow him to go forth from that place without being followed by Death. And so it was that Death reluctantly handed over his own Cloak of Invisibility."
"Ignotus Peverell was the third brother. His older brother Antioch, was the possessor of the Elder Wand, and the middle brother, Cadmus, was the possessor of the Resurrection Stone. Together they are the Three Brothers."
"I never knew the story was real!" Sarah squeaked in awe. "I just thought it was another of those stories that parents use to teach their kids good morals and whatnot."
"Well now you know the truth. A lot of Pureblooded families descended from the Peverells. The Potters, the Gaunts, the MacMillans. Most are descended along the Black family line though. Plenty of crossover, purebloods can be filthy sometimes, no offence to your families. I'm proud to be half-blood."
"As am I," Sarah boasted.
"Hey! I'm a half-blood too!" Albus protested.
"I'll just wallow in my filth over here, don't mind me," Scorpius grumbled to himself.
"Don't take that personally Scorpius. At least your dad was smart, married a different lineage of Purebloods. The relation is probably so many generations back that you can't even count it. Besides, you're the least filthy Pureblood I know!" Rose wrapped her arm around his shoulder. "Now, let's get out of here and up to the tower. We have to mentally prepare ourselves for that meeting if we want to survive."
On their way up the stairs, Hugo bumped into them. "Finally going to spill about your undying love for each other now are you? You're lucky I like you Scorp, or I would have hexed your balls off," Hugo grinned evilly, before sprinting up ahead of them and out of sight.
Scorpius had paled slightly, knowing Hugo probably meant the truth. "I'm done for."
"You'll be fine. James would have been the only one to worry about, and he's not here anymore. Although I bet we will hear from him very soon. Or at least, as long as it takes Lily to owl him." Scorpius groaned.
"But Rose, James hates me! All the holidays I had to get Harry to put protective charms around my bed because on the first night James filled it with snakes! He never got over his stupid childish ways, still believing that I'm the devil's spawn. He only puts up with me for Albus' and your sake."
Rose looked at him in disbelief, "Why didn't you tell me? I knew he hated you, but snakes? How pathetic!"
"He'll hunt me down on the next Hogsmeade trip and skin me alive!"
"Well then we won't go to Hogsmeade, that simple," Scorpius seemed unconvinced, but he dropped the subject.
They sat in the plush chairs surrounding the fireplace, lucky enough to be some of the first to arrive back to the Common Room. Rose heaved a sigh of comfort as she set herself further into the cushions. "Do we have to go?" she asked, closing her eyes, ignoring the clock as it ticked closer to nine o'clock with every second that passed. The time was just past eight thirty.
"Rose, you called the meeting, of course we have to go!" Albus said in annoyance for what felt like the fifth time. "Let's just go now and get it over with."
Scorpius suddenly stood up, filled with an unknown confidence that bubbled from nowhere. "Let's go!" He pulled Rose up by her arm, and Albus did the same with Sarah and they began their ascent to the Room of Requirement.
A/N: So like it? Love it? What about the Rose Imperio situation? Hmm you'll have to wait to hear about that! And the meeting will be next chapter! Oh I love leaving you guys in suspense haha! Anyways, leave more lovely reviews because they make me happy, and a happy author makes for quicker updates! (or so I've heard!)