Chapter 16

At paths end

A moment, suspended in time, never seems to matter to most. That single instant, seemingly the same as every that had passed before it. Black and white, set in stone, the cold dismal realization that one can never fix the past, only keep on living. That moment when childhood died, dreams shattered, and the world shook. A single thing that rips your world from its axis and tosses it into oblivion. No one ever sees it coming, no matter how we delude our selves into thinking that we know our lives, and what will become of them. That we are the ones that are in control. No one ever sees the end in sight, the darkness of the woods as it creeps upon you, inch by inch in till it has devoured every speak of light to see your way out with. No one wants to be alone in the woods. Alone, isolated, dark. But in order to find your way onto whatever lays at the other end, we all must travel through the woods, scared, alone. We must see the darkness, walk amongst it, breath it in as we do air, to truly know who it was you were meant to be all along. For you can never appreciate the light just over the next hill, till you've thought you've lost the hope of it forever. To appreciate life you must see death, and all its trappings, to know love you must know hate. All strains must fall in order, to learn, to build, to survive what is to come. How can you leave the woods, if you never stepped inside to begin with?

The air stung her nose as she ran, her chest heaving as she pushed her body forward. Stopping outside Madame Bogdan's cottage to catch her breath she rushed inside and up the stares. Paying no attention to her mentors shouts she made it to her room, grabbing the bag she had packed that morning, as she had done every morning since she'd left home. Stuffing the shrunken bag into her pocket she exited the cottage in the same manner she had entered it, sprinting off towards the pits. The dried earth sent clouds of dust around her as she made her way down the well beaten path. The sun shone brightly and mockingly down upon her through the still barren trees along the path, goading her with its warmth against the back of her neck.

She took the left fork with no concuss thought, her mind on what had to be done. Run, fight, survive. It wasn't safe to stay, but didn't know where to go. If they were to be sent home, back to England, she didn't know what would follow them. The thing they feared most knew them, knew their names, their families. There was no turning back for it would mean the death of far too many. If they stayed away, distracted, then they would not go after their families, their loved ones, and those back in England would be safe, if only for the moment. She wasn't naive enough to think their wasn't a possibility that the Raiders would target her family to draw them out, but there was the hope that with them being here that their attention would be diverted from that option.

Spotting the hollowed craters of the pits she pushed harder, hoping that they were there. Reaching the edge of the pit she looked around frantically for any sign of Scorpius or Albus, but there was nothing but dragons below. "No, no, no, no. Where, where. Uncle Charlie's." she muttered to her self looking back one more time before taking off towards her Uncle's. Though the path between the pits and the cottages was much shorter it was much less pleasant in it's terrain. The slopping hills and jagged turns only proved to slow her down as she tried to run faster. Coming to the edge of the settlement, out of breath and on wobbly legs she quickly ducked between the cottages, not daring to take the main path.

Stopping just outside the backdoor to her Uncle's cottage she peered through the kitchen window, searching for any movement with in. A shadow, clearing human in shape danced upon the wall but she could not tells it's source. Raised voices echoed, all clearly male resounded but she could not make out what they were saying through the thick pane of glass. A soft but firm hand grasped her shoulder, causing her to jump, her wand at her assailants neck and her other hand on her knife. Her shoulders relaxed slightly as her eyes met Scorpius' very familiar blue ones. Rushing forward she wrapped her arms around him, holding him as closely as possible. He returned the gesture, peppering light kisses atop her head.

"What's the matter, Red? Your shaking." he whispered against her hair, refusing to let her go. She drew in shaky breaths as she tried to collect herself enough to tell him what she had heard.

"They've come, Scorpius." she said, watching as his eyes changed to a deep, smoky steel, the only noticeable sign of his fear. "They've come to take us home. It isn't safe, but they don't seem to know or care about that. We have to leave now. We have to get Al and we have to run." He nodded, letting go of her, but grasping her hand tightly as they began to walk.

"I don't know where Al is, he disappeared earlier today after an owl arrived. He might be at the pits." Scorpius said, his voice sounding odd to Rose.

"He isn't there, I looked there for you first." she said, stopping behind the book keepers cottage. Scorpius turned to look at her, a question in his eyes. "Scorpius, what were you doing behind Uncle Charlie's cottage?" It had been pestering her since he had first appeared. He looked and sounded like Scorpius but something was off.

"I thought I had seen your father earlier, so I was going to talk to him. Why?" he asked, dropping her hand. Rose felt cold as soon as his fingers left her's, like she was being punished for something she hadn't known she had done.

"Your acting odd. There's something... different about you." she explained, looking at his face closely to see if there was any indication of what it could be. Neither spoke for a moment, silence surrounding them. A new light she had never seen in his eyes before appeared there suddenly as he took her hands in his, bringing them to his lips to rain tiny kisses upon them.

Looking up at her through a soft curtain of pale blond bangs his eyes shone. "Something is different, Rose. I can't explain it now. Later, when all of this is done, at least for the time being, I'll explain everything, just trust me for now. Can you do that for me? Please?" The look in his eyes told her he wasn't lying but that didn't lessen the knot in her stomach any. Taking a deep breath she nodded, allowing him to kiss her before gently taking her hand and walking again.

The light Rose had conjured just month before to find the camp, fizzled every time she tried to use it to find Al. "Either someone has blocked my magic, or someone is hiding him. I can't tell which one." she explained after her third attempt. The clearing that her previous spell had lead them to gave no clue as to wether Al was near by or had been there at all. A soft prickly tickled that back of Rose's neck as one of her charms was activated. "Someone's here, and their powerful." Both ducking behind a large rock near the tree line she cast a quiet disillusionment charm. Pecking over the edge of the large rock, Scorpius looked out over the meadow.

"It's your father and uncle." he said in a hushed tone. Rose nodded, digging around in her pocket for anything that might help. Withdrawing a small spherical object pulled a lighter from her other pocket. "What is that?"

Lighting the small fuse she smiled as it began to spark. "Flash bulb. Close your eyes, tight." she replied before throwing it over the top of the rock. Ducking back down she followed her own advise just as a rather loud boom echoed through the clearing. Counting to three she stood up quickly, grabbing Scorpius' hand. "Now, run." They took off at a dash, heading out of the clearing and back towards the camp.

The sprint was harsh but they managed to make it back to the camp in record time. "We have to get to your Uncle's, he'll be able to give up a port key out of here. Maybe he'll know where Al is." Scorpius said, looking around the clearing to see if anyone was there.

Rose tried to catch her breath before responding. "Your right, there's a good chance Uncle Charlie's hiding Al, we need to get there before anyone knows where-" her sentance was cut off by a scream as something grabbed her forcefully for behind. The steel like grip of the person's arms hurt, her skin bruising under the assault. As she struggled she watched Scorpius' face radiate anger.

"Let her go. Father." he said through clutched teeth, causing a gasp to escape from Rose's lips. She had never meet Scorpius' father before but Scorpius had never been shy in demonstrating his dislike for the man. He had blamed his father for his mother's mysterious ailment, and her supposed lack of lucidity at time. He'd never said why he blamed his father, and Rose had never pried but looking at him now she saw it all reflecting in his eyes.

"I am here to take you home, Scorpius. This little escapade of yours is over. Your mother is worried to death about you. Do you want to make her more ill then she already is? You are coming home, now." the man growled out close to Rose's ear. It shocked her slightly that Mr. Malfoy sounded quiet a bit like Scorpius, both having rich, silky voices that were deep while not being too deep.

Scorpius let out a bitter laugh at his father's words, his eyes narrowing into slits. "That's rich coming from you. You never once cared about her illness before, always gallivanting around at functions, with you women. Don't you dare deny it. You left my mother home, alone and ill with me away at school so that you could have your little affairs. One after another, late night owls, private fire calls. Don't tell me I'm going to make my mother more ill. You've all but killed her heart, you have no room to talk!" Scorpius spat out his words, years of anger oozing through every syllable. Rose had never once in the five years she had known him ever heard his voice raised in anger. The mere thought of it sent deathly frigid chills down her spin.

The arms around her waist tightened as she began to struggle again, wanting nothing more than to comfort Scorpius. "Stop being such a child. You haven't a clue what you are talking about. You are coming home wether you like it your not." Mr. Malfoy said, his tone as harsh as his grip. His head shifted slightly as he apparently shifted his gaze. "Weasely, Potter. So good of you to join me. Perhaps now you can take care of your own wayward child, Weasely." Rose looked at her father, eyes pleading but he seemed to stare right through her.

"Well, you've found two, Malfoy, but I don't see Al anywhere." her father said, eyes gleaming. Rose began to struggle again, looking at Scorpius, praying that he would run while they were distracted. Giving a frustrated growl as the hold on her only tightened at her moving she began flailing around, hoping to catch him off guard. "Easy, Malfoy! You're hurtin' her!" Barely paying attention to her father she struggled harder. She needed to get free, to run, not really caring at this point where she ran to.

"Honestly, Potter, you can't even find your own offspring? How can be possibly be that hard to find. You can use magic and he can't for Merlin's sake!" Mr. Malfoy growled out at her uncle. Rose closed her eyes in silent thanks that they hadn't yet figured out exactly how they'd stayed hidden so long. Now she could just hope that he would be smart enough to stay away, and make it to the Falcons to tell them what he knew.

"Let her go!" Rose kept her eyes closed as the voice rang out through the trees. She was beginning to think he acted this way just to prove her wrong at every turn. Turning her eyes towards the sound of the voice she saw Al standing, wand drawn in a fairly impressive dueling stance. What a shame they weren't dueling and he'd have to win a real fight this time. Al was advancing towards her, obviously unaware, or just not caring about, the other two armed men standing feet away. If he had he really would have seen that first disarming spell coming.

Rose had never seen her Uncle Harry violent before, in fact it was almost inconceivable to her mind that the man she had known all her life could have a violent streak at all. How wrong she was, the look alone in her Uncle's eyes seemed to be enough to render most men cowards. Sadly, once again Al was not a man nor had the insight to think that his father would honestly duel him. Her eyes stayed on them as they danced around each other, spells flying in most directions. Wiggling slightly she hoped her capture would be distracted enough for her to break free but his hold held true.

The minutes ticked by as the duel continued in front of her, neither particularly getting the upper hand at any certain moment. It was almost like watching a muggle fencing match, the way they seemed to dance more so then fight. A deadly dance but a dance none the less.

After she saw Al fall for the second time due to a stunning spell she was sure it was over, her uncle standing over Al wand drawn, posed for action. "Stop!" All eyes turned as a red faced, disheveled Luna came sprinting into the clearing. "Harry! Don't!" As the words left her mouth a bolt of light shot through the air, silencing them all. Her Uncle stood, just barely, looking at his son in shock, hand still open from where the spell had blasted his wand from it. In the seconds that followed, mayhem unleashed its self upon the tiny group, voices raising to fill the quiet.

In those second Rose felt the grip around her loosen, falling almost completely away. With a single well placed elbow to his ribs she was completely free, and barely noticed by those around them. Swiftly taking off her locket she muttered a spell she'd learned by heart just in case. Cinnamon eyes snapped open as the last word left her lips. "Scorpius!" Her cry was met by six pairs of eyes as she threw her locket towards him. His eyes held only questions for a split second before they realized her plan. Grabbing hold of Al's shoulder he only had to wait a moment before a tugging sensation started to form at his navel. "Patir, Disparaître, être sûr!" With those words they disappeared with a resounding pop.

Falling to her knees, she felt tears well in her eyes. Her dream all those months ago had been right, she couldn't help Scorpius in his hour of darkness. She was needed else where. Turning a tear stained face to her father she managed to force out a single sentence. "You can take me home now. I'm ready." The wind blew a warm breeze as she said those words, signaling a new season, a new time. Her path was done.

End part 1

tbc.

Next- Ch. 17- Interlude aka The locket

AN: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you all enjoyed it and remember, the best way to ask about questions is through reviewing, I love hearing what you have to say, no matter what it is! Thank you again, you've all be wonderful!

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, he and every thing in his wonderful world are the property of JKR. I claim no rights and make no money in the writing of this story.

AN: I've finally finished it! This is the chapter I began writing months ago, my ending to the wonderful first part of this series. Don't worry there will be more, including a inturlude that I'm finishing up right now and will be posted in a few days. It feels good to have this done finally, and to take a short break from worrying about it. I'll begin work on the second part sometime between now and the end of February. I don't think I'll have anything to post before then, but I never know. I do have an outline right now so it's just a matter of going over that, fleashing it out, and starting to write it all. The next section will cover through chapter 32, so it's a rather long section dealing with lots of things, including a whole lot more action, as in fight scenes on the large scale. But anyway, please enjoy this and let me now what you think.