Enclosed

Chapter Twenty-Nine: Scorpius

Scorpius.

He was the first thing on her mind every morning. The last thing that left her thoughts as she drifted off into dream world. Most of the time even her dreams weren't safe from him. 

It was rare he left her mind at all in the four days since he was kidnapped. There hadn't been a moment where Rose's thoughts weren't consumed with worry for him. 

In those four days, she'd done her best to settle in to Malfoy Manor. It was just as Scorpius had described it in those moments they talked about their childhood. The walls were covered with old photos of the Malfoy family tree. Dusty green drapes hung over each portrait. Scorpius told her that when Astoria went through the house redecorating she hadn't been able to get the portraits off the walls (Rose suspected a permanent sticky charm), so drapes and constant silencing charms were the only solution. 

The Manor did its best to present a joyful front. Rose could tell how much time Astoria spent trying to install happy memories in the rooms. The walls were all newly painted a warm brown. Glittering chandeliers hung in every hallway and the main foyer. Childhood photos of Scorpius were on every available wall space. The furniture was all modernized and colorful. Vases of tall flowers stood in every room: bluebells, daffodils, tulips, sunflowers, wisterias, lilies, and roses. 

She couldn't help but admire how beautiful of a home Astoria had made it. It just felt strange being there without Scorpius. 

Rose gave up trying to map out the manor. It was a maze within a maze. Draco wasn't lying when he said she'd have a whole wing to herself. Her room was on the third floor and overlooked the Malfoy garden. She half expected peacocks to stroll through the garden, but Draco assured her they got rid of the birds years ago.

Her room was about as large as her flat and had a fully stocked bathroom attached. The house elves were kind enough to unpack her trunk. If Rose weren't staying at the Manor as a kindness she would have scolded Draco about the barbaric keeping of house elves. Scorpius already got an earful from her months ago.

Rose's clothes were neatly color-coordinated in the closet (now she knew why Scorpius was such a neat freak) and all her books were alphabetized in the six-shelf bookcase by her bed. Intricate paintings of brightly colored flowers hung on every wall and were enchanted to smell like a garden. The walls were painted a sky blue, the ceiling charmed to form clouds. 

There were five other bedrooms in her wing alone, all ready to house a guest if needed, seven washrooms, a dueling practice room, a classroom, and a small library (the main Malfoy library was on the first level) down the hall with a large L-shaped desk that Rose set her office up in. There was a green chaise lounge where she'd take a few hours' naps when her body stopped functioning due to lack of sleep. She'd taken down paintings of old Wizarding London and put them behind a bookshelf. Leaving a blank wall to remake the theories board. 

She'd spent every waking moment in the office, only emerging to use the restroom and get Al's daily letters. Each afternoon when they'd arrive, Rose bounded down the stairs followed closely behind by Draco to get updates about their search for Scorpius. Each time they were met with disappointment. 

Al's updates were minimal. They couldn't find a trace of Scorpius or Pious. The Aurors were scouring the continent but there was no trace of them. All known Reformed members had gone underground the minute Pious escaped Azkaban. 

The Reformed Rose and Scorpius managed to subdue in the alleyway had disappeared before Albus and his team could capture them. Rose blamed herself for not taking more precautions before running to the ministry. 

Luckily they still had all the members they'd captured, including the group that failed to break Pious out. Al and Uncle Harry were rotating questioning the members they still had locked up. They hadn't gotten anything out of them and Rose knew their chances of getting information weren't great. It took Scorpius months to build up a relationship with Melanie to get information from her. Harry and Al didn't have the time to do that. It was a frugal attempt.