Scorpius couldn't concentrate. He knew what he was supposed to be doing – eating some kind of lunch and getting some rest so he wasn't a complete mess for the upcoming game – but despite his best intentions, that was proving to be far easier said than done. For the past twenty minutes, he had done nothing more than stare at the grains of wood on the table, stoically avoiding the dozen sets of eyes fixed on him throughout the Great Hall. Most of them were distinctly hostile. Not even the Slytherins, who could usually be relied upon to have his back, seemed to want him at their table; he had the distinct impression it was only the presence of the rest of the Durmstrang contingent that kept them from kicking him off altogether.

It also didn't help that Scamander was sitting directly in his line of sight, looking as disinterested in his food as Scorpius felt.

But worse than any of that, and the real reason he had done nothing more than poke unenthusiastically at his sandwich for the last half hour, was the churning unease in his gut, and the flashes of Rose that kept filtering through his subconscious when he least expected it.

Will I see you later?

He ground the heels of his palms against his eyes, trying to rid himself of the image of her standing there, staring up at him with those clear blue eyes that he could never seem to quite get out of his head. He should have said no, should have walked away and let that be the end of it. He'd done what he came back for. Beyond that, there was no real reason for he and Rose to interact. She wasn't interested, and he was a bigger fool than he gave himself credit for if he didn't accept that for what it was. She'd made it clear that they were finished; Salazar only knew why kept torturing himself with her presence.

"It doesn't bite, you know."

His head whipped up at the voice, and he found himself looking into the amber eyes of Lily Potter across the table. He blinked, surprised and a little impressed that she had managed to sneak up on him.

"Go on," she said when he didn't reply, her eyes flicking to his plate and back up again. "You look like you need some food. And some sleep."

He scowled instinctively, annoyed at having been caught with his guard down and regretting lingering long enough to allow her to approach. It wasn't that he didn't like the girl – really, he'd had next to nothing to do with her outside of a few short conversations here and there – but she was Albus' sister, and Rose's cousin, and that put her in instant danger territory. If any of the Weasley-Potter clan saw them talking he would be lucky to escape with his face intact.

"Get lost," he said bluntly.

Her lips quirked in an amused smile. "Friendly sort, aren't you? There's no need to bite my head off."

"If you're trying to put me off my game, Potter, this is a terrible effort."

Lily snorted. "Oh please. Give me some credit, Malfoy. There are better ways of putting you off your game than talking about food. Like a certain red-headed cousin of mine, perhaps?"

Scorpius pushed his plate away from him. There was surely food back in his dormitory that he could eat; and even if there wasn't, he'd take the chance of flying on an empty stomach rather than sit and endure more of this.

"You needn't look so skittish," Lily said, and his eyes snapped to her against his will. She was watching him with an all-too-knowing smile on her face. "I'm not here to talk about Quidditch."

"What do you want, then?" he asked reluctantly.

She leant forward as though she had only been waiting for him to ask. "I want to know what you want."

He stared at her, trying to gauge her level of sincerity and the motivation behind her question. He didn't think she was taking the mickey, but he didn't trust her either. She was half Weasley, after all. "I doubt your brother would think much of you being here," he said rather than answer her.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Please. Albus doesn't control me. He doesn't control Rose either."

With an effort, Scorpius kept his face blank, though the mention of Rose caused his heart-rate to spike. "You'd better have a point," he said in what he hoped was a disinterested voice.

"I already told you," Lily said, unwavered by his hostility. "I want to know what you're playing at."

For a moment he forgot all about his resolve to leave. "What I'm playing at?" he growled. "What makes you think I'm playing at anything?"

"You wouldn't have come back here for no reason," Lily answered, watching him closely. "You must know you've been blacklisted by the whole family."

Scorpius rubbed his jaw by reflex. "Yes, I had figured that out, thanks."

"So, why have you come back?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "Unless you're dimmer than I thought, Potter, even you must be aware that there's an inter-school Quidditch competition being run as we speak."

"I don't buy it," she said, plucking a cherry tomato from a nearby platter and popping it into her mouth. "There's no way you would risk all this drama for a stupid game of Quidditch. I watched you on the pitch today. You didn't care about winning. You barely even celebrated."

"How observant of you," he drawled.

"So why did you really come back?"

He frowned at her, not sure whether he admired or loathed her persistence. "I can see why you're in Gryffindor," he remarked with a shake of his head. "Since you really don't know when to quit."

"Thanks," she smirked. "So why - "

"I just... heard some things, alright?" he cut her off, and her eyes lit up with victory in a way that made him immediately regret speaking.

"What kind of things?"

He scanned the table to ensure nobody was eavesdropping on them. "Rumours," he hedged in a low voice. "About Hogwarts. That's all."

Lily blinked, genuine surprise crossing her features. "You mean, you didn't come back for Rose?"

"I didn't say that." He stood up abruptly, annoyed with himself. "Look, as much as I'd love to stay here and suffer through your attempts at interrogation, I have to – "

"She still loves you, you know."

He stopped short, hoping the colour hadn't drained from his face as much as he felt it had. Before he could stop them, her words burrowed into his chest, worming their way between his ribs and making his pulse race. Against his will, his eyes drifted to the Ravenclaw table, and the shiny badge adorning Scamander's robes that had been taunting him since he sat down. "She sure has a funny way of showing it," he said quietly, dragging his eyes back to the Potter girl.

Unfortunately, she had followed his gaze. "You mean Lorcan," she said knowingly. Scorpius opened his mouth to deny it, but she cut him off before he could get the words out. "They're just friends."

He gave up on trying to hold back his scowl. "Didn't look like that to me," he said, remembering the possessive way Scamander had taken Rose's hand when he first arrived, and the defensive look in the other boy's eyes as he approached them. That look had been crystal clear, as far as Scorpius was concerned. And it wasn't like Rose had attempted to deny it.

Lily ate another tomato. "They are," she said. "They just haven't figured it out yet. Well, Lorcan might have, but he's not ready to let go. And Rose – what did you expect her to do when you just upped and left – "

"I didn't 'up and leave'," he bit out, feeling annoyance bubble beneath his skin. "I tried to explain to Rose what I was doing."

"That's your idea of trying to explain?" Lily tossed her mane of hair over one shoulder. "I'd hate to see you when you're trying to be elusive! I would have thought – "

He tuned her out, not quite sure why he was still standing there listening to her. He didn't need this. Not right then, and probably not ever. And certainly not from Lily Potter.

"… just vanished!" Something she was saying caught his attention, and he dragged his attention back to her with an effort. "If Bletchley and Nott hadn't – "

"What did you say?" he demanded, cutting her off mid-sentence. She stared at him, her cheeks pink and her eyes glassy with emotion, suddenly looking a lot like Rose.

"I said if Bletchley and Nott hadn't – "

"No," said Scorpius, interrupting her again and causing her to scowl at him. "Before that."

Her brow creased. "Before that? I said you just vanished! One minute you were here and the next it was like you didn't even exist!"

"I don't understand why you all keep using that word," he said, raking his hand through his hair. "Rose said the same thing last night and I – " he froze as he realised what he'd just let slip. From the way Lily's eyes widened, it was clear she hadn't missed the implication. "It's ridiculous," he hurried on before she could say anything. "I didn't vanish. I explained in my letters what I was doing and that I needed to – " he broke off a second time at the expression on Lily's face, which had transformed from shock to bewilderment in a matter of seconds. "What is it?"

The youngest Potter child looked as if she had been smacked in the face by a bludger. She stood up slowly, never taking her eyes off of him. "What did you just say?"

Scorpius frowned, hypersensitive of their location and the eyes that were currently levelled on him around the room. They had already drawn far too much attention, and he had a feeling this conversation was about to get a whole lot worse. Without another word, he turned on his heel and stalked off.

He made it to the far end of the Entrance Hall, where the shadow of the staircase provided at least a modicum of privacy, before Lily caught up with him. She grabbed his elbow and yanked him to face her with surprising strength.

"Where the hell are you going?" she demanded, but her voice was frantic rather than angry, and something about the look in her eyes kept him pinned to the spot.

"I had a feeling your fuse was about to blow, and wanted to save you the embarrassment of doing it in front of the entire student body," he shot back, but Lily barely seemed to register his words. She was standing so close to him now he was beginning to feel claustrophobic.

"Scorpius, I need you to be really straight with me," she said, staring at him like she was trying to set fire to him with her mind. "Did you just say 'I explained in my letters what I was doing'?"

He chewed his tongue, then nodded stiffly.

"And by letters, you mean pieces of parchment delivered by owl with writing on them?"

"I was under the impression that the meaning of 'letter' was universal," he replied scathingly, not sure he liked the feverish glint in Lily's eyes. "What the hell are you getting at?"

"Who did you write to?" she asked, reaching out to clutch his arm. He pulled it quickly from her grasp.

"I – Rose and Albus, mainly," he said, trying hard to ignore the traitorous thud of his own heart as his subconscious began to interpret her expression of its own volition. She looked wildly excited, almost panicked. "Why?"

"How many?"

"For Salazar's sake, do you have a point?"

She beamed at him like he was the second coming of Dumbledore. "Scorpius," she said in a slow, clear voice that made his throat tighten in expectation. "We never got any letters."

He stared at her. The words took a long time to process, and even when they did he wasn't sure he truly understood. "What do you mean, you never got any letters?"

Lily spread her arms wide, shaking her head. "Rose never got a single letter from you."

"Never?" he echoed, his skin beginning to prickle and his heart hammering in a way that made it difficult to think straight. "But…"

"She sent dozens," said Lily, almost bouncing on the balls of her feet. "She used to go up to the owlery every day – but she never got any replies so eventually she stopped – "

He held up a hand, his mind racing so fast it hurt. It felt like somebody was driving their wand into his skull, slicing through bone as easily as if it were butter and melting his insides. "Rose… wrote to me?" he asked, and felt his blood run cold, hands clenching into fists that he felt powerless to release.

"Every day," repeated Lily. She raked a hand through her hair. "I can't believe this."

"Neither can I," growled Scorpius. He thought back to the way Rose had looked at him last night, the flash of pain and hurt and betrayal in her eyes. It all made sense now. You've got a hell of a nerve coming here and acting like this… No wonder she had been so angry. No wonder she had run to Scamander. And it was all because of - "That son of a bitch..."

"If this is true," said Lily, as if she hadn't heard him. "And you sent letters that Rose never got, and Rose sent letters that you never got. Then that must mean… "

He let the silence envelop them, five steps ahead and already pushing past her. "I need to find her."

"I think that's probably a –

He didn't wait for her to finish. Fatigue and hunger forgotten, Scorpius strode out of the Entrance Hall and raced down the castle steps, nearly trampling a small boy perched at the bottom of them in his hurry.

"Sorry," he said carelessly, weighing up the different locations Rose might be and the order in which to approach them. His eyes scanned the grounds, before he turned back to the boy. "You haven't seen Rose Weasley, by any chance?"

The boy's eyes widened in terror. He stood up jerkily, looking like he expected Scorpius to attack him, and tugged nervously on his Slytherin tie. "Wh-who?"

"The Head Girl," Scorpius added in what he hoped was a patient voice. "Red hair, blue eyes, about 'yay' high?"

The boy shook his head, then turned and sprinted around the side of the castle like somebody had brandished a wand at him. Scorpius frowned, and was about to follow him when the sound of his own name made him ground to a halt.

"Malfoy!"

It was Albus, striding across the lawn toward him. Scorpius cursed aloud in frustration.

"I'm busy," he said before his friend could come to a halt in front of him.

Albus glared at him. "You and I need to talk," he said in a hard voice. Scorpius could tell from the way his jaw was clenched that he was determined to have it out right now, and he could have kicked himself for the bad timing.

"Yeah, we do," he agreed. "And at any other time I'd be happy to oblige you. But right now I need to find Rose."

As he'd expected, Albus' green eyes flashed with anger. "Like hell you do. I told you to stay away from her."

"Listen – "

"No you listen," Albus interrupted furiously, taking a step closer so he was crowding Scorpius' personal space. "Haven't you caused enough damage? What are you trying to prove? That you can fuck with girls' hearts just for fun – I told you what would happen if you ever – "

"Will you shut up for a second?" Scorpius growled, gritting his teeth and trying not to let his own simmering anger take hold. Albus' scowl deepened like thunder.

"Fuck you, Malfoy!"

"I don't have time for this," he muttered, acutely aware of the students beginning to gather in the Entrance Hall, drawn by the noise of their argument. "I need to find Rose – "

Albus shoved him, and Scorpius pushed back instinctively. "Did you not hear what I just said?" Albus spat. "Rose is off limits – how can you not see that?"

"You don't understand," he started to say, but a sudden fist swinging at his face cut him off. The hook clipped him on the jaw, making his ears ring.

"For fucks sake!" he yelled. "Just listen!"

Albus looked ready to punch him again. Hurriedly, Scorpius took a few steps backwards.

"I don't want to hear it," Albus spat, swiping his hair out of his eyes. "I fell for that once – I should have known better – I trusted you – a Malfoy."

His words cut past Scorpius' defences in a way fists never could. He winced, staggering backwards like the world had thrown him off balance. "Don't do this right now," he pleaded, swallowing his pride like a wad of cotton. "Al, please."

But there was not a shred of sympathy in Albus' eyes. "You broke her heart!" he yelled, and Scorpius' mouth went dry, his protests shrivelling and dying on his tongue.

"I…"

"You didn't see it, but I did," Albus continued, pacing in front of him. Scorpius watched him, feeling each word like a punch to the gut. "She walked around this place like a fucking inferius for six months. Like a corpse. She didn't laugh, didn't smile, she barely even fucking breathed. And now you want to come back and fuck it all up again, just as she's starting to get things together?"

"I don't want to fuck it up," he said, frustration making his words terse. "I love her – "

"Yeah, and how's that working out for the both of you?" sneered Albus. "Pretty badly, as far as I can see."

"It'd be working out a lot better if she knew the truth," Scorpius snapped furiously. "Al, I sent letters. I wrote and explained all of this. To both of you. I had no idea you weren't getting them."

He waited for Albus' expression to change, for the furious, scornful look on his friend's face to morph into surprise, or confusion, or maybe even remorse. It didn't.

"You think I don't know that?" Albus said heavily.

Scorpius frowned, unable to make sense of his friend's reaction. "But – your sister said – "

"Flora told me," Albus continued, a flicker of what might have been guilt passing across his features. Scorpius gaped at him.

"Flora told you?"

"She told me you hadn't heard from us," Albus said, not quite meeting his eyes now. "That you'd written and hadn't gotten any replies. I knew then what must be happening. Your dad was blocking your mail."

Scorpius wasn't sure why the expression on Albus' face was so disturbing. "Why didn't you say anything? Why didn't you tell Rose, or your sister, or – "

"Because don't you see?" Al interrupted, his gaze hard and intense as he stared at Scorpius. "That was for the best. Or it would have been, if you hadn't come back and stuffed everything up."

It was as if the Whomping Willow had just slammed its fist into the back of Scorpius' head. He swallowed thickly, his rational mind unwilling to process his friend's words. "What are you saying?" he asked, his voice weak with disbelief. "Are you saying you were in on this? That you deliberately let Rose think I abandoned her?"

"You did abandon her," Al shot back, lifting his chin defiantly. "You left, and I know why. I know what your dad threatened to do. Flora told me."

Scorpius made a mental note to find Flora later and tell her to mind her own damn business. Right after he found Rose and begged her to forgive him. Trying to keep his voice steady, he said "You don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh don't I?" snarled Albus. "You made your choice. You chose your money over her – "

"Shut up," Scorpius growled. Shock was beginning to make way to fury in his chest, and he felt cold and clammy and out of control. "Seriously Albus, you don't understand – "

"I understand perfectly!" shouted Albus, shaking his head in disgust. "It all got too hard for you so you ditched her."

"I made a logical decision!" snapped Scorpius. He could feel the blood pulsing underneath his skin. Betrayal twisted like acid in his gut and his vision was beginning to haze the longer he looked at his supposed friend, whose face he barely recognised right then. "You had no right to keep that from her. That wasn't your call."

"You're right, it wasn't," Albus replied stonily. "It was yours, and your father's."

Scorpius shook his head, and turned to leave. He couldn't deal with this right now. "I don't have time for this. I need to find Rose."

"And tell her what, huh? That you're sorry but you can't be with her? That you love her but not quite as much as you love piles of your father's money?"

Scorpius span on his heels, hands clenched into fists. "Shut your mouth, Potter."

"Or what? You gonna send your daddy after me?"

"You're one to talk," he said. "Remind me again who your father is."

There was a very ugly look on Albus' face. His right hand was clenched inside his robes; Scorpius had no doubt what it was curled around. He fingered his own wand, strongly tempted to wipe the smug look off his friend's face. Before he could do any more than contemplate it, however, a sharp, familiar voice rang out from the castle steps.

"What's going on?"

It was Lily, her features dark with annoyance. She walked towards them like a thundercloud, her gaze flicking from him to her brother and back again. "You told him, then," she said at last. "About the letters?"

Scorpius gave a violent shrug. "In a manner of speaking."

"So?" she demanded, staring at him in frustration. "Where's Rose? Why haven't you found her?"

He shot her an irritated look. "I was on my way to the Quidditch pitch," he said, pointing vaguely down to the grounds. "Before I was rudely interrupted."

Albus made a scathing noise, but Lily didn't even spare him a glance. Her gaze was fixed on Scorpius. "She's not there. I just spoke to Lorcan. He said he saw her leave for the castle half an hour ago."

Something like unease squirmed in Scorpius' gut. "She's not in the Great Hall?" he asked, and Lily shook her head.

"Maybe she went up to her common room," offered Albus.

Scorpius shot him a glare. "Why would she do that?"

Albus shrugged, returning the look with interest. "I don't know – because she's Rose? Maybe she's trying to avoid you."

"You're not helping!" Lily snapped before Scorpius could respond, and Albus had the grace to look a little chagrined.

"She mentioned something about looking for Dom," he said, pointedly ignoring Scorpius and speaking directly to Lily. "They're probably together now, talking about dresses or whatever."

He was probably right, but Scorpius still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. He strode back into the Entrance Hall, feeling both Lily and Albus fall into step behind him, and was halfway to the Great Hall when Scamander saved him the trouble and exited the dining room. Scorpius approached the other boy with a clenched jaw.

"We need access to your common room," he bit out, watching a myriad of emotions cross Scamander's face, from shock to annoyance to anger and, for a fleeting moment, what looked like shame.

But in the end he only crossed his arms and said, "Why?"

"We're still looking for Rose," Lily spoke up, appearing at Scorpius' right shoulder with a diplomatic smile. "We thought she might have gone to her room, and since you're the only one with the password – "

"Oh." Scamander was still watching Scorpius closely. "Perhaps she wants to be alone?"

"I doubt it," said Scorpius, with more confidence than he really felt. "Anyway I need to talk to her, and it can't wait."

The Head Boy hesitated, his gaze drifting over the three of them. "I suppose I can go up and check," he said eventually.

"We can all go up and check," Scorpius said.

"Like hell we can," Albus interjected roughly. Scorpius span on his heel to face him.

"Look, could you for one second just – "

"What's going on?"

It was the Veela girl; Scorpius would recognise that highpitched, nasally voice anywhere. He turned to see her standing at the top of the staircase, staring down at them in confusion.

"Where's Rose?" he demanded immediately. The girl's eyes narrowed on him, and her expression turned distinctly hostile.

"Why do you want to know?"

Scorpius ground his jaw, wondering how much more suspicion and animosity he could take before he decided to say fuck it all and just walk away. He forced himself to think of Rose, of her soft eyes and hesitant smile and all the things he needed her to know, and bit his tongue to stop himself retaliating the way he wanted to. "I need to talk to her," he said instead, keeping his tone civil with an effort. "Do you know where she is?"

The Veela girl didn't answer him. She walked down the castle steps, her eyes flicking between Lily, Albus, and Lorcan. "I haven't seen her," she said when she reached the bottom.

"Where have you been?" Albus asked, and there was a hint of concern in his own voice now. "Rose said she was going to look for you."

A blush crept over the blonde girl's cheeks, and she looked around shiftily. "I – I was just – "

"Look, nobody cares who you've been sneaking around with," Scorpius cut in brusquely, and she whipped her head up to glare at him.

"Go to hell, Malfoy."

He turned to Scamander, ignoring her. "I'm going to the Head rooms. You coming, or am I going to have to break in?"

The other boy regarded him for a moment, then nodded.

They made a strange group, walking together through the corridors. Scorpius wanted to tell the others to get lost – that nobody needed to be looking for Rose beside himself. But he also knew there was no point arguing about it; Albus' expression told him as much, and the Weasley girl's glare wasn't much better. So he simply bit his tongue and walked ahead, out of sight of the dirty looks they kept shooting his way.

They reached the Head rooms on the fifth floor without incident. Lorcan approached the suit of armour that guarded the entrance and muttered the password under his breath, then opened the door that materialised in its place. "I'll go and see," he said, ducking inside before anyone could say anything. Scorpius made to follow, but found his way blocked by Albus.

"Back off," he growled, his eyes flashing a warning.

"No, you back off," Albus growled, shoving him back. "You don't even know if Rose wants to see you!"

The words ground Scorpius to a reluctant halt, because Albus was right of course. Scorpius could still see the flash of hostility in Rose's expression as he walked past her earlier that day, and the bite in her voice as she called him a bastard. He winced. Well, it was too bad if she didn't want to see him. She had to hear him out, had to let him explain. He hadn't realised how desperately he craved to see understanding in her eyes until it became possible that he might.

Scorpius opened his mouth to tell Albus where to go, but Scamander re-emerged before he could formulate the words. There was a shadow of a frown on his features, and Scorpius knew instantly that Rose wasn't there.

"No sign of her," the Ravenclaw said. "And my Quibbler hasn't been touched. Rose usually reads it if she's alone in the dorm. I don't think she's been back here."

There was a brief, uncomfortable silence, shattered by the bell to signal the end of lunch, followed by the sound of Albus smacking his forehead.

"Fuck, the Quidditch! Lily, we're supposed to be down there!"

Lily looked torn between her brother and wanting to stay. "Maybe Rose is already there, and we just missed her," she suggested.

"Yeah," said Scorpius, though his mind was already racing with other possibilities. "Maybe."

"You guys should go," said the Veela girl. "I'll keep an eye on Malfoy."

His temper snapped, and he rounded on the blonde to tell her exactly where she could shove her suspicion, when a second bell rang, effectively cutting him off.

Albus swore loudly, then pushed his sister down the corridor. "Come on, we'd better go, or McGonagall'll have our heads on pikes." He paused just long enough to give Scorpius a hard, threatening glare. "Watch yourself."

Scorpius chewed his tongue, watching his friend turn and sprint down the corridor. As soon as he was gone he strode off in the other direction.

"Where are you going?" demanded the Weasley girl.

Against his better judgement, he turned his head and answered, "The Astronomy Tower."

"You won't find her there," she called back, and Scorpius pulled up short, only just resisting the urge to bang his head against the wall.

"Why not?"

"Because – " the girl blushed crimson, but Scorpius could not have cared less about her sensitivities.

"Because you were just up there snogging someone," he finished for her, and she snapped her mouth shut with a scowl. "Alright," he continued, trying to sound confident despite the nervous hammering of his heart. "Where else could she be? The library?"

"I suppose… "

"Okay, here's what's going to happen," Scorpius said. "Scamander, go and check the library. You," he pointed at the Veela girl, who glared poisonously at him. "Go check the Gryffindor common room, in case she's there for some reason. I'll go down to the pitch. Meet me there in five minutes."

"Five minutes? That's not enough time to – "

He stalked off without listening to her complaints, lengthening his strides and breaking into a run as soon as he was around the corner. There was a bad feeling growing in the pit of his stomach, and he couldn't help but turn his mind back to the whispers that had originally led him to decide to come to Hogwarts in the first place. Whispers that spread through Durmstrang, from mouth to mouth, until they couldn't help but make their way to him. The resistance… the old families… send a message… children of the golden trio...

Two minutes later, he was racing down to the Quidditch pitch. The game had begun; Scorpius could see the blur of Albus and Lily as they sped through the air, but he barely spared them a glance, fixing on the Beauxbatons players and noting with a sinking feeling that the French boy was nowhere to be seen. His eyes scanned everywhere; the crowd, the grounds, even the change rooms, though what Rose would be doing in there was anyone's guess. By the time he had done a full lap of the pitch, his pulse was thundering in his ears, all but drowning out the sound of the game above him, and he felt sick to the pit of his stomach.

The Durmstrang Headmaster grabbed his shoulder as he went past, spinning him to face him with a scowl. "Vere have you been?" he demanded, giving him a shake before Scorpius could pry himself free. "I 'ave been looking everywhere for you. What is the meaning of this, Malfoy? Do you think you can just – "

He wrenched himself free and raced over to the teachers' stands without looking back. As he expected, Filch was manning the entrance, and blocked his way with a sneer when he tried to pass.

"Where do you think you're going, boy? You know you're not allowed up here."

"I need to see Professor McGonagall," he said, fighting a losing battle with his temper. He knew Rose was in trouble; there was no way she would have missed this game. He didn't need to see Scamander and Weasley streaming out of the castle on their own, to know that something had happened to her.

"I don't think so," drawled Filch, clearly reveling in his discomfort. "You'll have to wait until the game is over and – "

With a snarl, Scorpius drew his wand. The colour drained out of Filch's face and he backed away, gaping. Scorpius pushed past him and took the stairs two at a time, coming to the top of the race and all but barrelling Professor Cauldrish over as he stood up to see what all the commotion was about.

"Professor!" He skidded to a halt in front of Professor McGonagall, barely taking in her shocked, disapproving frown.

"Malfoy? What in Merlin's name - "

He took a deep breath, steadying himself for just a moment before he allowed himself to say the words out loud.

"Professor, Rose is gone. And I think I know who took her."