That weekend seemed to zoom by in a vicious blur for Rose what with the amount of homework she was forced to finish up and Quidditch teams being picked for her House. There was a huge celebration in the common room Saturday night where James, Fred, and the rest of the team were the guests of honor. James forgave Rose for indirectly earning he and his friends detention in the euphoria from making the team as Seeker, and Fred as Beater along with Aiden Finnigan. The three Chasers were called Ben and Joseph Lonan, sixth years, and seventh year Quidditch Captain Jade Glen. Gryffindor's Keeper was a handsome fifth year by the name of Troy Sawyer. It wasn't until Monday that the castle decided to slow down and take a breath, during which Rose had Potions first thing in the morning with the Slytherins.
Stepping into the dungeon, she was pleased to see that Albus and Scorpius had saved her a seat. Taking it, she looked at Albus and smiled, "How are you?"
"I'm great, Rose!" he said, looking quite pleased to see her, "And you?"
"Oh you know, I'm good. Actually I wanted to tell you about something..." Rose started, thinking of the oh-so mysterious tunnel.
"Silence," echoed the voice of Professor Serkent, "Every day all of you walk in here screaming like banshees, and I won't have it!"
At these words, Scorpius leaned over and whispered something in Al's ear. The two of them started laughing silently. Professor Serkent took no notice, and continued his lecture to the first year class.
"Today you will be brewing a very simple potion with your groups, and as such, I expect you to succeed," he said, waving his wand over the cabinet filled with a cauldron for each table, "The instructions are written on the board, and you may ask me if you require assistance, please begin."
The recipe for a Cure for Boils was pretty simple, involving snake fangs, horned slugs, and porcupine quills. Al and Scorpius chatted fiercely about the Slytherin Quidditch team as the three brewed, and Rose eyed the empty seat beside her, wondering perhaps if Kayleigh would join them next class.
"My father says he became a Seeker in his second year, but he was never any good. Actually, he told me once that your father," he indicated Albus, "beat him at every game they played together. He told me not to tell anybody that but, well, I thought it was a bit funny."
"I find it a bit funny," laughed Albus, "that our parents hated each other when they were at school, but next summer I might be coming around your house and you to mine. I wonder what they'll think!"
Rose was listening vaguely, crushing up snake fangs and adding them to the cauldron. The Professor swept across the room watching flame temperatures and whether his students were following directions, giving and taking house points as he went.
"Weasley, Potter, and Malfoy," he announced, causing the three to jump, "Keep up the fine work. Ten points to Slytherin and five for Gryffindor."
After class, Rose followed Albus and Scorpius out of Serkent's dungeon down a dark corridor that presumably led to the Slytherin Common room.
"Albus," she said, "I need to talk to you about something!"
"What is it?" asked Al, pausing to turn around and indicating for Scorpius to come with them in the other direction.
"You know how James got detention the other night?" she started while walking up the stone steps and into the entrance hall.
"Nothing unusual there," Scorpius smirked, his grey eyes flashing.
As they headed up the Grand Staircase, Rose recounted about the tunnel filled with locked doors, each bearing the crest of a Hogwarts House. The three paid no attention to where their footsteps took them and soon discovered themselves in the second floor corridor approaching the very same staircase they'd been discussing. Only there was no way up anymore, just a suit of armor stood guard at the foot of the steps and Molly Weasley, a Gryffindor Prefect, standing guard.
"What are you three doing here?" she asked, sounding ludicrously like her father, Rose's Uncle Percy.
"We're just heading to Charms, Molly, why so tense?" asked Rose, legitimately curious.
"I was just told to make sure no one tried to get up this staircase, after James and his idiotic friends blasted the wall apart."
"Oh, I see, well, we'll just be going then," said Rose, turning around and not actually heading to Charms, as she had Herbology next, and the boys had Flying.
While they walked past Professor Flitwick's classroom, Molly called behind them, "But I thought you were heading to Charms!"
The three ignored her and carried on.
"So let me get this straight," said Scorpius as the three stepped onto the ground and the autumn wind whipped their faces, "You walk through this dark and mysterious tunnel that you claim has probably not been seen for centuries? Sounds like a bit of rubbish if you ask me."
"Believe what you want, Malfoy," sneered Rose, "but I'm writing to my mum to see if they'd ever been there, and I think you should too, Albus!"
True to her words, Rose did write Hermione that evening after classes were through, even though her mother hadn't answered her first letter yet. She felt this was sufficiently important and knew the curiosity would get the better of her sooner or later. Surprisingly, the answer came flying to her at breakfast time only the next morning.
Dear Rose,
Please try and keep yourself out of situations like this, I can't stress enough how many unfortunate things your father and I got mixed up in with Harry as our best friend. Just keep your focus on your studies, I've owled Professor McGonagall to discuss this tunnel you described, so don't be surprised if you get called to her office later.
I love you,
Mom.
Rose read through the letter twice. Her mother told the Headmistress what she'd done? Oh no, oh no, oh no. I'm in big trouble. She should have wrote to Dad, or Uncle Harry, or Aunt Ginny. What was she thinking? James didn't have to say anything to McGonagall, her mum had done that for him.
"Any reason why you're having a silent panic attack, Rose?" asked Kayleigh after taking a sip of orange juice.
"Yes!" she screamed angrily without thinking, then covered her mouth in shock as almost half of the Great Hall had heard and were now craning their heads at her. Doing the only thing she could think of, Rose grabbed her mother's letter, her bag, and a piece of toast, and ran for it.
Flying class that day was a disaster. Rose couldn't help being jumpy due to her embarrassing outburst at breakfast. When Madam Hooch asked whether she knew the fastest broomstick to this day, she stuttered and answered incorrectly, fully aware of the correct model. What was worse, Hooch had the class flying through obstacles today, and when it was Rose's turn, she flew headfirst into the first metal hoop, recovered, then knocked over two cones, officially becoming the laughingstock of her Flying class. All Madam Hooch had to say for it was, "Well, you remind me of your father."
While leaving the field, she thought she heard a small voice issuing from her teacher's mouth singing, "and that's why Slytherins all sing, Weasley is our King."
The next evening, once Rose had calmed down some, Professor Longbottom had fetched her in the Great Hall, saying that the Headmistress would like to see her. While horrified, she appreciated that he hadn't said anything loud enough so any fellow Gryffindors could hear.
Slowly, she walked to the seventh floor corridor where McGonagall's office resides. Upon approaching the stone gargoyle, it asked, "Are you Rose Weasley?"
Nodding, Rose stepped onto the platform and the gargoyle rotated, escalating stairs upwards toward a wooden black door. She hesitated before knocking, and was surprised to hear none other than her mother's voice issuing from behind the door.
"You mustn't blame Rose, it isn't her fault those boys blew apart the walls!"
"But now, due to this discovery, proper arrangements must be made to protect the treasury, when it would have been perfectly fine had this young lady not been eager to discover it."
"It was obviously not very well protected in the first place if an eleven year old can just stumble upon it! You should be grateful she found it and not someone else who might try to rob it!"
The two were practically screaming their words of defense.
"Then perhaps you can tell me, Mrs. Weasley, how to protect the extremely valuable lost treasures of the founders of Hogwarts?"
The two women looked each other in the eye: Hermione, once a young witch and bright pupil; and Minerva, a brave and loyal instructor who Hermione respects highly.
"No Professor," she said as though she were in Transfiguration class once again, just a young girl who had done wrong, "I can not. But do not give the fault to my daughter. She has done nothing wrong."
Deciding not to eavesdrop any longer, Rose knocked.
"Oh, come in," said McGonagall's exasperated voice.
"Hello Professor," she said softly, "Hi Mum."
"Hello dear," said Hermione first, walking forward to hug her daughter.
"Miss Weasley," McGonagall interrupted sharply, "I want you to know that you are not in any trouble, but I'd like to know the full story of how you came across this - this corridor."
Trying to act as if she didn't overhear anything, Rose told McGonagall how she always took the passage to and from the library, and upon discovering the hole James, Fred, and the twins left, she was merely curious about what lurked inside, unaware that she was trespassing on anything. She left out the bit about telling James of the loose bricks beforehand, deciding it was best nobody knew about that part.
Professor McGonagall frowned. "Alright dear, don't worry about anything, I just think it's best that you don't tell any of your fellow students what you witnessed, is that clear dear?"
"Yes, Professor," she told McGonagall, thinking simultaneously of telling Albus everything she overheard before entering the room. A treasury, here? In Hogwarts? Had anyone ever heard of anything like it?
"I'll be getting back to the Ministry now, Minerva," tutted Hermione, looking impatient and slightly irritated. When McGonagall nodded to her, she gave her daughter another hug and swept from the room.
Feeling awkward alone with her Headmistress, and not yet dismissed, Rose glanced around the office. the walls were stacked with shelves and cabinets full of silent and still silver instruments, along with things indicating McGonagall's taste such as velvet-covered books and handsomely crafted quills on display.
Fifteen or so portraits hung around the Headmistress' desk, all, as Rose knew, former Heads of Hogwarts. Immediately, she recognized Albus Dumbledore hanging grandly behind the desk, then Phineas Black, whom she read about in Hogwarts, A History. Another man stood out to her, one with long, black hair who looked somewhat sour.
Before Rose could view anything else, the Headmistress called "Dismissed, Weasley," and Rose turned from the room and headed for her dormitory.
I want to thank my readers and let them know that they encourage me to continue this story! I've finally figured out where to go with this plot, so it'll much easier to write from this point forward. Thank you so much and please review if you'd like!