The Angel of Hogwarts

Chapter 7

Nessa Longbottom was walking to her free period along with Alex Knies. They were in the bridge when a slow spring breeze came in and blew their dark hairs to their tall backs. Rose, who just left the hospital wing, soon followed them.

She called out, "Nessa, wait up!"

"You're out already!" Nessa smiled and pulled Rose in for a hug, "How do you feel?"

"Nervous, actually." Rose replied. She walked in the middle of the two girls who towered her, as Rose was significantly shorter.

Alex looked down at Rose, " What happened?"

"Well," Rose stopped and fiddled with her new ring that Scorpius had given to her recently, "I broke up with Tom."

"No way." Nessa said loudly, "After three years and – what, like– two months, you broke up?"

"Nessa, calm down," Alex said, " what'd he do?"

"Nothing," Rose started, "just I'm not interested in him anymore."

"Are you interested in someone else?" Alex asked.

Rose blushed, "Yes."

"WHO?" Nessa screamed of joy.

"Uh– well–" Rose stuttered, "Scorpius Malfoy."

Rose bit her lip and Nessa smiled, "Yas! Finally, I told you she would. Ah, Rachael owes me a tener!"

"What? You're not mad?" asked Rose taken aback by Nessa's behavior. She truly believed that Nessa disliked Scorpius.

"No! Sco–" Nessa thought for a milisecond,"ScoRose for life!"

Nessa gestured a peace sign with her hands.

"Didn't you, like, hate his guts?" asked Alex.

"No!" Nessa said, "I mean, I strongly dislike him, but I pretended not to love him just so you'd want him more. And it worked!!!!!"

"Yeah, that's the reason." Rose muttered sarcastically which made Alex giggle a little.

The announcer rang and the voice of Professor McGonnagal started speaking through it, "All students must go to their respective house common rooms immeadiately."

"Well, I'm off to the Dungeons." said Alex, waving goodbye to the Nessa and Rose.

While, the girls were walking towards the Ravenclaw Common Room, Nessa kept looking at Rose, smiling, bumping into her flirtasiously as an act of amusement towards her situation of liking Scorpius. Rose kept telling Nessa to 'stop' and 'to mind her own business', which only made her feel more amused.

When they finally reached the common room, Rose slowly opened the door. Nessa noticed Scorpius sitting alone on the couch, while his friends sat across from him, and she quickly made her way sitting close enough to him but far enough so Rose could sit next to him. Rose made a face, but sat in the middle of Nessa and Scorpius.

Scorpius put an arm around Rose, "Hey."

She smiled, "Hey."

It had been a while since she felt like this. Her stomach was doing flips, her heart was beating faster and her cheeks turned bright pink.

"Are you feeling okay?" he asked her gently.

"Yeah, I'm good. You?" she asked.

Before he could reply, Professor McGonnagall walked in the door. The chatter stopped immediately.

"Students," Professor started, "We have been told that the Chamber of Secrets has been opened. We have no suspects for to whom might've opened. So if any of you know who could've opened it, please tell any of the staff. Otherwise the school will be closed."

Every student looked at each other with fear. Rose looked down. It was Tom, but she couldn't sell him out like that. He had no-where else to go. Hogwarts was his only home.

"What could happen to the person who opened it?" Rose asked.

"They'd be expelled and sent home." Professor McGonnagal answered.

Rose frowned. She couldn't sell him out. He didn't do anything bad to her, he took her there, that's all. She didn't sell him out to her parents, she didn't say he took her to the Chamber, all she said was that she was taken by someone. She couldn't do that to him, specially because he let her go and she hurt him.

Scorpius push her hair to the back of ear and whispered, " Do you think it was Tom?"

"I don't know," she said quietely, even though she knew perfectly that he did.

"Who told you the Chamber of Secrets had been opened?" some first year shouted from the back of the room.

"The Head Boy did." Professor said before leaving.

***

Scorpius ran behind to Professor McGonnagal, attempting to catch u to her fast steps.

"Professor, please, wait!" Scorpius screamed, while being pulled back by some students from across the hall.

She stopped in her track, "What can I help you with, Malfoy?" she said. 

"I think I know who opened the Chamber, professor." he said humblely.

She raised her eyebrows and thinned her lips, "And who might that be?"

"Tom, professor." He quickly looked up, "How else would he be able to know that it was opened? We don't know where he came from and who is. For all we know, he could be Lord Voldemort's son."

"That's a very serious accusation, Mister Malfoy," she let her eyebrows down, "do you stand by it with all your might?"

"Yes, professor." He nodded.

"Very well. I will talk to him and see what I can do." She left Scorpius being dragged by students who were moving into their classes.

***

In a tall staircase, students went up and down depending on their destination. Professor McGonnagal approached and everyone seemed to stop to see what was going to happened. She drew near to Tom who was proudly standing in a flat part of the stairwell with his Head Boy badge and his green, silver and black robes. He looked up the staircase and saw Rose and Rachael standing quietly. Rose looked  extremely pale.

Suddenly, everyone was quiet.

"It has been alledged that you were the one who opened the Chamber of Secrets, Tom." said Professor McGonnagall.

Tom looked stiff, "If I did, why would I have told you about it."

"Possibly to get the attention off of your back," Professor McGonnagall said calmly, "We'll have to send you back."

"Professor, I have nowhere to go!" Tom was pale now.

Without thinking, Rose rushed down the stairs and put herself in front of Tom. She felt very dizzy.

"No, you can't take him," Rose managed to utter, "He didn't do it."

She looked at him, then back to Professor McGonnagall, and said, "I did it. I opened the Chamber of Secrets."

Everyone around gasped. 'Rose, what are you doing?' Rachael thought, knowing very well that Rose did not do it, 'I need to tell Scorpius.'

Professor McGonnagall was in disbelief. Rose Weasley, one of the best and brightest, second placed by her mother, had opened the Chamber of Secrets. She could not believe such words could make a sentence. She was not sure on what to say, Albus Dumbledore would have known exactly what to say, but Minerva was rather taken aback by Rose's braveness and honesty. Professor McGonnagal was most surprised of why such girl, who clearly couldn't have done it, took the blame for such a brutal crime, and not be a Gryffindor. This was proof to all students that just because one is in such house, it does not mean one isn't fit to be in any other house.