Rose closed her eyes, trying again and again to recall happy memories, but she felt so full of despair that thinking of something happy felt impossible. She could feel the cold breath of the Dementors on her face when, suddenly, a warmth filled her. Rose instantly opened her eyes and saw the Dementors hurriedly gliding away from a Patronus that Rose couldn't properly distinguish. Was it a worm? A fish? Her thoughts about the Patronus were soon replaced when Rose saw who'd casted the spell- none other than Scorpius Malfoy stood beside her, his Patronus sending the Dementors fleeing.
When he'd successfully banished any Dementors nearby, he turned to Rose, offering his hand. Rose hesitated a moment, but then took his hand, unsure of her ability to stand up on her own. Whilst her strength was quickly returning, Rose still felt slightly weakened by the attack. Standing up, Rose wobbled slightly, but Scorpius' arm quickly wrapped around her waist, keeping her steady. They walked out of the clearing and into the trees to avoid being in direct view of the Dementors. Rose looked at him, wondering if he would say anything, but his lips were pulled in a thin line and his eyes gazed straight ahead; his face an expressionless blank.
Rose leant her head on his shoulder, waiting for a reaction, but Scorpius remained standing straight and stiff. Once Rose felt she could stand on her own again, she took a step away from him, hoping he would hold on tight to her, but he instantly dropped his arm. "You should probably go get some chocolate from one of the Professors." he said after a moment. He spoke with as much emotion as a dial tone and he still avoided looking at her. Rose glared at him, hoping he could feel her fury, even though he wasn't looking at her. Just as she was about to open her mouth to say something, Scorpius turned on his heel and walked off. Rose stood there for a moment, but soon the silence of the forest started to unnerve her, so she walked quickly back to clearing.
Feeling better, Rose held her wand at the ready, constantly looking around for a lurking Dementor. Re-entering the clearing, she noticed the majority of the Dementors had been herded to the centre of the clearing. The students and several professors now stood in a widely-spaced circle a few metres away from the hooded figures. Each had their wands extended in front of them and many Patronus charms were surrounding the Dementors. Rose quickly rushed over to join the circle- there was no way she was going to miss out on this. Raising her wand, she shouted the spell and watched as her phoenix burst from her wand and began soaring towards the hooded figures. She was cautious of how far the phoenix travelled from her, but it never soared farther than a few metres. The light of the many Patronus charms illuminated the clearing and sent the Dementors fleeing for the treetops. The Patronuses that could fly followed them up, forcing them above the canopy. When then final few Dementors were forced above the canopy, the groups broke out in cheers and shouts of triumph.
The Professors walked around, handing out pieces of chocolate to everyone for good measure. Rose gratefully took a piece and ate it, feeling her spirits lift. She looked around for Scorpius and she spotted him standing on the outskirts of the group, facing the trees and looking sullen. Rose turned away from him. She was done with him. He'd ignored her, treated her like dirt and been nothing but rude to her. So what if he'd just saved her? It obviously hadn't changed anything.
At that moment, Alice came running over to Rose and hugged her tightly, yelling, "We did it! We got rid of the, all!" she let go of Rose and started blabbering in one breath, "I almost didn't think we'd get them, you know when we first stepped into the clearing but then there were so many Patronuses from everyone and it looked like this plan was going to work, which it did!" Rose nodded, it seemed only Scorpius had noticed her being attacked and done something to save her. In a way, Rose was glad for this, as it meant he couldn't use it against her to guilt her in to doing something for him. This way, she could just feign ignorance or accuse him of lying. "Did you see what Scorpius Malfoy's Patronus was?" Rose asked, interrupting Alice's blabbering. Alice stopped for and thought for a moment. "No, I don't think so." she said. "But then again, there were so many Patronus charms it was hard to keep track of them all..." and she started blabbering again, recounting everything that'd happened.
"Ok everyone!" Professor Longbottom yelled over the noise. "You've done a great job. Now it's up to the ministry workers above the treetops. We have to get back to the castle before dark, so we'll have to walk back quickly to the castle." he turned and started walking towards the trees. The group followed, people talking excitedly to one another as they walked. Alice continued to recount the experience and Rose nodded at various points in her story, looking as if she was interested, but really her mind was thinking of other things.
When they emerged from the trees after their return hike, Rose was surprised to see the sun had almost set. Stars were starting to become visible and only the slightest bit of sunlight remained to illuminate the school grounds. By now, exhaustion was setting in and the chatter had died down. Everyone was solely focussed on putting one foot in front of the other as they trudged up the hill to the castle. Once inside, the group instantly returned to their respective dorms. When Rose reached the Gryffindor common room, she dragged her heavy feet up the stairs and collapsed onto her bed, not even bothering to take off her shoes.