Rose Weasley was burning up. Consciousness returned to her slowly as the heat permeated her skin. It was strangely reminiscent of the way she had woken weeks ago when Scorpius had slept over her flat and caused a stir with a Daily Prophet. Except this time, they were not separated by a layer of clothing. The corners of Rose's mouth upturned as she recalled the reason that they were both nude this morning.
"What's the smile about, love?" a husky voice implored.
Rose opened her eyes slowly to find Scorpius staring down at her with affection. He leaned forward to press a soft kiss to her lips. "Just thinking about how things have changed," she replied.
Scorpius considered her for a few moments, "You don't regret this, do you?"
"Never," Rose stated adamantly and pressed her lips to his. After a minute, she drew back. She stretched and felt a delectable soreness between her legs. She rolled her hips forward slightly to work out a kink in her lower spine and pressed into his hardness.
Scorpius groaned, "That's maybe not the best idea right now, Rose". She looked at him questioningly. "I'd love nothing more than to take you again, love, but we have some things we still need to discuss. Starting with how in the hell you managed to get me to tell you about the curse last night. I wasn't going to tell you until after I had found the cure," he told her with a slightly perturbed look.
She rolled her eyes, "And where would that have gotten us? You would have kept shutting yourself off from me and I would have eventually been forced to move on convinced you'd never want me. Honesty really is a brilliant thing. I had a little assistance," she said with a smirk that was eerily similar to his own.
"I knew you were trying to slip me something in the tea last night. That's why I switched the cups. But how did you manage it?" he asked.
"I've been friends with you for long enough that I've picked up a few tricks. I figured you might be wary and switch the cups so I put Veritaserum in both. I had to dose myself too," she admitted.
"How'd you get the Veritaserum? It's highly regulated and only the Auror's office or the Minister…" he trailed off, "Never mind, I answered my own question. So your family knows you're here. Wait, does you father know? Oh, Merlin I'm a dead man".
"I have no idea what my dad does or does not know. I assume Mum filled him in about my trip, but I'm not sure. Your father knows though. He gave me the push I needed to get here".
"Remind me to buy him something extravagant to thank him," Scorpius laughed "I never thought I'd finally have you here in my arms. Pinch me". Rose obliged with a big pinch on his arse. "OUCH!" he laughed and rolled away from her. "As much as I'd love to keep you in this bed forever, there are some things I've got to tell you. Want to go for a walk?"
Rose agreed and the couple quickly dressed in warm attire to venture out into the winter air. Scorpius tucked Rose into his side and they meandered through the snowy streets of Boston. A quick muffliato assured that their conversation would remain private from any muggles passing nearby.
"What did you mean that you were cursed?" Rose asked.
"It's a family curse. My great-great grandmother, Aldora Gamp, had been an apprentice of Nicolas Flam..," Scorpius began.
"Nicolas Flamel? The alchemist?" Rose interrupted.
Scorpius shot her a look and she blushed. "As I was saying, she worked with him in the late 19th century. She was obsessively fascinated with the Philosopher's Stone. She did not care for its ability to turn metal to gold. Her family was far too wealthy as it was. She wanted to achieve a panacea through a modified Elixir of Life; a remedy to all diseases and death itself".
"This is sounding a little Voldemort-esque," Rose noted.
"Well spotted. My lineage is filled with people who were determined to disrupt life's natural order," Scorpius rolled his eyes. "Anyway, Aldora's methods became more and more experimental and dangerous over time. She abandoned her husband and spent every moment with the stone. Flamel barred her from his work and no longer allowed her access to the stone. But she was fixated on recreating the elixir. One day, she was convinced that she had finally solved it but she needed one last ingredient to synthesize the elixir without the stone. One that could keep a person alive even if they are an inch from death".
The cogs in Rose's head were whirling until the landed on a startling conclusion. "No! You can't mean.."
Scorpius snorted darkly, "That's exactly what I mean, love. She thought that she could use unicorn blood to make panacea. She ran away from her family, travelled to the Black Forest in Germany, and found a herd. She slaughtered them all, Rose".
Rose shuddered at the horror. To slay one unicorn, let alone an entire herd, was unimaginable. To destroy something so pure? Tears pricked at Rose's eyes. "So she was cursed. But why does that affect you?"
"When she killed all those innocent creatures, she was pregnant with my great-grandmother. I don't know how it happened, but the curse was passed on to the child innocently growing in her mother's womb. When it was discovered what Aldora had done, she was arrested and spent the rest of her life in a magical asylum. My great-grandmother was born there seven months later taking Aldora's life in exchange for her own. When my great-grandmother had her own daughter, Georgiana, she lived a few years. Grandmother Georgiana passed away when my mother was eight and my own mother died when I was thirteen. The curse lets a person live until they have children of their own," Scorpius sighed. "I don't want to pass this curse on to another generation".
"Oh, Scorpius," Rose's heart broke for the terrible burden this man was made to bear. They walked in silence for a few minutes while she tried to grapple with the deluge of emotions his story had created. "So you've been trying to break the curse?"
"Yeah," he said, "I've taken samples on mine and my Aunt Daphne's blood to compare it to clean blood. We're both carriers of the same cursed mutation. I've tried every healing remedy out there to try to fix the mutation, but nothing works. Aunt Daph is in agreement with me that the curse should end with us. That's why she left Uncle Blaise. She'd rather be alone than hurt someone else".
"You felt the same way, didn't you Scorp?" Rose questioned sadly. "You were going to isolate yourself forever from anyone who could possibly love you".
"I didn't want anyone. Just you, Rose. It's always been you," he pledged.
She rolled her eyes, "You're forgetting that I knew you in Hogwarts when you had a rotating list of bed partners. It hasn't always been me".
He looked sheepish, "I was a stupid, randy teenage boy. Those romps were nothing more than sating hormonal demands. I had a silly crush on you during our younger years, but you made it clear that you weren't interested. I developed real feelings for you during seventh. I was going to tell you how I felt after the Easter holiday that year and see if you wanted to give me a chance. But then Grandfather told me about the curse and I knew I couldn't. What seventeen year old would want to tether themselves to someone without a future?"
"I wish you had told me, Scorp. I could have tried to help you. Or at least I could have been there for you to talk with. I can't imagine having kept this bottled up inside for years. Have you told anyone else?" she asked.
"Other than my family and Professor Burroughs, you are the first," he said. "I suppose now that you know, I should tell Al. He'll be pissed that I kept it from him, but I didn't want him spilling the beans to you".
Rose laughed, "Yeah, he has trouble keeping his mouth shut at times". She shivered as a gust of wind blew into her face. The temperature had dropped as the sun set below the horizon. The warming charm she had cast upon them earlier had dissipated and her teeth were beginning to chatter.
Scorpius tucked her closer into his side. She reveled in his warmth, "Ready to head home, love?"
'Home,' Rose thought. She very much liked the idea of home being where he was.
Hours later, Rose was lying on his couch with her feet propped on his lap. Her hair had dried into a riotous mess of curls after the shower he insisted they take together when they returned to the townhouse. 'To warm up,' he claimed with a predatory look in his eyes. Rose had to admit, she was plenty hot after that.
Rose had one of Leta Lestrange's journals propped open on her belly as she walked him through what she had discovered about his paternal ancestor.
"It never ceases to amaze me how manipulative Malfoys can be," Scorpius said with a scowl. He massaged at Rose's calves and she suppressed a groan. His fingers were very talented. "Grandfather takes after Abraxas in so many ways. He controlled most aspects of my grandmother and father's life as well. It's fortunate my father isn't demanding the same of me".
"Well, Leta was brilliant so he must take after her. She cooked up this plan to escape a life she did not want. Dumbledore had never helped a student become an animagus before, but she convinced him that she needed to do it. From what my parents have told me about him, it's no surprise that he would have jumped at the opportunity to break a few rules and push the boundaries".
"Did you find out anything about how she transformed? Anything that can help you?" he asked.
"Not yet," Rose admitted, "but I've got a couple journals left to read".
"I'll let you read in peace then," Scorpius said with a smile and fell silent. He continued to knead her legs as her attention returned to the book on her chest.
January 14, 1913
I am a ferret. With all the multitude of animals that could have emerged from within me, I am a bloody, albino ferret. What does that say about who I am?
Obviously, my transformation was a success if you can call it that. Professor Dumbledore looked on with astonished pride when I became an animagus. Newt said that I am utterly adorable as a ferret. At least I'm small enough that it'll be easy enough for him to smuggle me out of the country when the time comes. That's a benefit to being a ruddy ferret.
But why couldn't I have been a more intimidating animal? A Welsh Green would have been perfectly acceptable. I could have burned that insufferable Malfoy prat to a crisp and been free from that marriage contract. Then I could remain in England and no longer have to lead poor Newt on.
I think he loves me and I allow him to believe that I might love him in return. I feel just terrible for using him like this, but I can't stay here. I want much more for myself than to be some perfect, socialite wife; only seen as a pretty adornment for a pathetic wizard.
Perhaps that's why I am a ferret. At my core, I'm a taker. A user. A thief. I used his own feelings towards me and manipulated them to achieve what I wanted. I know I am a terrible person but I've been pushed into this.
-L
Rose was stunned. Leta believed that her animagus form was a reflection of who she was. At her core, she felt she was a user and a thief and that had manifested itself into her transformation. Her core? Her magical essence? Her spirit? Rose's mind was spinning as she made connections at lightning speed. She dug her heels in and sat upright.
"Ouch, Rose. Watch where you press!" Scorpius yelped. He pushed her feet off his lap and massage at his crotch.
"Sorry, Scorp!" she scooted over the couch and placed the journal into his hands. "Look at this!" she pointed to the passage she had just read.
His eyes quickly scanned the page. "OK? I don't understand what this means".
"It means, I think, that her animagus form was ingrained into who she was. You know how a person's patronus is a reflection of their inner spirit?" Rose asked excitedly.
"Yeah, and that's why people who have unhappiness weighing down on their spirit are able to generate one. So you think that someone's spirit determines their animagus?
"Not exactly. Most people's patronus and animagus match, but not always. A patronus can change over time as a person's spirit changes, but the animagus form always remains the same."
Scorpius frowned slightly, "If it's not a person's spirit, what is it?"
Rose stared into his eyes, "It's something much more permanent than fleeting inner spirit. Deeper than that. It's their magical core, their essence". She paused, "Scorp, I think it's soul magic".
-AN A couple of major reveals this chapter. According to canon, drinking the blood of a unicorn gives a person a cursed-life. I figured spilling the blood of an entire herd would achieve the same. Thanks for your reviews. Enjoy!