Hello Hello Hello ;)

I don't mean to be a Moaning Myrtle, but the correlation of reviews to alerting/favouriting is getting out of proportion, and it sort of upsets me that you could like something but not say you like it. So could you please not favourite/alert without reviewing ;)

On a happier note, here is CHAPTER 21. There are 3 give or take a few, chapters left. Who knows for sure? I certainly don't XD.

Thank you for those who continue to review, I love you for it! :D

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Harry Potter

Chapter 21

It took Rose approximately 7 hours to realise that she had made a gargantuan mistake. She sat upright in her bed, breathing erratically and biting at her lip.

She picked up the pager from her bedside table that she hadn't given back to Violet and looked at the small screen. She started to type the letters before shaking her head and putting it back down.

Rose knew that she shouldn't have hit Scorpius, especially as hard as she did. Her purpling knuckles evidence for that.

She couldn't help getting angry at him for saying what he had said, and the way he knew exactly what would make her snap just made her feel like he did it on purpose.

Then there was the disappearance of Lorcan and Albus, and Rose knew that finding them would be difficult, especially because of the size and the amount of hidden rooms in Hogwarts.

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Scorpius waited in the Hospital Wing for an hour before Madam Minstra came back, he was alone as Dino had left to finish his rounds at the instruction of Scorpius.

She gave him a look of utter surprised. First because it was approximately 12 o'clock and Second because he looked like he had beaten up – even though he had been. It certainly wasn't what the Matron expected so late at night.

Scorpius looked worse than he felt, he'd only received a black eye, some loose teeth and some slight pain in his abdominal area. Madam Minstra had given him ointment for the eye, giving him a potion for his teeth so they wouldn't fall out – something Scorpius was very happy about, and a bag of ice for his nether regions.

She had interrogated him over his injuries, and had even speculated that he was being bullied. Scorpius easily laughed it off and his excuse was that he got into a fight with a nasty Grindylow which had escaped from the D.A.D.A classroom, which was a terrible excuse considering there weren't any Grindylows in the school, a fact that Madam Minstra wasn't aware of.

Surprisingly, Scorpius found he wasn't that bothered about Rose hitting him, considering he would have to explain his black eye for the next week to everyone who encountered him (including his parents) was his only problem, because it suggested that someone had gotten the upper hand on Scorpius Malfoy. Scorpius didn't deem Rose's little tirade as having the upper hand, but more of her being lucky.

He just hoped that like Lorcan had said, she'd come back bearing gifts and would have become somewhat more emotionally open.

That was another thing, he was starting to get antsy about the disappearance of Lorcan and Albus. He could trust that they were alive, but he couldn't trust that they would find them, because Hogwarts was known for losing students within its walls and them turning up weeks later.

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It was about 8:30 the next day and Scorpius was sitting on the Gryffindor table eating his breakfast, everyone whispering around him and looking at his purple eye, and his slightly swollen jaw.

"Now that's a shiner," Lyra Finnegan, Scorpius' fellow Gryffindor prefect said from across the table. "Did you get in a fight Scorpius?" she asked, laughing with Emma.

"Yes actually, I had it out with a Mountain Troll," Scorpius replied simply, winking his other eye and taking a bite out of his toast, which proved to be slightly painful.

Emma stopped laughing and spoke up, "Scorp, we heard Lorcan and Albus are missing, is that true?" her voice was one of concern.

Others around the table heard and began whispering between themselves, those who had yet to hear the rumour finally did.

Scorpius nodded, noting the empty seat beside him, and Hugo's lack of talking from across the table. Lily had a frown on her face, not eating.

"I'm sure they are fine," Scorpius said, trying to comfort the people around him.

"But what if we can't find them before Friday," Emma said quickly, going red with worry.

Scorpius was lost for words and paused momentarily, "I don't know Emma, but we will, trust me on that one." He said with a weak smile.

Emma breathed out difficultly and turned back to her breakfast. Scorpius wanted to say something more but the words were lost to him.

As he turned in his seat to leave the table, he saw Rose enter the Great Hall looking very red and distressed. Her books held in her hands and her bag tied up in her arms.

She dropped most of the books and pulled at the curls in her hair, going redder as several people started to look at the disorientated girl.

He quickly got up moving towards her and kneeling besides her and helping her pick up her books and various pieces of parchment, one which was folded and had his name on it, and another that was folded with a wax seal on the back, Rose's name on the front.

She looked up a shocked look on her face as she stared at his swollen eye.

"Oh Scorpius, I'm so sorry, oh Merlin." She tucked her curls behind her ears with both hands and covered her face momentarily.

"Rose," he started but she wasn't listening. "Rose, it's okay, look I'm fine, it doesn't hurt at all." He continued, trying to look under her curtain of red hair and into her face.

She quickly started to pick up her things, forgetting the letters in Scorpius' hands and she turned and stumbled out of the door.

Scorpius followed after her touching her shoulder to stop her, but she just dropped the books and gave up, collapsing into a seating position beside the doors and leaning against the wall.

He watched confused and began to collect her things and place them on a nearby bench, after carefully placing them in her bag.

"Rose," he said, standing in front of her as she rubbed her face with her hands. "Rose," he repeated and when she didn't reply again, he roughly grabbed her from under the armpits and forced her to sit on the bench he had put her books on. "Is this for me Rose?" he asked, holding the letter with his name on it in his hand.

Rose nodded, a frown on her features and Scorpius opened it and began to read.

Scorpius,

I'm sorry, I'm an idiot. Forgive me?

Rose

He folded it back up and placed it in Rose's hands.

"Go on, tell me what's wrong Rose." He asked, taking a seat next to her and pushing her bag out of the way.

"Aren't you angry with me?" she asked quietly, starting to look up at him.

Scorpius smiled, "'course not Rose, it's only a little black eye, it'll be gone in a week or two."

She frowned and looked at the remaining letter in his hand.

He took this as a clue and laid the letter in his hand, the seal was broken.

"Can I look at the letter?" he asked. Rose nodded and he opened it, the writing not familiar to him.

Rose,

We are getting increasingly more worried here.

It's been 2 days and you haven't heard anything from Albus or Lorcan? I know full well that Lorcan is able to look after himself, his grades show just that. But Luna and Rolf are very worried, they don't have the same faith in their sons safety as we do. Which is completely understandable considering that Hogwarts is a very mysterious place. It even says in Hogwarts: A History that there are still unknown rooms about the castle. I know you know this too, Rose. I know two brains are better than one, and you have the whole of the library to help you, please try today to find something of use.

I know I can't leave it all in your hands, so we plan on coming down tomorrow.

I can't stress the importance of finding them both. I know I have faith in them being okay, but if they are in a room without food, they will starve if we don't find them in time. You know Gamp's Law of Elemental Transfiguration as well as I do, Rose. Food cannot be created out of thin air.

Search through some of the passages, I know the kind of person Albus is, so he could have gotten in to one of them and they aren't the safest of places Rose. They have been known to collapse and either Albus or Lorcan could have gotten hurt.

Just please Rosie. I know how responsible you are, and I trust that you know the many wiles of Albus Potter and might be able to find him.

Love you always,

Your Mother.

Scorpius folded the letter back up and looked at Rose who had been reading along with him.

"What am I supposed to do Scorpius? I can't find them, I don't know where they are." She said sadly. "They expect so much from me, but I just don't think that way."

"You're going to surprise yourself and you'll come up with the answer, I know you Rose. You always have an answer," he replied smiling and trying to transmit his smile onto her face.

She uncomfortably rubbed at her mouth and chin before looking at him again, "you think?"

"Well from the girl who claims to know everything, I'd expect so," he said, a grin on his face as he put an arm behind her, allowing it to lean along the top of the bench. She didn't shy away from him.

"I don't know everything, I'd say the complete opposite." She replied quietly.

Scorpius knew what she meant and sighed, "that's what I'm here for, just waiting for you to figure it out."

Rose made a sound which sounded reminiscent of a laugh before leaning back and looking at Scorpius from out of the corners of her eyes. At this angle she was just able to see the slight bruising on the bridge of his nose, but not the full black eye.

"I really messed up your face," Rose started a small smile playing on her lips and a hint of a snigger behind her still slightly upset voice.

"You can say that again," Scorpius replied, leaning his head against the wall and closing his eyes momentarily, despite the pain.

Rose didn't say anything for a few seconds before saying, "I really messed up your face."

Scorpius opened his eyes and looked over at Rose who had turned directly to him, she was laughing, and he couldn't help joining in with her, even if it was a lame joke.

"Where did you learn to punch like that anyway?" he asked seriously, seeing the purple tint on her right knuckles.

"You have to find a way to control my cousins," she replied with a smile.

Scorpius' eyebrows went up and he grinned.

"Can I at least do something about it?" she asked, to get a better view of Scorpius she folded her left leg under her, fully facing his turned head.

"Well I could think of numerous things that you could do. I don't think any of them would make my eye better though," he replied a definite Malfoy-smirk on his face.

"Ha ha," she said dryly, hitting him lightly on the leg. "But I feel bad about disfiguring you for more than a week, you do value your looks a lot. And I doubt your parents are going to be happy about you coming home with a black eye."

Scorpius shrugged, his smirk turning into a smile, "I think it adds the bad boy of Gryffindor element to my persona," he said with a wink. "My dad will hate it, he'll think that the Slytherins did it, I don't know what would be worse for him. His son being attacked by a group of Slytherins, or Rose Weasley."

Rose was slightly red and balanced her head on her hand, it leaning to one side. "I suppose I could always explain the situation to him, he might take my side," she said with a smile.

"You might be onto something there, though he might resent that you could over power any son of his," Scorpius replied with a grin. "Though Rose, are you suggesting that you should meet my father?"

She rolled her eyes and straightened herself up, "I've met your father before Scorpius, or have you forgotten the various Potter gatherings and Ministry parties we've all been to?"

"Ahhh, but not when you were my girlfriend," he replied confidently, the smirk coming back.

"You do like jumping to conclusions Scorpius, what a big head you have," Rose said, however she had a huge smile on her face.

"My head is a perfectly normal size," he replied, a pretend hurt look on his face.

Rose smiled at this, and before she realized she had taken her arm from resting on her leg and brought it up to touch his face, just under his black eye. "Well your eye certainly isn't."

"And your hands are rather cold," he replied, a grin on his face at Rose's actions.

"All the better for your eye, I suppose," she replied distantly, cooling Scorpius' still throbbing eye with the back of her hand, and turning her hand again, her fingers dancing along the skin around his eye and the side of his nose.

"I'd have to agree," he said, the grin still there. Even when Rose's hand dropped back into her lap and she breathed out a sigh. "You couldn't be more obvious, you know that right?" he asked.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Rose said easily, looking down the corridor, the smallest of smiles on her lips.

Scorpius couldn't help thinking: Mission Accomplished, at Rose's actions. She'd opened up.

Rose started to twist her hands, and her face suddenly looked downcast. "Scorpius?" she said tentatively, looking at her jittering hands.

"Hmm," he replied unthinkingly, his arm still resting on the top of the bench behind Rose.

"Do you think Albus will have forgiven me?" she asked, a frown on her face.

"Forgive you for what? You didn't do anything wrong. It's Albus who needs to apologize to you Rose." He said, slightly angry.

"But it's me –,"

"No it's not you who made him so angry, he made himself angry and didn't talk to anyone about his anger." Scorpius interrupted sharply.

Rose looked down, "I still feel terrible about what I said though Scorpius, I wasn't nice."

"When are you ever nice?" Scorpius asked with a grin.

She rolled her eyes and Scorpius touched her shoulder with the hand that was behind her back.

"I think you were right to be that angry, hopefully during these few days of seclusion, Lorcan would have talked to him about it." He said with a smile.

"If Albus hasn't killed him, Lorcan can get a little carried away when it comes to making people feel better," she replied, recollecting the various times she had hit him because of it.

Scorpius nodded, "you do hit him an awful lot of the time, don't you?"

Rose paused, a confused look on her face as she looked up into Scorpius' face, which wasn't exactly giving. "How do you know I hit him? Did he tell you something?" She couldn't read a response on his face and her frown deepened. "Is that why you made me so angry yesterday?" she asked, an annoyed look on her face.

"It could have something to do with it," he said with a smile. "Now don't get angry, I'm the one with the black eye remember."

Rose was about to say something more and then stopped herself.

"I don't want to know the reason why you wanted to make me angry. I don't think I'd be able to understand it, seeing as you knew what I'd do."

Scorpius smiled and looked carefully at his watch, noting they didn't have long.

"I want to suggest something, and think about it before you say no. How about we take a look around the castle?"

Rose opened her mouth widely but Scorpius gave her a think about it look. She pondered momentarily before speaking, "but we have lessons."

He shrugged, "it's the last week, plus everyone knows the problem, they'd understand."

She paused and then nodded, "I suppose you're right, but where would we start? This place is huge."

"I don't know, we can retrace their steps somehow."

Rose nodded and started up to leave, before Scorpius placed his other hand on her shoulder stopping her. He took her hand in his and smiled at her, tracing the bruising on her knuckles.

"We'll find them Rose, trust me, our brains put together, we'll figure it out."

She looked down at their hands and smiled, "I still want to do something to make it better."

Scorpius' eyes rose slightly and he grinned, "well I certainly didn't expect that from you, Rose."

Rose shrugged, mimicking the one Scorpius had done before. "Only this one time though Scorpius, you can't expect this type of behaviour from me all of the time." She replied with a sly grin.

Scorpius' hand tightened around Rose's and he started to lean forward, a smile etched on his features.

As if the world was against them both, however. The Great Hall started to empty and they quickly backed away, people giving them looks of confusion but continuing on.

"How long can you survive without food do you think" They heard Summer say to her friend as she walked past, her friend laughed and replied, "not long I can guess."

Rose looked over to Scorpius, worry colouring her eyes and he shook his head, taking her hand and pulling her up and taking her bag in the other hand, walking through the crowds towards the Ravenclaw Common Room.

"You don't think they were talking about Albus and Lorcan, do you?" she asked quickly as they reached an empty staircase.

"I'm not going to lie Rose," Scorpius replied simply, climbing the spiral staircase up the common room.

She looked down at her feet and frowned, hoping that Lorcan still had that chocolate bar he had offered her.

Pretty fluffy chapter update. :3

Thanks for reading ;)

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