-AN Some of you have commented that you are confused why the curse did not affect Narcissa, Lucius, or Draco and why it is relevant that Daphne is involved. It might be helpful to re-read Chapter 14 to understand the origins of the curse. Scorpius is cursed because his mother carried the curse. The other Malfoys were not involved in this curse at all. Thanks for your reviews. Enjoy!

That weekend, Rose reluctantly left Scorpius to obtain a portkey back to England. He promised that he'd return shortly and asked Rose to update his father. She blushingly agreed knowing that the intuitive Malfoy would be able to discern exactly what she and his son had been up to that week. Scorpius assured her that his father would be happy for them as he had been aware of Scorpius's feelings for years.

After having been delayed twice (damn Scorpius and his ability to seduce her), Rose finally gave Scorpius a farewell kiss and flooed to the Boston branch of MACUSA. She asked a passing wizard where she could find Elena Martinez and was directed to a small office at the end of a long hallway.

Rose knocked on the open door frame and announced, "I'm returning home today. Thought I'd pop in and say goodbye".

Elena quickly deserted her work and crushed Rose in a fierce hug. "I'm so happy I finally got to meet you! I hope you enjoyed your time in the states".

"Oh, I did. Thank you. Boston is lovely," Rose replied.

Elena grinned, "I get the feeling that you preferred the company rather than the city. You lucky bitch to snag Scorpius! All the girls wanted him when he first got here. I was a seventh year and my friends would hopelessly trail after him trying to catch his attention. He never let on, but I'm guessing his attention was on you the entire time".
Rose blushed, "So it would seem. I didn't see him as anything other than a friend until recently".

"You must have been blind then. That boy is FINE! What's he like in bed? My friends speculated that he was a sex god back in school. And I think they might have been right with the way he reacted to your massage the other night".

Rose shivered as she remembered that night. After Elena had left, they'd done a fantastic job of christening the floor of his living room. And the kitchen table. And the bathroom counter. She's fallen asleep sometime around dawn and woken the next afternoon to Scorpius's head between her thighs. They hadn't left the townhouse that day. Instead, they ordered Chinese delivery and spent the evening lounging naked on the couch.

"I didn't have much to compare him to before. My ex-boyfriend was extremely selfish in bed. But Scorpius just gets me. It's like he can anticipate my wants and needs better than I can," Rose said. She felt a bit embarrassed to discuss her sex life with someone, but figured that Elena was relatively impartial.

Elena sighed, "You and he are so lucky to have found one another. I'm a hopeless romantic and believe in soulmates and all that jazz. It sounds like you were made for each other. I hope I find that someday".

"You will," Rose promised, "I promise. I'd be stupid to not believe in fate with the way it has played into my family's lives. You'll meet someone when you least expect it. Might I suggest copious amounts of alcohol and truth serum? It's what final got me to wake up".

Elena snorted, "Alcohol and truth serum? Damn Rose, whatever works!"

Before Rose's portkey activated, she made Elena promise to visit her in England someday soon. Elena swore to put in for some vacation time as Rose was whisked away to her parent's kitchen.

"Rose," her mother's voice called from the next room, "is that you sweetheart?"

Rose walked into the living room and was greeted by two smiling faces and one scowl. Lily was practically bouncing out of her seat. "You're back! How was it?! Did you and Scorpius finally pull your heads out of your arses? Was it good? I bet it was good".

Ron Weasley growled, "I don't want to hear about anything being good. Are you alright, Rosie? Did he hurt you? If he hurt you, I'll kill him".

Rose knew she needed to put a quick stop to her father's murderous imagination. "I'm fine, Dad. No, he didn't hurt me. We're in a relationship now. I love him," Rose said softly.

Hermione and Lily's faces beamed while Ron's turned to panic. "Are you sure, Rosie? He didn't put you under the Imperius Curse? We need to test you for it!"

"Give it a rest, Ronald!" Hermione angrily said. "Scorpius is a fine boy who would sooner die than do anything to hurt Rose".

"But Hermione…" he whined.

"But nothing, Ron. If you can't trust him, at least trust your daughter. I will not have you ruining her happiness for her". Hermione stated emphatically.

Ron sighed in resignation, "OK, OK. But if he does hurt you, or pressures you into doing something you don't want to do, I get to kill him".

Rose supposed that was the best she could expect. She hugged her dad and said, "Thanks. I love you".

Ron held her for a minute and whispered into her ear, "You'll always be my baby girl".

Lily interrupted the father-daughter moment by exclaiming, "Now that that's over with, I want details!"

"I'll take that as my cue to leave. I'm heading over to Harry's. Owl me when it's safe to return," he said while scurrying out of the room.

"That damn man," Hermione sighed and then cracked into a grin, "So?"

Rose groaned knowing that there would be no escaping from this inquisition. She launched into an abridged version of the last week of her life. She skirted over the details of their many sexual encounters, much to Lily's consternation.

"What I don't understand is why he left the way he did the night of Roxanne's wedding," Hermione asked, "What happened?"

"It's not really for me to say what happened. Scorpius had legitimate personal reasons for pushing me away. We're going to work through them. If he chooses to share what they were, that's fine. He wouldn't have told me if not for the Veritaserum so thanks for that Mum," Rose said.

"I'm glad Draco gave me the heads up but Scorpius's reluctance to divulge," Hermione laughed.

"How was it that you teamed up with Mr. Malfoy anyway?" Lily asked.

"It's pretty simple. I love Rose and he loves Scorpius. Parents will do just about anything to see their children happy. He floo called me when you were over at the Manor looking "positively morose" in his words. He took a chance and assumed that you were hurting in the same way that Scorpius was and contacted me. He's a master at manipulation and scheming and I had the means to put it into action," Hermione said with a wink.

"Well as much as I appreciate your interference earlier, I hope you two can refrain from messing around with my relationship. Scorpius and I still need time to figure everything out," Rose admitted.

"I'm just glad to see you smiling again. You're happier and more relaxed than I've seen you in eons," Hermione noted.

"It doesn't hurt that she's well shagged now too!" Lily chirped.

"LILY!" Rose exclaimed before dissolving into a fit of giggles.

Rose returned to work on the following Monday. She had reread Leta Lestrange's journals and felt that there was merit in exploring soul magic. As this was out of Rose's field, she knew she needed to consult an expert. After emerging from the lift on the ninth floor Rose proceeded past her own office to pay Unspeakable O'Brien a visit.

"O'Brien," Rose knocked on his door, "might I have a quick word?"

"Yes, yes, come in," O'Brien replied. "What can I do for you Rose?"

"I know we are not allowed to discuss our work with one another, but can you please give me a crash course in soul magic? A basic overview should be sufficient," Rose asked.

O'Brien pulled an ancient looking book from a dusty bookshelf behind his desk. "The soul is the essence of any living being. It defines who we are in our most basic form. In a magical being, the soul dictates how the magic is manifested". He pointed to an illustration in the text. The moving diagram showed an approximation of pulsing core that radiated out of a person. It reminded Rose of the Aura photography from Salem.

"So it is possible that a person's soul defines some of their magical abilities?" Rose asked trying to contain her excitement. 'Finally,' she thought, 'a breakthrough'.

"That is what most who study the subject believe," O'Brien cocked his head to the side to observe Rose. She thought he looked strangely like an owl in doing so. "Do you have any more questions?"

"None at the moment," Rose could not wait to return to her own office. She had to contact Professor Faso to test her theory. "Thank you for your assistance," she said and waved goodbye to her co-worker.

Rose ran down the hall and flung herself into her office. She noticed a beautiful bouquet of tulips in a crystal vase on her desk. Despite being named after a different bud, tulips were Rose's favorite flower. They never failed to brighten her spirits. She spied a small card attached to the vase with elegant script.

Rose

I'll be home in a week. Miss you already.

Love Always

-S

Rose grinned. She prided herself on being a strong, independent woman, but she could easily get used to being showered in affection by Scorpius. She spotted a second note shoved under the vase, however this one had handwriting more closely resembling chicken scratch.

Rosie Posie

Scorpius asked me to play owl and deliver these. Any reason why my best friend should be sending my cousin flowers and love letters? Meet you at The Leaky at 6. No excuses!

Albus

Rose laughed at her cousin's assertiveness. Apparently she now had dinner plans. She figured it was only right to warn him that she planned on snogging the pants off Scorpius when he returned. A few public displays of affection were in order as retribution for the sights Rose had beheld in the first few months that Albus was dating Alice. Some things just can't be unseen and her cousin's pasty arse was one of them.

Later that week, Rose once again traveled to Uganda to meet with Professor Faso and her students. She was eager to ask them about how they felt they related to their animagus forms. She hoped that their self-reflections would parallel those in Leta Lestrange's journals and confirm her theory about soul magic.

Like her last visit, Professor Faso met her at the gate and escorted her to an open classroom. One by one the students filed in.

Rose asked the students what they thought of their forms. The student who could morph into a cheetah revealed that the form suited him because he was proud, protective and had lightning fast magical reflexes. The two students who transformed into elephants were identical twins that believed the most important thing in life was a family unit that stands strong together. Niakisi, the student who became a water buffalo, admitted that she was initially dismayed at her form.

"Do you not feel as though it reflects who you are at your core?" Rose asked.

"No," Niakisi responded, "It is not that. As I said before, I am the water buffalo and the water buffalo is me. I am still growing and learning to understand myself. Perhaps with time, I will understand what it is within me that made the water buffalo emerge".

Rose was satisfied with the students' responses. They all seemed to confirm that the animagus form was determined by some internal part of themselves that they could not completely define. Rose was confident that it was in fact soul magic. A person had no control over what they would become. That was why she had been unable to transform years before. She had spent too long dwelling on what animal she might be and the magic had not worked. She was lucky compared to the symposium wizard who tried to force himself to become an Abraxan Winged Horse. Or Mr. Adero whose desires to become a barracuda had merged with his own soul-reflection falcon.

As Rose was packing up to leave she asked Professor Faso if they could stop by the infirmary to visit Mr. Adero.

"He is no longer in the infirmary. His health has been steadily progressing. I'd wager we will find him in the library," Professor Faso responded. She led Rose through the halls of Oagadou and past the double doors of the grand library. Rose scanned the tables of students but was unable to spot the poor boy. Out of the corner of her eye, a waving hand caught her attention.

"Is that?" Rose was flabbergasted.

"Yes, that is Mr. Adero. To be young and fast healing once more," Professor Faso joked as she led Rose to the boy's table.

"How are you doing, Mr. Adero," Rose asked. She could not believe this was the same boy that she had seen months ago.

"I'm much better Ms. Weasley. Glad to be out of the hospital wing, that's for sure," Adero said with a grin.

Rose was elated that the boy seemed to be thriving, "What are you up to?" she asked.

"I've got a lot of work to catch up on. I missed about a month of classes. I have to get everything in order before finals," he said.

Rose laughed, "Well I'm glad to see you feeling so much better. Good luck with your school work!"

Professor Faso and Rose walked back to the gates making idle small talk. "As always, I appreciate your assistance," Rose said, "I hopefully should have some conclusive results soon".

"You're planning on trying to transition again, aren't you Rose?" Professor Faso intuitively asked.

"Yes, I'll have to gather the ingredients, but I hope to start very soon". Rose said.

Professor Faso smiled, "I thought that might be the case". She reached into a pocket in her robes and withdrew a small glass jar with a single leaf. "Mandrake leaf to get you started. I picked it just before you arrived".

"Thank you! This saves me a trip to the apothecary," Rose gratefully replied. She said goodbye to the professor and activated her portkey.

Rose quickly finished up at work and flooed directly into her apartment. She placed the mandrake leaf under her tongue and carefully enunciated 'Amato Animo Animato Animagus'. She smiled to herself; it has begun.