The Devil You Know | Wizarding World

chapter fourteen | letting your guard down

Rosie had a hard time focusing during Dumbledore's Army meetings for the next few weeks.

After what happened in Umbridge's office with the tea spiked with Veritaserum, she couldn't help but worry over what the woman was up to regarding finding out about the organization. She didn't say anything about the incident to Harry, not wanting to feed her anxiety onto him over what happened. Besides, she was still thinking about how he'd react if he found out that she told Adam about Dumbledore's Army.

It seemed like being paranoid was all Rosie did nowadays, but really, who wasn't concerned with how things were going all over the castle and Wizarding world at the moment?

It was a nice Saturday afternoon as Rosie was eating lunch in the Great Hall, finding it to be the start of a relaxing afternoon for herself. She was enjoying a sandwich and some fruit when she saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione entering the Great Hall and strolling in between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables, their expressions blank as they took seats near Rosie.

"Afternoon, Rosie," Harry said.

"Afternoon," she repeated.

"Did you hear about Umbridge's High Inquisitorial Squad?" Ron spoke up, letting out a scoff afterwards. "Apparently, she's now got them patrolling with Prefects after hours."

"Well, we all know why she's doing it," Harry added. "And we're not going to let any of them catch Dumbledore's Army."

Rosie stayed quiet as she tried to finish the rest of her lunch. In all honesty, this was the last subject she wanted to hear about, and it made her tense up a little.

"Is everything all right, Rosie?" Hermione asked.

Snapping her head up, she glanced at the three staring at her, to which she quickly nodded her head. "Yeah, I'm fine. If you'll excuse me, I need to get some air." Rosie shot up from her seat before any of them could ask her any more questions, hurrying out of the Great Hall and down the corridor, not slowing down even when she made it outside.

The spring air was just a relief as Rosie took a deep breath and continued to walk farther away from the castle. She needed some time alone, time to think about everything and what to do once things did get worse, which she had a feeling that they would. But when that day would come, she had no idea. Either way, just having to prepare for it was worrisome, as she didn't know where to even start.

"Rosie!"

She turned around, stopping when she saw Adam dashing her way, and she was close to rolling her eyes.

"Hey," he said as he approached her, panting.

"What do you want?" she asked, crossing her arms.

"I need to talk to you."

"About what?"

"About...well, you know what."

Rosie shook her head in response. "There's nothing to discuss. You clearly don't want my help."

With a sad look, Adam sighed. "It's...it's a complicated situation, Rosie, and the last thing I want is for you to get hurt."

"I won't get hurt."

"You don't know that."

Her face fell. "I just hate that you're miserable in this relationship, and imagining you and Greer married--"

"I know." He paused, another sigh escaping his mouth. "But I really am handling it. Everything will be sorted soon."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

A small smile formed across her face, knowing that Adam could get out of this if he fought hard enough. Still, she couldn't help but have doubts over it, scared that maybe it wouldn't work out in the end. It was just another thing Rosie had to worry about.