I wasn't sure of the best way to do this and you may find it a bit confusing but basically it cuts between the events in Rose and Scorpius' homes during the holidays.
Enjoy.
"Welcome home sweetheart."
Rose allowed herself to be enveloped in her mother's arms, taking comfort from it. For the first time in seven years, she was glad to be away from Hogwarts. The castle that had long been her sanctuary had become a cell. The walls caged her in. There wasn't enough air. There wasn't enough space, there was never enough space. He was too close in the school. The blonde hair she had always loved was always there in the crowd, reopening the wounds she was s desperately trying to forget.
To have been so close and then to lose him, at her own hands, it was the cruellest torture you could inflict on a person. There was a void in her life now, one she knew would not be filled in the near future. His absence was so overwhelming...
She physically shook her head, hoping it would clear the mess inside it.
It didn't.
The best she could do was go through the motions, pretend everything was alright even though she wanted nothing more than to scream until her throat grew hoarse. She could feel it clawing at her chest, desperate to get out.
She made sure she was alone when she finally let herself cry. Her parents were at the Burrow with her brother, having left her with her textbooks. When she heard the front door close, she drew the photo album from its shelf. Her fingers traced the moving images of the two of them laughing, smiling, happy. As she watched him chase her through the park, her eyes glazed over. Within seconds the sobs were ripped from her body unrelentingly. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't catch her breath. They came too quickly, her whole body shaking in her grief.
Panic joined her grief when the pounding in her skull began. She was too far gone to even attempt to control it. Instead, she could only watch in horror as the books flew from their shelves, landing with a thud on the carpet. The small figurine she had been given as a tenth birthday present was now mere shards on the floor. Her body felt as if it was trying to tear itself apart, the pain unbearable.
Where is he? She thought, eyes on the door, hoping to see the familiar face coming through it. He's always here. Always.
As the blackness consumed her, the last thing she saw was the closed door.
"Rose? Rose can you hear me?"
He could see Draco Malfoy bent over his desk as he made his way through the corridors. His family were in the garden; he had made sure of it. That's what his master had told him to do.
And house elves always follow orders.
Groggily, Rose opened her eyes, surprised to see the concerned faces of most of her family looking down at her and the clinical walls of St Mungo's around them.
"What happened?" she croaked, her voice raspy.
"We don't know Hugo found you unconscious and brought you straight here." Said her Aunt Ginny.
His head whipped up when the house elf entered, curiosity clear on his face.
"Is there a problem Alumit?" he asked, not unkindly.
"No. I'm just following my master's orders."
"Scorpius? I'm sorry Alumit but I can't recall giving you any orders."
"The Malfoys are not my masters." Said the house elf, defiantly, his grip tight on the hilt of the dagger that had been entrusted to him.
Her parents waited until everyone but their son had left before they asked the question they had been dying to.
"It's gotten worse hasn't it?"
Draco's wand was in his pocket of the jacket he had left in the hall, leaving him defenceless. The surprise still showed on his face as the blade pierced his skin, again and again. Even when the life had been driven from his eyes, the house elf brought the knife down repeatedly into the pale body of the man he had pretended to serve.
"The Malfoys are not my masters. They are not my masters."
He hadn't even had the chance to scream.
Hermione took her daughter's hand in her own and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
"Don't worry, dear, it'll all be ok."
A/N: There is only one teensy weeny chapter of Inheritance left... but don't worry it is no where near the end of the story :)
What I do want to know is whether you would prefer it if I put it all under Inheritance and just put a note at the start explaining the time difference or whether it would be best to put it in a new story? Either private message me or put it in your review please.
That's my subtle way of saying review please!
Again, Thank you .