Professor Slughorn shrugged and turned to Rose.
"You heard the boy," he said. "Mister Potter, let me know if you have any difficulty tackling the position by yourself and I'll be happy to assist."
Rose grabbed her bag from the floor, abandoning her textbook and potions supplies and hurrying off after Lysander. Neither waited for the heavy door to swing closed before rushing down the dungeon hallway towards the main stairs.
"What happened?" asked Rose anxiously.
"It's Lorcan," said Lysander, his voice tight. He didn't say anything else as they hurried up the stairs. Rose's mind raced with the possible situations they could be facing. Lysander was still functioning, so his twin had not blacked out. That was the only silver lining she could find to this uncertain situation.
Professor Evariste and Lorcan were sitting on a bench outside the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom when Rose and Lysander arrived. Lorcan was staring at the ground, and Professor Evariste looked concerned, but not desperately so. Rose's chest loosened a bit.
"What's going on?" she finally asked.
"You and Lysander have been helping Lorcan deal with some anomalies that seem to be relating to his Sight, correct?" said Professor Evariste.
Rose nodded.
"Well, I was aware that he had been struggling a bit, so I had been keeping a closer eye on him."
"I'm right here," snapped Lorcan, not lifting his head.
"Of course," said Professor Evariste apologetically. "I was simply trying to catch Rose up with the current situation. When Lorcan arrived to class today, he told me that he was going to be partnering with Sophie for the practical portion of our lesson."
Lysander shifted uncomfortably, and Lorcan cupped his hands around his head.
"Who's Sophie?" asked Rose softly.
"I don't know," groaned Lorcan, "alright? I don't bloody know!"
"We don't have a Sophie in our class," explained Professor Evariste. "In fact, there isn't anyone named Sophie at Hogwarts right now at all. There hasn't been a student by that name for a handful of years."
"Could he be- are you talking about a ghost?" Rose asked, redirecting her question to Lorcan partway through.
"I don't know," he repeated. "I don't know who she is, I just- she's here, alright?"
"Alright," said Rose, sitting next to him and wrapping her arm around his back. "That's alright Lorcan. You're doing great."
She didn't miss the silent exchange between Professor Evariste and Lysander, but she was glad that Lorcan was still looking steadily at the ground.
"Lorcan," said Professor Evariste gently, "I think we should ask Luna to come see you."
"I'm not going crazy," he croaked, his muscles stiffening under Rose's hold. "Please, I-"
"No one thinks you're going crazy!" insisted Rose, shooting Professor Evariste an angry glare. "That is not what he's saying."
"Not at all," said Professor Evariste. "This is hardly an indication of insanity, Lorcan. I simply think that we should consult with your mother before moving forward. Perhaps she can help."
Lorcan grunted, though Rose could not tell if he was agreeing or if he thought it was a terrible idea. Personally she thought that Aunt Luna's input was certainly warranted in this situation.
"How about you three go down to the Hospital Wing and wait for her there?" said Professor Evariste. "I have to return to my class, but I'll have Clare meet you there and wait with you until your mother arrives."
They walked in silence, neither Rose nor Lysander knowing what to say. Suddenly Lorcan stopped, then began to chuckle softly.
"Lorcan?" said Rose worriedly. "What is it?"
"He called her Luna," he said, shaking his head. "Professor Evariste knows our mum."
Rose had grown accustomed to Professor Evariste casually mentioning her parents during their private conversations, so it had not occurred to her that not everyone would be used to such things.
"Maybe he went to school with her," she said. "He knows Mum and Dad too. I think that's what it was, that he was in his first or second year when they were finishing up here."
"Mum finished at Beauxbatons," Lorcan reminded her, continuing towards the Hospital Wing. "Didn't want to come back here when most of the others weren't. Maybe he was here for her final year?"
"Technically she has honors from both schools," said Lysander as Rose's eyes bulged out of her head. "It's not like Aunt Fleur, though. Lorcan and I never had the option of going there when we came of age. They only let her study abroad since it was right after the war. I think your mum helped push it through."
"That's how she met Dad," continued Lorcan, and Lysander gave his twin a curious glance at this. Rose resisted the urge to do the same.
"Oh?" she said instead.
Rolf Scamander was an interesting man. In all of the years Rose had known the twins (which was to say, for all of her life), she could recount the times she had seen Rolf on one hand. She couldn't even call him Uncle Rolf- it just sounded wrong. She knew that he and Aunt Luna were married, but Aunt Luna essentially raised the twins alone. She seemed quite happy with the arrangement, so Rose never felt it was her place to question it.
"I know she doesn't talk about it much," said Lorcan, not looking at his brother or cousin. "Took us forever to get the story, actually."
"Lorcan-" started Lysander with a frown.
"It's fine," said Lorcan, "it's not like Rose is gonna care. They met when she was at Beauxbatons," he continued, "and Rolf was presenting one of his findings there. They corresponded over the course of the following years. During one of his trips here, he visited Mum and they created us."
Lysander stifled a groan and seemed suddenly interested in looking in the opposite direction as his twin. Rose felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment over the subject.
"Dad wasn't interested in settling down," continued Lorcan. "He wants to keep exploring for the rest of his life. Which sounds like fun, actually, but he's an adult so I reckon he's put a bit of thought into it. Anyway, he and Mum decided to get married so folks wouldn't be weird about it. Dad's not interested in marrying anyone else, so he supports us and we get his name, and Mum doesn't run into any sort of prejudice about raising us on her own."
"Which is just fine," said Rose firmly, even though she was still blushing furiously. She had always known that Aunt Luna didn't have the same sort of relationship with Rolf that her parents did, or Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry did, but it was still odd to hear the details of it. "She did a great job on her own. And your- your father does visit sometimes, which is...?"
"Interesting," supplied Lorcan with a grin. "It's more for Mum's sake than for ours. I think that was part of their agreement actually. He shows up whenever he discovers something exceptionally interesting so she can have a look before everyone else."
"Look," said Lysander, sounding strangled, "it's the Hospital Wing. Let's go inside and see what new horrors today has in store for us."
The conversation had made him decidedly uncomfortable, but Lorcan seemed to be in a much better mood. Madam Chang didn't appear from her office as they made themselves comfortable on the empty cots, but it only took another two minutes for Clare to rush in.
"Oh- good, you're all here already!" she said, smoothing down her robes. "Boys, I've sent off for your mother. She should be here shortly. Rose, how good to see you."
Rose grinned and waved from her seat on the cot.
"It's probably nothing," said Lorcan sheepishly, "I didn't mean to worry everyone."
There was a loud pop from behind the closed door of Madam Chang's office. A moment later, Aunt Luna emerged, brushing soot off her sundress and assessing the room.
"Sorry I'm late," she said breathily, "had to break the ward Cho had on her fireplace. Remind me to apologize later. Lorcan, love, what's going on?"
"The fireplace," said Clare, a slight frown playing across her lips, "right. Knew I was forgetting something."
Lorcan explained to his mother, who looked much more serious than Rose was accustomed to seeing. At the end of the explanation, Aunt Luna nodded and clasped her hands together in front of her dress.
"Well," she said, "this has gone on long enough. If they're not going to sort out what's going on with the castle, I'm not going to let it keep affecting you like this."
"It might not be-" objected Lorcan. He was silenced by a look from his mother.
"When I left this school," said Aunt Luna, softly but firmly, "I said that I wouldn't send my children here and simply let things happen to them. So many things were allowed to just happen when I was young, and that's not the proper way for a school to run. We're going to figure this out and get it set right. No more of this mysterious nonsense."
Rose had always thought that Aunt Luna was partial to mysterious goings on, but apparently not when they had to do with the wellbeing of her sons.
"So," said Aunt Luna, turning to Clare, "my sons will be accompanying me to St. Mungo's for an evaluation with their Healers. I have been advised that Madam Chang is already there with another group of students. Rose, will you be coming with us?"
Startled, Rose looked at Lorcan. His face was stoic, but his fingers were fiddling in his lap. It was Lysander who made up her mind, reaching over and gripping her hand tightly. She didn't need to see his face to know how he felt.
"Of course," said Rose, "as long as Professor Evariste doesn't have a problem with it."
"He won't," said Aunt Luna and Clare at the same time. Clare blushed and looked away.
"Go fetch Albus, then," said Aunt Luna with a soft smile. "I'll go with Lorcan to gather a few things from the Tower. It'll be good to see it again."
Lysander did not release his grip on Rose's hand as they left the Hospital Wing and returned to the main stairs. She wanted to warn him that he was cutting off her circulation, but he seemed to be more in need of the connection than she was of her hand.
"He'll be alright," said Rose finally. "St. Mungo's is the best place for him. They'll figure out what's going on before the night is out, you'll see."
Lysander merely grunted in response.
Professor Slughorn wore the same lethargic expression when Rose opened the classroom door as he had when she had departed. It was no wonder that he was retiring at the end of the year. He looked absolutely worn to the bone, and even for a wizard he had to be getting on in years.
"Sorry Professor," said Rose meekly as everyone in the room turned from their cauldrons to look at her and Lysander. "We need Albus, please."
The elderly wizard's bushy brows pinched together in his first sign of real emotion in weeks.
"Is everything quite alright, Miss Weasley?" he asked.
"Family emergency," explained Rose, trying to keep her voice low but acutely aware that everyone in the classroom could hear her. "Sorry, sir."
"With your family, of course there is," he replied with a deep sigh. "Mister Potter, you are excused. Make sure to read over what you have missed today. I'll deal with…" He gestured towards Albus' half-finished potion with a sigh.
Albus had already packed most of his things, and the supplies Rose had left behind in her hurried exit. Scorpius was helping shuffle Albus' belongings into his bag, exchanging worried glances with his friend. When he finally made eye contact with Rose, she offered him a small smile, wishing she could explain that everything was going to be alright. But she didn't want the entire class to know what Lorcan was going through. It was sure to be all through the castle by day's end that a handful of students had run off to St. Mungo's anyway, but they didn't need to know exactly why. Scorpius' expression in front of his classmates was typically unreadable, but he now wore a small frown that betrayed his worry.
"What's wrong?" asked Albus as the door closed behind him. Looking over Lysander and Rose more thoroughly, he added, "Oh, are we up to holding hands now? That's good to know."
"What?" said Rose. It took her a moment to realize that Lysander was still attached to the end of her arm, which was why she had lost most of the feeling in her right hand. "Oh- no, Al, it's just-"
"It's Lorcan," explained Lysander. "We're going to St. Mungo's to have him looked at. Mum thought you two should come."
"Absolutely," said Albus, all joking gone from his voice. "When do we leave?"
They returned to the Hospital Wing, where Clare was waiting. A few minutes later, Aunt Luna returned with Lorcan, who had packed a bag with some clothes and books.
"Professor McGonagall should be down shortly," said Clare, giving Lorcan an encouraging smile. "I've been in touch with St. Mungo's, so they know that you'll be arriving soon."
Rose couldn't help but wonder how Clare had contacted the wizarding hospital without magic.
Perhaps the Hospital Wing had some sort of direct line set up that she was able to activate, even without a wand?
They had to wait for Professor McGonagall to arrive before they could leave, which took another ten minutes. Lysander had finally let go of Rose's hand and had taken to pacing around the room, occasionally stopping to examine the various potions that were shelved along the back wall.
"Sorry for the delay," said Professor McGonagall as she swept into the room, "we're dealing with a nasty bit of paperwork for the new Headmistress. Merlin knows it wasn't so complicated when I took over for Albus."
Albus looked up automatically upon hearing his name, then blushed. It was always a bit confusing when folks started talking about the former headmaster whose name he had been given. Since Albus Dumbledore was just a bit of a legend, it happened frequently.
"Can't he help?" asked Aunt Luna curiously. "The portrait, I mean?"
Professor McGonagall scowled, looking even more sever than usual with her tight bun and angular face.
"I'm certain he could, Luna," she said, "but each time we start working on the official business of it all, he takes that as his cue to get some shut eye, or visit another one of his portraits. Mad old loon."
At this, Aunt Luna broke out into a peal of laughter that didn't seem at all to fit their current situation. Even Professor McGonagall cracked a small grin before surveying the other occupants of the room.
"Now," she said, "Mister Scamander, I have been told that circumstances necessitate a trip to St. Mungo's. Is this so?"
"Yes, Headmistress," said Lorcan glumly.
Professor McGonagall sighed and leaned against one of the cabinets housing a menagerie of colorful potions.
"It would be foolish to not utilize all of the instruments at our disposal," she said, eyes still fixed on Lorcan. "You have nothing to be ashamed of, dear. Let's get this sorted out so you can get back to your lessons."
Professor McGonagall led them into Madam Chang's personal chamber, which felt rather intrusive to Rose. It was the second time that year that she had seen where one of the adults at the school lived. She could not hear the incantation Professor McGonagall used on the fireplace (most likely due to some sort of Muffling Charm, she thought), but there was a popping noise similar to when Aunt Luna had appeared.
"I may have broken through part of Cho's wards on the way in," said Aunt Luna, not sounding at all remorseful when Professor McGonagall turned to her questioningly. "I didn't want to wait to be let through any of the usual Floo channels, and I know what kinds of enchantments Cho is partial to."
"Yes, well, it's open now," said Professor McGonagall, shaking her head. "Clare, if you'll go first and let the front desk know that the Scamander party is arriving?"
Clare nodded and grabbed a handful of Floo Powder. A bit dropped down the side of her robes as her hand shook, but her voice was steady as she called out, "St. Mungo's Hospital, Second Floor!"
"I will alert your parents to the current situation," said Professor McGonagall, turning to Rose and Albus. "Clare will escort you back to the castle tonight. Cho- Madam Chang will be back by then, so she will open the Floo for you. Don't get into any sort of trouble, or-"
"We won't," said Rose, grabbing some Floo Powder from the mantlepiece. "St. Mungo's Hospital, Second Floor!"
As the flames roared green, Rose heard the headmistress say, "And Luna, do try not to break into the castle anymore, it sets a terribly precedent."
After a few moments of being squeezed uncomfortably and shuttled from side to side, Rose stepped forward into the lobby of St. Mungo's Hospital. The first thing she noticed was how horrifically white everything was. There was nothing calming about the atmosphere. It screamed of sterility, certainly, but not healing and recovery.
Clare was speaking with two witches in matching lavender robes a few feet away. Rose stepped away from the hearth just as Albus burst forth from the fireplace to her left. Of course, she realized, there would be more than one outlet for the Floo connection at the hospital.
Aunt Luna was the last to come through after the twins. Lorcan's face was stony as he looked around, probably taking in the same horrid white landscape that Rose had first noticed.
"Lorcan, this is Healer Aberdeen and Healer Schmidt," said Clare, gesturing to the two witches in lavender. "They'll be escorting us to the Mind Magic ward."
"Pleased to meet you," said the shorter of the two witches, sticking her hand out to shake Lorcan's. Her black hair was pulled back from her round face, and she had a kind smile that lit her brown eyes. "You can call me Abby if you'd like. Healer Aberdeen is awfully formal, and it looks like you and I will be getting to know each other quite well."
Healer Schmidt frowned, the expression accenting the lines around her eyes and mouth.
"Let's get on, then," she said brusquely, "no time to waste."
The entire group set off down the winding maze of hallways, each as bland and lifeless as the last. Occasionally Rose would notice a sign dedicating a specific stretch of white wall to a particularly memorable Healer, which carried a certain amount of irony in the utterly unremarkable stretch of hospital. At last, they came to a circular atrium with large purple lettering reading, "Mind Magic."
"It's a bit of a catch-all," said Healer Aberdeen, "but since Professor Clare says your Headmistress doesn't really know what's been going on, we'll have to start with the basics."
Healer Schmidt turned to the rest of the group, eyeing the other children warily.
"Who else do we have here?" she asked.
"I'm his twin," said Lysander firmly, meeting the Healer's eye as if daring her to send him away.
"Well yes, I gathered that much."
"We're his cousins," said Rose, purposefully leaving out the part where they weren't technically blood relatives.
"And I'm his mother," added Aunt Luna quite unnecessarily.
"Then you should come with us," said Healer Schmidt, looking at Aunt Luna. "The rest of you can stay in the waiting area. Healer Aberdeen will show you where that is."
Without giving them time to protest, she swept Lorcan and Aunt Luna through a set of doors that had been nearly invisible in the wall, blending in with the rest of the while landscape. Healer Aberdeen sighed and looked and the remaining children with a frown.
"Bedside manner," she murmured, shaking her head, "always bedside manner. Come now, there will be plenty to keep you occupied while we sort out your cousin."
The waiting area had clearly been designed by someone uninvolved with the rest of St. Mungo's. It was almost too colorful to bear with everything one could wish for to keep occupied. There was an area with snacks and an enchanted tea set, and instructions on how to summon the resident house elves to take care of any specific food requests. They had three fully-stocked bookshelves reaching up to the ceiling, as well as a variety of games both magical and Muggle. With a pang, Rose noticed a stack of paper and colored pencils, crayons, markers, and charcoal. It only made her think of Lorcan.
"We will send you updates on this," said Healer Aberdeen, handing Clare a thin black disk. "It may take some time, but I'm sure we'll get through to him." With that, she totted out of the room.
Rose frowned after the woman, and was surprised to hear Lysander chuckle behind her.
"So I don't think she's been filled in on his case yet," he said. "What's the disk for?"
"It just says Examination Room right now," said Clare, showing them the flip side where the words were glowing red against the glossy black surface.
"So we've got time," sighed Albus. "Lysander, chess?"
"I'm gonna find a book," said Rose, eyeing the shelves with interest. "Would you like one, Professor Clare?"
Clare laughed at the title, shaking her head.
"I didn't feel right correcting her," she said, a faint blushing rising to her cheeks. "Certainly, anything that looks interesting."
Rose ended up bringing over four books for them to choose from as the boys set up their chess game. There were three other groups in the waiting room, each keeping to themselves. One was speaking in a language Rose did not recognize, and another man had a pair of antlers that Rose felt necessitated him being in an entirely different wing of the hospital. He looked entirely unconcerned about the protrusions, content to sip his tea and stare out the enchanted windows, which were currently showing rolling green plains. The third group consisted of a young couple holding hands and whispering in the corner, ignoring the items set out around them in an attempt to provide a distraction.
The first time the thin black disk vibrated, Rose nearly fell out of her chair in her haste to grab it.
"What does it say?" asked Lysander, frozen with his hand over the chess board.
"Examination Room Two," sighed Rose, setting the disk back down.
The next time the disk vibrated, it was Clare who grabbed it first. But she set it back down immediately, shaking her head at the others who were staring.
"Moved to room three," she explained. "How many examination rooms do you think there are?"
"At least seven," grunted the man with the antlers from across the room, holding up his own black disk without a trace of amusement on his face.
"Ah. Thank you," replied Clare with a nervous smile.
As much as Rose tried to lose herself in the book on Egyptian rune development, not even that interesting of a topic could stifle her restlessness. She crossed the room and inspected the enchanted tea set, which summoned and boiled its own hot water on command and came with an expansive variety of flavors from which to choose. She brewed a cup of Earl Grey for herself, trying to let the familiar scent wash over her and calm her nerves.
After that, she brewed tea for the rest of the members of her group, and then the others in the room. Charlotte and Claudio, the young couple in the corner, both accepted their chamomile with small smiles and nods. The antlered man sniffed his raspberry blast dubiously, but Rose thought she saw a tiny smile break out after he took a sip. The foreign family in the far end got a mix of crisp mint, raspberry blast, vanilla breeze, and cinnamon spice. The only acknowledgement Rose received from them was a confused shrug, but they all started drinking as soon as she walked away.
The options for snacking were somehow more limited than the tea selection, but Rose quickly discovered that the muffins were divine. She quickly devoured a chocolate chip one, then returned to her book before letting herself grab another. By that point, Lorcan had made it to Examination Room Eight. Soon after, the young couple was called away by their Healer, leaving only three groups in the room.
"Do you know where the lavatory is?" Rose asked Clare softly. She had explored the room pretty thoroughly, and while it seemed well stocked on pretty much everything a person could need to keep their mind off the fact that they were in St. Mungo's, she had yet to find any sign of a loo.
"I think we passed one on our way here," she said, looking up from her book. "It was just down the hall the way we came in. Do you want me to come with you?"
Rose looked at Lysander. Albus had convinced him to play a game of Silent Exploding Snap, but her friend's eyes kept flickering to the glossy black disk, which was truly being no help whatsoever in keeping them updated about Lorcan's progress.
"I'll be fine," said Rose, "stay here with the boys. I'll be right back."
Perhaps Clare had a different concept of what 'just down the hall' meant. Rose had expected to come across a clearly-marked door only a few steps away from the waiting chamber, but the doors here seemed to be charmed to blend in with the walls unless they were specifically required. Rose assumed that she would be able to see the door to the lavatory when she passed by it, since at this point it was most certainly required.
But she turned another corner and there was still no sign of a door. This place needs a bit of an update, thought Rose as she scanned the walls with a frown. Or maybe some sort of map when you first come in, that could come in handy.
Finally, around yet another corner, there was a single door marked Women's Lavatory. Rose sighed, gave silent thanks to whomever might be listening, and entered, unprepared for the familiar face she found on the other side.