Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, the plot, the setting, the characters or anything else really. It is all the property of JKR. If you don'trecognize anything than it is my own and I would prefer if you asked before taking.

AN: Finally done, and now edited! I've gone back and reworked this chapter, including fixing any spelling and grammer mistakes. If you see any problems please don't hesitate to tell me, I'm slowly working on making this story better. I'd like to thank everyone hows reviewed so far and hope to get more great reviews in the future.

Chapter 14

The Messenger

The twenty sixth of March saw the last of the of the births for that year and thankfully the end of the most bitter of the winter chills. Leaning against the fence of the stable she looked out over the quickly defrosting forest. While the snow had disappeared the chill still resided, leaving Midwife Bogdan with a bit of a cold. Rose sighed as she reshuffled the hay. She had gotten so used to labor filled days that the short, unexpected break left her bored for most of the day.

She'd kept up with her weekly teas with Luna, who had become more of a mother to Rose then even her own had been these past few years. The teas were always a pleasant distraction from her work and the thoughts that plagued her mind. With each passing day with no word from Vic her worry grew. It had been nearly seven months since they had left their tiny flat in such a hurry. Perhaps if news from the outside trickled in more frequently her nerves would calm, but the monthly post and bimonthly papers gave little real indication as to what was going on outside the tiny camp.

Pouting slightly she twirled the pitchfork in her hands, absentmindedly going through some of the exercises Luna had taught her. Distracted by the rhythmic motions of the tool and her body she barely noticed the sound of approaching footsteps. Showing no sign that she knew anyone else was there she continued through the movements. A foot here, and twirl their, all the while her senses focused on the sounds coming from the pathway. Twenty feet away, ten, growing closer but no less bold. Five feet, and within clear sight of her they didn't stop. Three, two, one. Reacting quickly like she was taught, the pitchfork flew up in a single torrent of motion, stopping dead right in front of their throat.

Warm brown eyes, met cool blue and for a moment Rose allowed herself to relax her stance. "Your very lucky I didn't have my knife handy. Gapping chest wounds are so hard to heal." she said, allowing the pitchfork to drop to the ground. The intruder merely rubbed his throat nervously, gulping.

"Wasn't really expecting to be attacked." he said, his voice deeper then she remembered it to be. Fighting off the shiver that ran down her spin she glared at him, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She really needed to cut it, but Madame Bogdan was old fashioned and refused to allow her to in till after her apprenticeship.

"What do you want, Scorpius? Don't you have work you ought to be doing?" Her questions were met with a strained silence. Glancing at him out of the corner of her eye she could have sworn she say a tinge of red mare his cheeks. Pushing the thought aside she turned to face him once more.

"It's red again." he blurted rather forcefully. Arching a single thin eyebrow Rose stared at him for a moment before realizing he was referring to the color of her hair. Shrugging slightly Rose ran her hands over it, the color instantly changing to a deep brown. At his quizzical look she almost wanted to laugh.

"Sometimes the glamor fades when I get busy. It's much easier then worrying about dying it every month or so." her reply seeming to somewhat appease him she leaned against the fence. Tapping absentmindedly she looked at him, just looked, taking in all of the changes the last five or so months had brought. His hair was longer, past his ears, and slightly darker then she remembered, more of a gold then the silver she remembered it to be. His eyes were the same of course, blue stele that still knew how to cut her to the quick, but the soul behind them seemed different, older maybe, she couldn't tell. She let her eyes roam over the plains of his face, high cheek bones, soft, full lips, that scar at the corner of his eye from that time he tried to impress Sara Glynis. All of it was the same, but different, he was different now, just like her. Clearing her throat she garnered his attention. "Why was it you walked all the way here again?"

He looked slightly nervous for a moment, shifting from foot to foot. "Owl came today, from Vic." he said, holding up a slightly wrinkled piece of parchment. Grabbing it from his hand so quickly her wrist hurt she tore open the envelope.

'Dear cousin,

I hope you are well, and I am sorry for not owling sooner, we've been so busy here. Please tell grandmother to stop worrying, it's only the States! Teddy's been a bit grumpy lately, apparently the local fair doesn't agree with him, but he should be fine in a day or two. I hope Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron are fine, and tell Hugo that I miss playing chess. Oh, by the way, tell Aunt Hermione that we found something we thought she'd like, I saw one like it in one of her old school pictures. Please do give Aero a treat, he's a very good bird if slightly bity at times. I hope your school year is going well, and that you are keeping up with your studies. Well, I have to be going, we're seeing a show tonight and you know how Teddy hates to be late. Give my love to the family.

Your cousin,

Vic'

Breathing a sigh of relief she refolded the letter and placed it in her pocket, mentally noting to burn it later. They were safe and it would do no good if they were found out now.

Turning towards Scorpius she gave a wane smile. "They're in hiding, somewhere in the east, but still in Europe. If I were to hazard a guess I'd say somewhere in Bulgaria by her clues. Some of the Falcons are with them, or at least near by, they were having a meeting when she wrote this. Other than that there's nothing else in there." she explained, limply falling back to rest on the fence.

Scorpius nodded, seeming lost in his own thoughts. "At least we know something now." he said, gently setting down on to the hay next to her. Nodding while still staring off into space, she barely noticed how close they were setting. Her breath quickened as she felt his arm brush hers. Glancing at him out of the corner of her eye she saw him staring at her, eyes half laden and dark. Seconds ticked as they slowly moved towards each other, a centimeter at a time, in till she could feel his warm breath graze her lips. He was so close she could smell him, sandalwood, vanilla and his own unique scent wafting around her. It was intoxicating, being so close to him, almost touching him.

The sound of the gate swinging open startled them out of whatever trance they had fallen into. Scorpius stared at her, wide, frightened eyes filling with guilt and something she couldn't identify. "I have to go." With no other word he bolted up off the ground and through the gate, leaving a forlorn Rose, and a bewildered Luna in his wake.

"Did I interrupt something?" her surrogate mother's question rang through the empty stable. Not being able to control her self, Rose burst out laughing. The laughter, however, soon turned bitter as tears began to well in her eyes.

Pounding her fist against the ground Rose let out a strangled, "Damn it!" before getting her self under control. Taking a deep breath she sent Luna a somewhat forced smile. "Nothing that's important." she managed to croak out, standing against the railing for support. Luna's understanding smile almost did her in, but she held her cool as the older woman pulled her into a hug.

"I brought soup for you and Danny. Why don't I warm some up and you can tell me all about it. Hmm?" Nodding Rose let Luna lead her into the kitchen, knowing full well that talking about it would only bring up things she could explain. When exactly did life get so complicated?

The next few days passed by uneventfully, but sadly that left Rose with little to think about apart from the almost kiss she had shared with Scorpius. At least Midwife Bogdan was well enough again to start bossing her around, the odd jobs giving her something to fill up otherwise empty hours. Now she was carrying rather heavy inventory lists to the book keeper. Five books filled with transactions, needs, wants, and balances from the last year weighed down the satchel she was carrying.

Stopping near the fork between the pits and the main cabins she caught a flash of red in the distance. Squinting slightly she could make out a figure garbed in burgundy robes heading towards Uncle Charlie's cabin. "James?" she asked her self, making out black glasses and a head of Weasley red hair. Hosting the bag back onto her shoulder she hurried along, wanting to see if she had indeed been correct.

Stopping outside the cabin's door she looked in through the window. Uncle Charlie was standing in the middle of the room, yelling very adamantly at whoever this person was. Bursting through the door two sets of eyes turned to look at her. "I thought you said you hadn't seen them?" James asked, an air of arrogance in his voice. What was it with Potter men that made them think they were so special?

Ignoring him altogether she turned towards Uncle Charlie, intent on making their ploy work. "Mr. Weasley, sir, Midwife Bogdan asked me to bring some records to the book keeper but she wasn't in her cabin, do you know where I might find her?" she asked, mentally double checking to make sure her glamours where well in place.

Uncle Charlie shuck his head, their eyes meeting for a moment in quiet conversation. "No, Ms. Lehane, I'm afraid I have not seen her this morning." he said, following along with her deception. Setting down rather stiffly he gestured between James and her. "James this is Rye Lehane, Midwife Bogdan's apprentice. Ms. Lehane, this is my nephew, James Potter. I'm sorry for his rudeness, he's come looking for his brother and cousin and seems dead set I know where they are."

Nodding meekly she shook hands with James. "A pleasure to meet you Mr. Potter. I'm sorry for interrupting unannounced, Mr. Weasley, I didn't know you had a guest." she apologized, schooling her features and her voice. She may not be a good liar but at least her acting was on par. "I'll leave you now, I really must find the book keeper before Madame Bogdan becomes cross with me." Turning to leave she'd almost made it to the door when James' voice caught her attention.

"If you don't mind me asking, Ms. Lehane, where did you get that beautiful broach you are wearing." No sooner had the words left his mouth than Rose knew she was caught. Turning back towards them she allowed her glamours to drop, a scowl on her face.

"I knew I forgot something this morning." she grumbled, allowing her bag to fall to the ground, and her glamors to slip away. "Alright, what do you want, James?"

Not appearing at all deterred by her sudden change in appearance he slumped back into a chair. "To get you and that wayward brother of mine home and quickly and quietly as possible. Your little adventure is over." he scowled, trying to intimidate her.

Rolling her eyes at his antics she stood her ground, arms crossed tightly over her chest. "If I can outrun a Dark Lord, what makes you think I can't outrun you?" she spat out, glaring down her nose at him. James merely scoffed, not taking any of her words seriously. Feeling anger well up in her chest her hand reacted before her mind, her knife was out of it's sheath and imbedded in the wall millimeter from his cheek before she had even know she had moved. Frightened blue eyes shot in her direction as she stood calmly looking at him. "I don't take kindly to be insulted. Pray, keep that in mind next time, dear cus."

Glaring at her openly know he pried the knife from the wall with a no little effort, and threw it her direction. Not even blinking Rose caught it in mid air, sliding it back into it's sheath in one solid motion. At his slightly startled look she snorted, his ignorance grating on her last nerve. "Never assume I don't know my own weapon." Before she could say another word the door to the cabin burst open for the second time that day, Al and Scorpius stumbling into the room.

"James!" Al blurted out with no mind to anything. Rolling her eyes she tried to suppress her ire. Was she the only one in this family that had any common sense? Scorpius at least had the foresight to look confused, sending looks in both her and Uncle Charlie's direction.

Sighing Rose leaned against the wall, glaring at her other cousin. "Honestly. Is there a single brain cell amongst either of the infamous Potter brothers? It's as though you want to get killed!" she shouted, exasperation clear in her voice. Both brothers scoffed at her, identical scowls marring their features. Snorting, something she seemed to do more often then she'd like, she went back to leaning against the wall in silence.

Standing up in a flourish of robes James tried to look intimidating. "Your coming home, Albus. Mum's worried sick and Dad's had it with your antics. All this attention seeking isn't going to get you anywhere. You and your two little ruffian friends are coming home and you'll be lucky if Dad doesn't decide to send you to the Americas to finish up your schooling. I've heard they have very progressive correctional schools there." James said as he stared down his pointed nose at them. Honestly, the prat made Uncle Percy look like a humble person. All his gloating and Auror credentials and he was just the same as Al, a spoilt little brat vying for attention from his overly busy parents. Now that she thought about it, so was she, but at least she had enough humility to admit it to herself, she wasn't even sure if they had that.

Sometime while her mind had gone wandering the argument in the room had escalated, both brothers having their wands drawn. As curses began to fly around the room, she tried her best not to laugh. At some point she supposed she must have gone crazy, because the scene unfolding in front of her had to be one of the funniest sights she had ever seen. Ducking to miss a random hex she watched them dance around each other, neither one wishing to let go of their male pride and admit that they may not be right.

Barely blinking as James was thrown through the open doorway she turned towards Scorpius a bored look on her face. "Ten galleons says that Al wins but neither one has a wand at the end of this."

Watching as James tackled Al to the ground Scorpius held out his hand. "Deal, Al may be good with a wand but he couldn't land a punch if you stood still and let him. He'll need his wand to win this, and that's how he's going to do it." Nodding Rose allowed her hand to linger in his for a second longer then needed before turning her eyes back to the feuding brothers. She enjoyed a good fight the same as any girl, and if she could make a few galleons out of the deal that was even better.

The two brothers, oblivious to what was happening in the doorway, continued to roll on the ground, both trying to grab a hold of either loose wand. A split second faltering by James allowed Al to grab hold of his wand, pinning his brother to the ground. James made a grab for his own wand, only to have Al disarm him just as quickly. Holding the wand tip to James's cheek Al leaned down to whisper to his brother. Rose was too far away to make out his words but what ever he had said caused a look of fear to spread across James's face.

Climbing off of him, he helped his brother to his feet but kept his wand firmly in his hand. Readjusting his robes James held his head high as though he had not just been bested by his little brother. "I'm not going to be the last to come looking for you and don't you even think that I'm not going to tell them exactly where you are hiding." With those words he took his wand forcefully from Al's grasp and stalked out the gates, disapparting with a pop.

Quiet descended upon the small yard as they stared at each other. The silence was broken by Scorpius holding out his hand towards Rose. Rolling her eyes she dug in her pocket, pulling out a slip of paper. Spelling out a single word on the paper, she handed it over. Looking at the paper somewhat disappointed, a smile slowly tugged on his lips as he took in the words, IOU. "I'll hold you to that, Red." he said, tucking the piece of paper into his coat.

Al, finally catching up to the conversation looked at them aghast. "You bet on a fist fight?" he all but shouted. Rose shrugged, not really knowing what to say, while Scorpius merely smirked.

"Hey, I bet you'd win, I just said you'd do it with out a wand." Rose tried to defend herself, but knowing it was useless. Shrugging again, she shared a privet smile with Scorpius. Staring out at the setting sun her smile faltered as she felt dread settle into her stomach. James had been right, someone else would come for them, and for their sake she hoped it wasn't who she thought it would be.

tbc.

Next: The Prize- Scorpius collects his prize and Rose hears an interesting conversation.

AN: Thanks for reading, and please review.