Disclaimer: Harry Potter is JKR's. But you knew that already.
6 September 2024
In line at the Floo Booths
The Tower
8:00 PM
I have to do this. Primarily because I have nothing else to do—the last Resocialization class just ended—but also because mum's letter has been gnawing at me since I read it a couple days ago. I have to talk to them tonight, and settle the Scorpius Issue once and for all.
The queue for the Floo Booths is always the longest at this time of the day. I've been standing here for a quarter of an hour now. Whoever thought of putting only a dozen fires for an entire school clearly do not know how long a girl can tie up a fireplace. I scowled at the lines to the other grates; why are they moving faster than mine? Why are other people's lines always faster than the one you're on?
Why is my stomach threatening to punch its way up my chest?
"Hi, mum. Is dad there?"
Of course he's there, Rose. It's eight in the evening.
"Hi mum. Where's dad?"
Nah.
"Mum. I realize you and dad have this whole history with the Malfoy family that no one seems to want to talk about, but apparently it involves The Battle at Hogwarts, and many other things that happened way before even Teddy could remember, but you really have to get a grip! It's in the past—"
Nope. Maybe I should just keep quiet and listen.
Right now two upperclassmen came out of my booth, one of them blubbing about her dear Frankie-poo, the other avoiding eye contact with everyone as she tried to shush her friend.
I should definitely just shut up. He's bound to get tired at some point anyway. Tell you about it later.
"Mum?"
She was sitting on her favorite armchair, teacup in hand. She saw me and knelt in front of the fire.
"Hi, Rosie," she said, smiling. My stomach eased up on the punching a tiny bit.
"How're things there?"
She waved her hand around. "Today I had some Granger cousins over for lunch. Remember Leslie? He's started uni, just like you."
"Goody. Maybe we could hang out sometime. Is he also doing bewitched obstacle courses and getting verbally abused by Ministry of Magic security officers on a daily basis?" I said. Mum frowned.
"That's hardly fair."
"Sorry." I sighed. "Dad there?"
She closed her eyes and nodded. "He won't come out here though. I told him over dinner that you'd be at the fireplace tonight, but he just grunted and asked me to pass the potatoes."
"Oh, mum…" I wanted to reach into the fireplace and—pat her or something. She looked about ready to cry. She was going splotchy around the nose, and I really find it hard to concentrate on what she says when that happens. It distracts me. I start thinking of this old nursery rhyme about tomatoes.
I know; I'm a bad child.
"Can you please try to make him come out? I really want to talk to him," I said.
She looked at me for a long time, and disappeared from view. After a while, I heard footsteps, and then my father's surly face leaned into the fire. He stared at me, arms across his chest, and pointedly waited for me to speak. I took a deep breath.
"Dad, I apologize. It was wrong to hide who my training partner is. I should have told you."
"When I came to work last Monday, everyone had an opinion. But I didn't even know what they were talking about. Couldn't tell them that my daughter didn't even mention her partner's name."
"Dad—the thing with the Malfoys, whatever it is—it happened years ago. Why are you still so upset? Scorpius is alright. He helped me with the entrance test, didn't he?"
He looked about ready to burst. I had a strong feeling I shouldn't continue, but I couldn't help it. When I start talking, I don't really stop. I spoke at length on with how he looks like a loner, that there are few Slytherins in the Tower, and that he is quiet most of the time when dad interrupted me.
"It's not the Malfoy son, although I'd rather you've been paired with someone else. It's the fact that you lied to me. Why would you do that?"
I wanted to point out that they know I've lied to them loads of times, but I decided against it. I just kept quiet and stared at the now empty armchair in the distance.
"I'm sorry," I finally said. "I wish I could do it over."
"It's okay." Dad smiled, and I found myself grinning back.
"And Agnes—you know the Proudfoots' youngest—she is my roommate," I said. Mum had rejoined dad, and they were nodding at my stories. I was recounting my first week at the Tower. So far I've sidestepped any more mentioning of Scorpius, and it's like everything's back to normal. Dad even joked a couple of times about when he was at the Tower.
"After this, I'll be at the roof of our dorms for a while. Being there helps me to think," I said.
"Why, sweetie? Anything bothering you?" asked my mum.
"Oh, just this invitation from an Auror society," I said. At this, dad perked up and demanded for details. I told him about Ricky, the letter, and what I knew so far. The more dad heard, the wider his grin became, but mum looked increasingly alarmed.
"Portus Magi? That's excellent! Your Uncle Harry and I were invited, of course, but we turned it down. It's a really good society, though. Many members advance early on in their Ministry careers."
At this, mum snorted. "Harry turned it down. You were his second. You wanted to be part of them so bad you didn't speak to Harry for a week."
Dad waved his hand around. "Irrelevant details. Anyway, you should join, Rose. Plus, you can help me with this case I'm on."
"Ronald! She will not be part of any cases until she becomes an Auror."
"She won't be chasing people. I just want her to poke around a bit, see what she can find out."
"What do you want me to do?" I asked.
"I just need to know if members of P.M.—or anyone from the societies, really, since they usually stick together—has anything to do with a string of nuisance break-ins near the Tower area. Nothing severe, but the local Muggle news has started to pick up on it. So far, they're convinced they have an infestation of poltergeists, and we don't want it to get worse than it is."
"Okay, dad. I'll see what I can come up with," I said, and he beamed at me.
"That's my girl."
6 September 2024
Room 121
The Tower
11:00 PM
So I think I ironed out the training partner situation with my parents. Kind of. We talked for about half an hour, and I left the booth with a sheepish grin and profuse apologies to the one next in line. I headed for the dorm roof, but made a few detours along the way.
I knocked at the door of Room 152 and twiddled my thumbs. What dad told me, with the Societies being involved in petty crimes, just doesn't fit with Ricky Lyons' image. He seems like such a nice and sincere guy, I couldn't imagine him being a delinquent.
The door opened, and I was confronted with a half-naked Scorpius.
I stared.
He was drying his hair with a towel, with another one slung low on his hips, and in that moment I understood why girls would practically throw their knickers at him when he passed the halls at Hogwarts. The guy is a perfect specimen of the human anatomy and its proportions.
One would wonder if the proportionality extended to his lower half.
"Oh, it's you," he said, rubbing an eye. "What is it?"
Good—he was oblivious to my momentary lapse in judgment. I wrinkled my nose and looked over his shoulder into the empty room. "Are you busy?" I said, in what I hoped was a terribly casual voice.
"Not particularly. Why?"
"I have some treacle fudge. Want to share?" I saw the hesitation in his eyes, but I soldiered on. "I just wanted to apologize for snapping at you the other day, and for puking all over your clothes last Sunday. I've seen you take treacle fudge from the mess hall tables, so I know you at least tolerate it. I'll be at the rooftop, just go if you want to."
He closed the door in my face. I waited for a bit, but he didn't come out. It was a bit of a letdown, honestly; thought he would take the bait. I started to walk away, when he came out of the room and tapped it shut. It was only slightly disappointing to see him fully clothed.
"Apology Fudge, eh," he said as we climbed up the stairs leading to the roof. I rolled my eyes and pretended to be annoyed at the idea, because I couldn't think of a decent comeback. I was too busy realizing how strong his jawline looks up close, all sharp edges and precise lines.
I'll skin the cat that got my tongue.
We sat at the ledge of our dorm's roof, the box of sweets between us. He was taking liberal chomps on a slab of fudge and chewing like a contented cow. I stifled a grin and looked at the landscape. The Tower seemed quiet from this high. I could see the stone walls we came through just a week ago, running around the edge and disappearing from view.
"What do you think is outside the wall?" I said.
"Lots of trees. Or a smattering of villages with Muggle populations," he said. He pushed the box towards me, and I broke off a piece.
"I have a proposal," I said.
"If it involves throwing ourselves down the building and casting Cushioning Charms at the last minute, I think I'll pass," he said.
"No, you prat. Would you be my second?" I showed him the letter and waited for him to finish reading.
"Why not ask your friend Agnes? Her family seems to be duty-bound to produce Aurors every few years or so. She'd be over the moon."
"Well, why not you?" I said, shrugging. "You're a competent dueler. And I know how you fight."
He made a huge show of cutting a tiny square of fudge and popping it into his mouth, chewing thoroughly. I waited, my eyes never leaving him.
"Okay, I'll do it," he said after an eternity. I breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank you for helping protect the Rose Weasley Owl Reservation," I said, and he laughed.
Circe's beets, he is gorgeous.
I didn't like how my heart seemed to think it was a good idea to start working overtime, so I racked my brain for another topic.
"Scorpius, why did you go for Auror training?" the laughter left his eyes and I immediately felt bad. "Or you can choose not to answer that, if it's too personal," I added.
"Auror training has a stipend, and I need it," he said.
"But you're a Malfoy," I said. "You don't need money. Isn't it true that your manor is on top of a goldmine, and that Gringotts has been after it for decades?"
"No, that's completely out of this world. Goldmine, really? The things people think up," he said.
"In any case, you're still doing pretty well, whether or not you can put the bank out of business. So, why sign up for this?"
He sighed. "It's—complicated. How about you? Why sign up?"
"I drew it out of a hat," I said, which made his eyebrows shoot up. "No, really. We were in fifth year and I still had no idea what I wanted to be. I took the OWL and NEWT classes for Auror Training on a whim. Barely passed, but hey; I'm here."
"For what it's worth," he said, looking straight into my eyes, "I think you're good. You're better at the obstacle course than I am, anyhow."
At this point, my stomach did a belly flop. Not nice.
Not nice at all.
"Yeah, well. You're great at the evening Resocialization classes. I still panic," I said. He shrugged.
"I guess this makes us a good tag team, eh?" I said. "We kinda cancel some things out."
"Yeah," he murmured.
He held my gaze for the longest time that it hurt to breathe. All I saw were the grey eyes and the pale lashes, and how his face seemed to be coming closer and closer. My eyelids fluttered shut.
"There you are!" Agnes cried behind us. My eyes flung open and I drew back. I snuck a look at him, and his expression has smoothed out, his eyes betraying nothing.
When Agnes reached us, she took one look at my face, and at Scorpius', and something seemed to click at the back of her head. She grinned sheepishly at me.
"Agnes!" I said through gritted teeth. "What're you doing here?"
"The girls and I are playing four-sided Wizard chess, and we needed a fourth player. Gina told me you went up here. Hello, Malfoy," she said in a rush. He rubbed his neck and nodded in response.
"Well, I should be getting back, too." He stood and jumped, landing with a thump beside Agnes. He smiled at her before turning to me.
"Apology accepted, Rose. See you."
"Yeah," I said, watching his retreating back. When he was out of earshot, Agnes wrung her hands.
"I am so, so, so sorry! But permit me this—really; Malfoy? Do you want to be another notch in his bedpost?"
"Come off it, Agnes," I said. "It's nothing."
At least, I fervently hope so.
A/N: Thank you for being patient with this chapter. It's very long and took a while for me to write. As always, comments and suggestions are welcome. Hope you enjoyed!