Using the prompt "oath"
Chapter Three
By the time she went down for breakfast late the next morning, word had already spread throughout Hogwarts. She heard them whisper, she saw the looks they gave her.
Everyone knew that her parents had been killed. It wasn't that they were speaking badly of them – she didn't hear a bad word against them – it was they were discussing it all that bothered her.
Rose didn't want people discussing it; she didn't want them coming up with crazy, untruthful ways about how her parents had died. The truth was, they had been killed when they had least expected it, when they had been unprepared. It was murder and there were no heroics about it.
If there had been, they would have still been alive and she and Hugo would still have their mum and dad.
She couldn't see her brother, or any of her cousins down at breakfast when she arrived. It was late on a Thursday morning – most students were probably in class. She wondered if any of them had gone to class, or were hiding in their common rooms, thinking about what had happened.
No one but Hugo would completely understand. Most of them had just lost an aunt and an uncle. No one else had lost a mother and a father.
Only some sixth and seventh years were at the tables, some with books in front of them, others taking advantage of their free period. Yesterday, she had been all but invisible to them. This morning, all seemed to be watching her, even the ones who weren't in Gryffindor.
She ignored them. She didn't want their sympathy; she just wanted her parents.
She didn't stay in the Great Hall for long, quickly eating a small bowl of cereal before making her way back towards the common room. She was thankful that most of the students were in class. It was a peaceful walk back.
It wasn't until she had almost reached the portrait hole of Gryffindor common room that someone found her. It was Lucy.
"You okay, Rose?" she asked, her eyes and voice full of sympathy. Rose didn't mind it coming from her. It actually made her feel better.
"No, of course not," she replied kindly. "Have you seen my brother?"
"Everyone's in the courtyard," Lucy told her. "It's why I came to get you. We're just sitting out there. We're not really talking. We're just sitting with each other."
"Hugo too?" Rose asked.
Lucy nodded. "Everyone. Coming?"
"Yes." She had to see her brother. He had been so quiet the day before – which was understandable – and she needed to make sure he was okay. Her parents never would have forgiven her if she completely abandoned him. He needed her.
They walked silently through the castle. Rose had never seen it so quiet before. She suspected it got like that during the holidays, but she was never around for them. She enjoyed going home during the holidays and after everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours, she was glad she did. What if she had only ever gone home for the summer? What if she had stayed at Hogwarts every Easter and Christmas? That would have been less time she would have had with her mum and dad.
She found her family gathered under a tree. James and Lily were perched in one of the lower branches, while Hugo, Albus and Louis were lounging against its trunk. Hugo's expression remained as it had been the day before; blank and emotionless.
Rose wondered if it had even sunk in yet. Was her brother in denial?
Unsurprisingly, the only one who hadn't joined them was Molly. Lucy seemed to know what she was thinking.
"Molly wanted to go to class..." she said. "It's not because she doesn't care, Rose. She acts like it, but I think the news affected her pretty badly. She just doesn't want to think about it."
"They were my parents," Rose argued.
Lucy nodded. "I know."
They sat beside the boys and Hugo shuffled closer to her. She rested her hand over his. "You okay?" she asked.
He nodded. "I didn't sleep at all last night. I just can't believe they're gone. I got a letter from them last night."
It reminded Rose of her own letter; the one she had put at the bottom of her trunk. "Did you read it?"
Hugo nodded again. "It was just like any other letter, but it was strange. I knew what had happened, but it didn't feel like it. They were alive when they sent that letter. You didn't get one?"
Rose looked down, her cheeks turning red. "I haven't read it yet. I couldn't."
Hugo rested his head against her shoulder. "Part of me doesn't even want to go to the funeral, you know," he continued. "It will be awful. Everyone will be crying, they will be sad. It will make me sad and it will make me want to cry."
"You're allowed to cry, Hu," Rose said.
"That's right, mate," James said from above. "No one will think any less of you if you do. I'm man enough to admit that I cried last night."
"I can't cry, though," Hugo added. "I feel like I want to, but I don't; I can't."
The bell rang, echoing through the grounds to signal the end of the morning's lessons. Slowly, students began to pile into the courtyard, some paying attention, saying a few words, while others merely looked at them with sympathy.
The first to approach them was Scorpius. He was puffing as he ran over, his eyes searching for Rose. She got to her feet, her stomach twisting into tight knots as he stood before her. She hadn't realised how desperate she had been to see him until he was in front of her.
"I heard," was the first thing he said. "I'm sorry."
"Thanks," Rose replied. She fought the urge to throw herself into his arms and cry. They weren't those kind of friends. They talked, they sat together in class and she cared about him – but they never hugged.
"You okay?" Scorpius asked. "All of you?"
No one responded, which Scorpius seemed to take as a no.
"If you need anything, just come to me." He looked at Rose again. "Anything at all. If you need somewhere to live, somewhere to sleep, somewhere to eat... just ask."
"Your intentions are noble, Malfoy," James interrupted. "But they do have family, you know. They have us."
Rose nodded. "He's right, Scorp. Thanks for the offer, but... I think we'll be staying with Uncle Harry when we go back."
A hint of disappointment flashed across Scorpius's face, before he smiled kindly. "I understand," he said. He took a step closer to Rose and clasped her hand in his own. If she hadn't been so desperate for his comfort, she would have wrenched it away.
Instead, she let him hold it and she smiled at him. "Thanks," she said.
"Anytime."
The students had vanished again to their next class. Scorpius glanced nervously over his shoulder.
"You should go," Rose told him. "I'll see you after class."
"I can stay if you want."
"I've got them." She waved her hand absently in the direction of her cousins. "I need to be with them."
Scorpius once again looked disappointed, but he did seem to understand. He let go of her hand and disappeared back into the castle.
"Put the poor guy out of his misery, Rosie and kiss him," James said from the branch he was still perched in.
Rose's cheeks turned the same colour as her hair. "Why would I want to do that?" she asked.
"Because he's been falling over his feet to get you to notice him since your second year. Little does he know, he's managed that and you're just too stubborn to tell him."
It was as if her face was on fire. Whether she liked Scorpius or not, didn't matter. Her parents had just been killed and she had to deal with that, as well as where she was going to live and their funeral. Not to mention finding out why they had been killed.
Boys were the least of her priorities.
"I don't like him. He's just a friend," she said pointedly.
No one pushed the matter further.
The rest of the morning and early into the afternoon was spent sitting under the same tree. They talked a little, but mostly they just sat and kept each other company. Rose found her mind wandering as she thought about everything. This time yesterday, she had been happily sitting in Charms with Albus and Scorpius, rolling her eyes as Jasmine and Georgia gossiped about boys.
She had been blissfully unaware that someone had broken into her house, attacked her parents and managed to kill two of the best fighters to ever exist. Who had done it? Who hated them so much that they wanted to kill her parents?
But the question she really wanted answered was why had they done it? Why would anyone want to hurt her mum and dad? They were the two best people in the world. They had done nothing wrong and they didn't deserve to die.
She hated whoever killed them. She didn't know who they were, but she hated them.
"Anyone else hungry?" James asked after a long stretch of silence. "My stomach is growling."
"Mine too!" Lily exclaimed, jumping gracefully down from the branch she had been sitting in.
Slowly, everyone else began to get to their feet. Everyone except Rose. ""I'm not hungry," she told them. "I'll... I'll come down to dinner later."
James studied her, concerned. "You have to eat, Rose," he said.
"And I will, but I'd like to be left alone for now."
James didn't seem to like it, but realised he wasn't going to convince her, so he left with the others. She felt Hugo's eyes linger on her for a little longer, before he too, followed his cousins back into the castle.
Rose wasn't sure how long she had been sitting alone when someone came to sit beside her. Her initial thought was Hugo returning from lunch and she reached out to take his hand, but took it away quickly when she realised the hand belonged to Scorpius.
She blushed scarlet as she stuffed her hands into the pockets of her school robes.
"What are you doing here?" she asked defensively.
"I came to see how you were," Scorpius replied, also turning slightly pink from embarrassment. "Hugo is worried about you."
"And I'm worried about him," Rose replied. "He won't talk."
They both studied the grass they were sitting on, Rose pulling out blades absently.
It was Scorpius who broke the silence. "I'm really sorry about your mum and dad," he said. "I know you were really close to them... it must be hard."
"I wasn't close to them," Rose said. "I think they thought I hated them. I kept pushing them away, telling them I could do things by myself and I didn't need them. I told them I wanted them to leave me alone and stop treating me like I was five years old." She laughed humourlessly. "I guess they did leave me alone. They left me alone well and truly."
She knew Scorpius' eyes were on her, but she didn't look at him. What would she see? Concern? Pity? She didn't want any of that.
"I'm sure they knew how much they meant to you," he eventually said. He seemed to hesitate for a second, before reaching out and patting her knee. "I'm here if you need me."
"Thank you," Rose said.
"I mean it, Rose," Scorpius continued, misunderstanding her tone. "I'm here for you. I'll be here for you, Hugo, or any other member of your family. If you need someone to talk to, I'm here."
Rose nodded, still not looking at him. "I appreciate that, Scor," she said. "I really do."
"When will you be going home?"
Rose shrugged. "When the funeral is on, I guess."
There was another silence, but Rose found it peaceful. She liked being in Scorpius' company, she decided. She liked it when it was just the two of them.
It was he who broke the silence again. "You know, my mum always said children should be the ones to bury their parents."
"What does that mean?" Rose asked.
"That, although you miss them and you love them, if the situation was reversed, they'd probably be feeling the pain ten times worse than you are."
That was no comfort to Rose at all, because the pain she felt at losing the two people who had raised her – the ones who had shaped who she was – was more painful than anything she could ever imagine. How would it be possible for her parents to feel more pain if it had been she and Hugo who were killed?
Scorpius patted her knee again and then got to his feet. He offered her a hand, which she accepted. His hands were soft and gentle and she didn't want to let go once she was also on her feet.
He looked her directly in the eye, unblinking. She couldn't look away from the ground. She didn't want to have to look at those grey eyes she knew all too well. "Good people don't deserve to die like that," he said. "And good people don't deserve to lose their parents so young." And for the first time ever, he put his arms around her, drawing Rose close to him.
His arms were so caring, so welcoming, that she didn't pull away. She didn't want to pull away. So against her better judgement, she hugged him back. For the moment, she didn't care that James had been right. She needed someone's comfort and as he hugged her, she realised it was Scorpius' she had been longing for.
I'm so happy that this fic has got such a positive response. It really makes me happy. I hope you enjoyed this chapter too and again, I hope it's not moving too slowly. Next chapter will change tone a little.
Don't forget to leave a review, pretty please :)