"For our last lesson, I want all of you to be focused and determined," Madam Lacus says, as all the sixth years get ready for our last apparation lesson before we can take the test and apparate for real. "I know that all of you are capable of doing this, but I need you to fell that too. It's as simple as remembering the 'three D's'. Which are?"
We all recite the words back to her as a jumbled crowd of voices. It's not hard to remember the "three D's", as she's basically implanted those words into all of our brains. I can't say that it hasn't helped though. Apparating across the room has become easier for me since we've started. I almost feel confident enough to take the test right now.
Al was still having some trouble doing it, which only made him angry. And then the anger kept him unfocused and even less determined to do it the next time. He just seemed frustrated. But everyone else was doing pretty well. Scorpius, Jenny, and I might've had an unspoken competition going, but at least it was about something school-related.
There was no quidditch practice today since both James and Fred got detention for trying to put a potion into all of the Slytherin table's drinks that would turn their hair different colors. It was the time of year again, where they would prank the Slytherin team before the big quidditch game. And this year they were pulling out all the stops since it's their last year.
Because the weather was so nice, Scorpius, Al, Jenny, Laura, Lily, Hugo and I went outside to study. There was this special tree I always sat by since my first year. By second and third year Al and Scorpius joined me. Every year after that we've added more people. Our group just keeps growing.
We sit there, on the ground and mostly just study together. Al always asks for help, and occasionally starts talking about anything but schoolwork. We always stayed out there for hours. The old tree provided us with enough shade that it wasn't too hot under the sun and its roots made nice enough little seats for us to lean on. It was perhaps my most favorite thing about Hogwarts, this tree.
Today, I sat leaning on the tree. I ran out there to beat the others to the most comfortable seat. Al raced close behind me, but I got there first, throwing myself onto the ground, along with all my books.
Scorpius sat next to me. Sometimes he leaned his head on my shoulder, and sometimes I leaned my head on his. We both sat with our work in our laps, barely speaking. And though we didn't actually say a lot to each other, I felt so close to him just sitting there, doing the same thing.
Lily was lying on her stomach while working. If that was me, I would definitely be pissed to get my white shirt all dirty, but Lily didn't care. She never did, she loves the earth.
"Did you guys do your potions stuff yet?" Al asks, looking at both Scorpius and me, and then towards Jenny. She puts her head down the second Al looks at her. She didn't want to come out here in the first place, I could tell by the way she kept giving Al side-eye and then looking at me with a panicky expression. But she came anyway and was sitting cross-legged with Laura.
"Al I told you," I said. "I'm not giving it to you."
"Oh come on," he moans. "I would give it to you if I was top of the class."
"Well, I didn't do it yet anyway," I lie. I did it last night, while everyone else had already fallen asleep and I couldn't keep my eyes shut.
Al turns towards Scorpius. "What about you mate?"
Scorpius shakes his head without even looking up at Al. I go back to my History of Magic textbook. Scorpius looks at Al and gives a slight nod while he thinks I'm not looking, telling Al he'll give him his potions essay. I scoff. "Wow you're so secretive," I say sarcastically.
"Hey, isn't that that Scamander kid," Laura says, pointing past the tree, towards the quidditch pitch. Lily's head pops up. On the other ends of the grounds, one of the Scamander twins his squatting on the ground, holding a camera to his face. He must be taking a picture of the grass, I suppose.
"Yeah, that's Lorcan," Lily says. She sits up. "Lorcan!" She calls for him. He slightly jumps at the sound of his name being called and looks our way. Lily waves him over and he walks towards us, wearing a grin that showed his dimples. I don't know how Lily knew it was him, he looks exactly like his brother, but I reckon his camera pointed it out.
"Hi Lily," he says, stopping by the tree, and looking at Lily. Then he looks towards the rest of us, "Hello everyone."
"Hey Lorcan," I say as everyone mutters their hellos.
"Why don't you sit with us?" Lily smiles, patting the ground right in front of her for Lorcan to sit. I catch Hugo rolling his eyes and fight the urge to laugh. I'm confused though, I thought Lily had a thing going with Lyssander and now she's acting all googly-eyed with Lorcan? I raise an eyebrow for Hugo to explain since he and Lily are really close, but he just shrugs as if to say 'I don't even know'.
Lorcan takes a seat where Lily just motioned for him too.
"So Lorcan," Al says. "You like taking pictures?"
He nods. "Mhm," He's a very quiet boy, but also very kind from what I can tell. He and his brother have always been like that. Though I only know what I see from around the school or at family/friend gatherings. The twins are both in Ravenclaw, both very open-minded, quite like their mum. They're so much like her sometimes it's freaky.
We continue working and talking like we were before. Lorcan snaps a couple of pictures of certain things. At one point I thought he took a picture of me, but I didn't say anything. I know that artists and photographers see things in a different way, so if he was taking a picture of me, it wasn't really a big deal.
When it started getting dark, the eight of us, got up and headed back to the castle while the sunset.
Scorpius walked with me to the hall. In one hand I held my bag full of books and on the other, I held his hand. Everyone else dispersed into wherever they were going, but we walked slowly so that we could be together longer.
Ever since the night of Teddy and Victoire's wedding, I found myself never wanting to leave his side. And there wasn't much opportunity for this at Hogwarts, but I wanted to see him without his clothes on again.
We were walking towards the Fat Lady's portrait while someone stormed past us, knocking into Scorpius's shoulder.
"Oi, watch it," Scorpius said, holding his shoulder after the person walked into him. I doubt it was that painful but it was rude. I realized why when the person turned around and it was Liam.
"Pft," Liam rolled his eyes at the two of us. "Oh look, a couple of pansies. Whatcha gonna do about Malfoy, huh? Beat me up?"
Scorpius shrugged in a smug way. "Did it before, and I could do it again."
Okay, now I know Scorpius didn't mean for it to, but that was so hot. I bit my lip, looking back and forth between him and Liam.
"But you won't," Liam said. Then his eyes landed on me and his expression changed, so did mine. He narrowed his eyes and gave a horrible smile, staring at me. I felt my stomach turn and squeezed Scorpius's hand. "Hey, Rose."
"Don't you talk to her," Scorpius demanded.
Liam stepped closer to us, well to me. He didn't move his eyes. "She can speak for herself."
I wasn't so sure I could at that moment. All I felt was a lump in my throat and a strange deja vu feeling. I also felt Scorpius furious beside me.
Liam stepped even closer, practically right in my face. "How's it going Rosie?" he said.
"Don't call me that," I said. No one and I means no one but my dad calls me Rosie. "And go away."
He took a step back without any trouble. "Fine," he said proudly. "Just wait until Friday."
Friday was the day I was supposedly going to duel Claire. She still hadn't said anything about this to me yet, so I don't even know for sure if it's happening. And I don't know what's up with her and Liam, but nothing about it felt good.
When Liam was gone, Scorpius faced me, holding onto my arm. "Are you okay?" he asked softly.
I nod as a response and let him lean in and embrace me.
Later that night, I lie in my four-poster with the curtains drawn, just like the other girls do. Everyone seems to respect each other's privacy in this dormitory room. But as I'm lying there, with my eyes wide open and not tired at all, I start panicking. It's about this dumb thing with Claire.
I'm worried about this stupid duel. I think I'm a good enough witch, but I've never been in a duel. Claire probably has, considering she has a tendency to piss people off, which means she has a leg up on me.
And say that this actually does happen, plenty of people will want to watch. I hate all the eyes. Mum and dad have drawn so many eyes to us too. I don't blame them at all, they're famous for saving the world, but I just wish that they could do that without people bugging me and holding me up to standards they have made themselves.
It's like the whole world expects me to be as brilliant as my mum. My mum who was once called 'The Brightest Witch of Her Time' by the Quibbler when she was only eighteen. I mean, how am I supposed to live up to that? Nothing I ever do will be as good. Sometimes I wonder why I even try if I know I'll never get there. I'm wondering it right now.
***
The next morning I wake up early, after a solid four hours of sleep. I'm fully awake though. I get dressed before the other girls wake up and leave before they get the chance to. I walk to the dorm right next to theirs, the one I used to live in for five and a half years and knock on the door.
It's no surprise at all that Claire's already dressed and ready for the day too. She frowns when she sees that it's me at the door. "What a horrible start to the day," she says. "What do you want Weasley?"
I exhaled before saying anything, to keep myself calm and collected while Claire never could. "I hear you've challenged me to a duel?"
"Is that a question or a statement?" she narrows her eyes. "I can't tell because you're so plainly stupid."
You know, sometimes she made it really freaking hard for me to keep my cool. "It's a question," I say, not trying to be nice anymore. "And I'm asking because I had to hear this from several other people, instead of you confronting me and asking me face to face like a normal person would do."
"You're such a bitch sometimes," she crosses her arms. She's one to talk.
"Well are we or not?" I ask.
"If you're so insistent than yes! We will duel," she says. "This Friday after classes, you can meet me in the room of requirement."
My heart starts beating fast. For a second I thought she would tell me that this was just a stupid rumor someone made up, but I was wrong. This is actually real now.
"I think there should be some ground rules," I say.
She rolls her eyes and scoffs. "Ground rules? Pathetic Weasley."
I ignore her. "Nothing too serious. You don't want to end up in Azkaban."
"Please, I'm not stupid enough to kill you in a castle full of people," she says, right before slamming the door on my face. I storm away, with my fists down to my sides.
I can't help but think about what she said. She said she wouldn't kill me in front of people, not that she wouldn't kill me at all. Wow, I guess she thinks I should be dead. What did I ever do to her?
I find myself storming all the way until I get to the great hall. It's still early for a lot of people to be down for breakfast, but there are a few scattered throughout the hall. At the teacher's table, I see Neville and go over to him.
"Morning Rose," he greets me with a smile.
"Do you think I deserve to be dead?" I blurt before he even finishes his thought.
He drops his biscuit onto his plate and looks up at me with a blank expression and wide eyes. "Rose, what's going on?" he asks in the most sincere voice.
"Oh," I realize why he's acting like that. "I didn't mean...I'm not...I just meant, well never mind I guess. I'm not suicidal if that's what you're thinking."
He blinks a few times by the expression on his face doesn't go away. "That's not very convincing. Please Rose, you can talk to me."
"Can I tell you something without you being a teacher for a second?" I lower my voice. Professor Flitwick is sitting further down the table and I don't want him to hear me.
Neville nods. "Well, don't go telling McGonagall, but someone wants to duel me and it's just got me wondering, what did I do for them to think that I should be dead?"
"Oh, wow," Neville says. He looks relieved about what I said before. He clears his throat. "Rose a duel and wanting someone dead are two completely different things," he says. If I recall correctly, history proves him wrong, but I just listen anyway. "A duel is friendly, especially at Hogwarts. There are rules and respect, and besides, you guys don't know spells that will seriously hurt anyone else."
"But-" he cuts me off.
"If you're actually scared about this, you don't have to go through with it," he says. "You know that right?"
I nod, but I can't believe anything he just said. As much as I respect him, I bet he knows that what he just told me was a load of crap. A duel was a perfect opportunity for Claire to ask her murderer mum for advice on magic.
I go to sit down and have breakfast. More people have started filling in for breakfast. When James, Fred, and Laura get here, I tell them about my morning so far.
"She seriously said that to you?" Laura seemed pissed, but not as pissed as James, whose face was red.
"I'll kill that bitch," he says. "She can't talk to you like that!" Though I was appreciative of how much James cared, sometimes he was just a little bit too defensive.
"Kill who?" Al asked. He and Scorpius just came over to our table.
"Who do you think?" I mumbled.
Scorpius squeezed my shoulder as he sat next to me. "Is this about Friday?"
I nod. "Yeah I'm just nervous, that's all."
"Don't be nervous," Fred chimed in. "You can practice on James."
James slapped Fred in the chest playfully, but he held himself pretending like it hurt.
"That's a good idea," Laura said, James began to protest but he didn't get the chance. "You should practice with someone."
"Okay," I eased up hearing about that.
"Yeah, we'll meet in the room of requirement after classes," she suggests. Everyone nods in agreement.
***
"I already told you what happened Rose," Jenny says as we walk together in the hall.
"It just seems so sudden, is all I'm saying," I say. "If you and Al can't last, why to try, right?"
She pulled on the split ends of her brown ponytail while we walked. "We were fighting for a while and he kept always saying how he hates being tied down to a relationship. I thought he would get over it because we loved each other, but then he said he didn't anymore."
As she says it, I feel like she might burst into tears any second, but instead, she's so calm, playing with her hair, walking through the hall. There are only a few people walking around us, which I suppose is a good thing.
"Wow, I'm sorry Jen," I say. "I'll hex him for you?" I offer.
She gives a small grin. "That's okay Rose. I just can't be around him anymore." That part really upsets me. Damn Al, why do you have to go ruin our whole friend group?
Jenny heads off to Ravenclaw tower, while I leave her and find my way to the seventh floor. I would've invited her but I knew Al would be there.
I pace the floor in front of the Room, waiting for the door to appear. When it does, I see that Al and Scorpius are already there. The room has taken a different form than I've seen before. There are torches at either end of a long brick floor where the duelers would stand. There are some chairs on either side of the brick part of the floor, that's where Al and Scorpius were.
"Hey," Scorpius smiles when he sees me. I smile back, but make a point not to look at Al.
"Hi Rose," he says loudly. "How was Charms?"
"Charms was perfect," I say, flashing him a false smile. "I got to see my friend, who I hardly ever see anymore because of you."
"Oh come on Rose, are you really going to do this?" he rolls his eyes. Scorpius just slides his chair back a bit as to stay out of our conversation.
"Yes, I am," I say. "Because Jenny is too kind to stick up for herself, so I will. You broke her heart!"
"This has nothing to do with you!" Al protests, raising his voice to match my level of anger.
"Yes, it does. It has everything to do with me when the reason I never see her is that you tore her away from us. You were horrible to her, and you don't even feel bad about it!"
"I was honest with her."
I didn't know what to say to that. I suppose he was honest, but I refuse to believe that he doesn't love Jenny. "You seemed so happy with her," I say, lowering my voice now.
"I was," he says. "But it just didn't last as I wanted it too. I got bored."
"That really sucks," I mutter. "Do you even know how much damage you did to that girl's heart?" He doesn't do or say anything. "She doesn't even want to be near you. I get it if you don't want to be her boyfriend, but I thought you at least cared about her enough to be kind about it."
"How are you supposed to kindly tell someone you don't love them anymore?"
I shrugged. I really didn't know what to say to that. I look to Scorpius for some help, but he just shrugs too. Right at that moment, the door cracks open as James, Laura and Fred come in, all smiley.
I forget my conversation with Al and start practicing spells with everyone. After going over a bunch of hexes and jinxes, I feel less nervous than I did this morning. It's been a while since I've had to use any of those spells. I forgot that I was actually pretty good at them.
But that doesn't mean Claire isn't better. For all, I know she could be practicing day and night for this thing, which is in two days.
Scorpius walks back with me to the Gryffindor common room after we've had enough duel practice for the day. "Why do you always walk me to my dorm, and I don't walk you to yours?" I wonder. I'm leaning my head on his shoulder while we walk.
"Because I like the walk," he says right away. "And I don't want to make you walk all the way to the dungeons."
"Oh alright," I smile, and reach up to his cheek, but I miss and catch his jaw. I think he grew even taller than he already was.
"Did Al say anything to you about him and Jenny?" I ask. It's still bugging me, the part where Al was talking about falling out of love.
"Not really," he says. "I know you want me to tell you some whole other side of the story, but I never got one."
"I just feel bad," I sigh. "Let's never break up."
He stops walking and looks down at me and grins. He pulls me aside to a bench on the side of the corridor. "Rose Weasley," he says, with that perfect sparkle in his grey eyes. "I will never break up with you."
What did I do to deserve him? I grab his face in my hands and kiss him. "I love you."
"I guess now's a good time then," he says. I'm confused. He reaches into the pocket of his robes and makes a face, then stands up. "I have something for you, but it's in my dorm, come with me."
I raise my eyebrows. He has something for me? Seriously, is he an angel? He's reaching his hand out for me to take. "Come on," I grab his hand and walk with him, trying to keep up with his fast pace.
"Can I ask what this something is?" I ask.
"Nope."
"Is it a pygmy puff? They're so adorable," I wonder.
"Better than a pygmy puff, and I thought you had one?"
"No, she died two years ago," I say. "Really Scorpius keep up."
He smiles but keeps on walking. We're practically skipping down the hallway. Plenty of people look our way.
When we get to the dungeons, people are more aware that I've invaded their common room today. Fiona waves to me, but I barely have time to say hi to her, since Scorpius is dragging me up the stairs to his dorm. Oh god, I bet they just think we're going to shag.
Al is already in their dorm when we get there, it looks like he's changing into quidditch robes.
"Hey mate," Scorpius says. "I thought practice was at six?"
"It is," Al says. "I'm just getting dressed early."
"Going somewhere?" I wonder.
"Er, I was gonna go find Craig and Mike," he says. "Why?"
"Do you want to do it now?" Scorpius asks. It's quite obvious that he's just trying to rush Al out of the room so that we can be alone.
Al makes a face but I can't tell if it's a 'what the hell' face or an 'I'm disgusted' face. "Oh bloody hell, I don't need to be thinking about that!" He protests.
"Thinking about what?" I ask. His face has turned pink.
"You two!" he points at us. "Doing it in here! She's my cousin!" Now my face turns pink. I don't want to think about him thinking about me and Scorpius doing it ever.
"Oh, shut up Al!" I say out of embarrassment.
"No need," he holds up a hand and dashes for the door, avoiding our eyes as he does. "I'm leaving."
Scorpius and I both just stand there for a second. "Well that was a bit dramatic," Scorpius points out. I nod. "Anyway, I think it's in here."
I sit on his bed while he looks through his night table for whatever it is that he wants to give me. He turns around when he's found it, but he's hiding it . "Close your eyes," he says.
"Talk about dramatic," I say, but close my eyes anyway. While I do, he lifts my hand up and opens my palm, placing something in it.
"Okay open," he's sitting in front of me now, smiling eagerly for my reaction.
I stare at the ring he has placed in the palm of my hand. It was silver, with rubies embodied inside it, and one bigger diamond sticking out on top. It was easily the most beautiful thing I've ever touched.
But my heart skipped a beat. A ring? What the bloody hell is he trying to say with this?
"Oh, Scorpius I-I what is this?" I panic. It better not be what I'm thinking.
"I know it's kind of stupid and old fashion," he says. "But it's like a promise ring."
I let out a sigh of relief. Thank Merlin, I thought he was going to propose to me or something, which yes, it sounds big-headed, but what else was I supposed to think?
"No, please, that's not stupid," I reassure him, smiling, now staring at the ring in a new light.
"I thought you could wear it on a chain, like a necklace," he offered. Then he handed me the thin silver chain and looped it through the ring. I was taken aback. This much thought, all just for me? I don't understand.
I stare back down at the ring. I can't believe him. "How much did you pay for this?" I blurt, stupidly. Really Rose? "No, that's not what I mean. It's just...why?.."
Scorpius cuts me off by pressing his lips to mine. "Because I love you, and you're brilliant."
"What did I ever do to deserve this?" Sometimes it was just too much, I felt like I would all come crashing to an end. Too much happiness felt too good to be true.
"Look," Scorpius says, taking my hands. "I've had a crush on you since I was twelve years old, I think it's okay for me to make up for all those years I could've been showering you with gifts. And don't worry about how expensive it is, I'm a Malfoy."
"How could I forget?" I pull my hair aside and turn so he can put the necklace on me and after he does, I force my lips onto his. I throw myself at him so he falls back on the bed and we're laughing and kissing at the same time.
Well, I guess those people who thought we were probably just coming up here to shag were right.
***
My whole body feels tense as I walk up the stairs. My hands are in fists at my sides, and I haven't let go of my wand at all. I'm holding onto it so tight that it's going to leave an imprint in my skin.
"You've got this Rose," Jenny says. Her and Scorpius are walking with me to the Room of Requirement because, yes, it's Friday.
"Yeah, there's nothing to worry about," Scorpius says. "You've been preparing all week."
"You're the brightest witch in our whole year, probably the whole school," that probably wasn't true but I appreciated her and Scorpius's words of encouragement. Honestly, I don't think I would be able to follow through with this if I didn't have them and the others. At least I won't be completely alone in there.
The door to the Room appeared quicker than usual. I stopped in my tracks just staring at it. Jenny and Scorpius shared a glance from either side of me. I let out a breath.
"We totally shouldn't be doing this," I said. "We're prefects!"
Jenny stared at me, while Scorpius let out a laugh. I frowned at him. "Since when has that stopped you?" he said, he had a fair point.
"Okay," I said because that's about as ready as I'll ever be. Scorpius opened the door and held it for me and Jenny.
When we walked in, the room was the same as it was when I was practicing. Claire was already in there, and so were some other people. It seemed like everyone stopped talking when I walked in while heads turned.
Some people might think it's flattering to have a whole room of people stop to stare at you, but it was actually the complete opposite. It was horrible. But then I saw Lily, and James and Fred, Hugo, Al and Laura, and I felt a little bit better.
I walked over to them. "Hey, how are you feeling?" Lily asked.
"Like I'm gonna throw up," I say.
"You'll be fine," Al says. "Claire isn't even a good witch."
"Let's hope so."
"Did you pick a second?" Fred asks me. I hadn't even thought about that. I guess since there are so many people watching, I didn't think there was a need for me to have someone be my second. I shake my head.
"I'll do it!" Laura practically jumps. "I can be your second Rose!" She seems so enthusiastic about it, so I smile and nod.
"Finally," I heard Claire say, from her small group of people at the other end of the room. "She's here."
She was narrowing her eyes at me, standing there proud, holding her wand loosely, like this was no big deal for her. She tried playing it cool, but I could see her shoulders tense up as she took a step closer.
I walked towards the center of the room to meet her. Scorpius squeezed my hand before I did, and the others encouraged me with their smiles. Laura walks with me and stands in the middle with Liam, who I assume is Claire's second
I wasn't too sure why, of all people, it was him. I just looked away. I can't let him scare me too right now. I was more focused on Claire. She was now standing within arms reach from me, both of our wands at our sides.
"We all know the rules," Liam said, loudly, announcing it to the whole room. "One spell at a time. Also, no one goes telling any teachers about this."
"And, nothing too severe," Laura adds, looking proud to be somewhat part of this.
Claire and I both nodded. We walked about ten paces each, away from each other. Then we turned, facing each other with our wands at the ready. She made the first move.
"Immobulus!" She shouts. There's really no reason to shout the spells, but whatever. The purple sparks hit me and for a second I can't move a single muscle, but it wears off.
I shoot back with "Confringo!" Claire gets blasted back and lands smack on her bum. Some people laugh, but I don't. She gets up and is still giving me that evil glare, but this time there's something even more...mean about it.
My hands are shaking before she even lifts her wand up at me. I have a really bad feeling about this. I look to Laura for a second. She even looks nervous, as she watches Claire closely.
My eyes flicker back to Claire, just a second too late. I watch as a blaring red flame shoots my way. It feels like I'm underwater, as the sounds around me begin to seem further and further away.
"Crucio!" The word echoes in my head, though it sounds masked. And some of my vision has gone too. I think I've fallen to the floor, but I can't really tell. The only thing I feel is pain. It's shooting up my arms and legs but hurts the most on my chest.
I try to move, shaking screaming, but nothing seems to work. The pain isn't stopping, and I can't even hear if the screams are coming out.
I close my eyes and everything looks white, instead of black. Well, I guess this is it. I'm definitely dying. I don't even care, whatever will make this pain stop is fine with me. I give up.
*
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Hello everyone! So I really wanted to do something different for this chapter and make it more real/relatable and show a different side of Rose that I haven't before. I hope you like it.
Also, I just wanted to thank all of you for the really great amount of reads and comments lately. I read every comment and they all make my heart so full,0 thank you all so much! Also, as I'm reading comments, I've noticed some really dumb mistakes on my part, so sorry about that. Hopefully I'll change them at some point, I just don't wish I could do it without everyone getting a notification that I changed it because some things are really minor.
Anyway, thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!