Rose Weasley

Gone and Stolen

Scorpius steered Rose out of the greenhouse with such force she had no time to object. But once she realised how hard he was gripping her wrist, she dug her feet into the soil, making him stumble.

"What are you doing?" She spat as she snatched her hand out of his grasp, glaring at him venomously.

"What's in your pocket?" He said bluntly, batting her aside her question.

"That's none of your business!" Rose spluttered indignantly. Scorpius seemed unfazed by her growing anger, and pressed on.

"It's was obviously something because I saw you snatched whatever it was from the ground as soon as it burst from that bloody flower."

Rose looked furious, but before she could retaliate with an equally snide remark, wshe paused.

"You were watching me."

Scorpius started to protest, yet his calm demure had washed away, and Rose sensed a hint of panic behind his level voice.

"Watch your back Malfoy," She said coldly, "before you watch mine."

Swiftly she marched away from Scorpius, and he let her. But if she had turned around, she would have seen that his panicked expression had gone, replaced with a smug smile, as he toyed with a small object in his pale hand.

-------

It wasn't until that night when she realised that the ring was gone.

Rose had stayed in the common room, pretending to read Quidditch Throughout The Ages on one of the plush sofas; waiting for everybody to retire to their dorms so she could examine the ring better.

Once the last person sleepily climbed up the stairs, she reached into her robe pocket, but grasped thin air. Confused, she checked her other pocket, only to find it was empty as well. Heart thudding, she searched under all the pillows on the sofa, on the desks, even under the throw rug.

The ring had vanished.

Scouring her mind back, Rose tried to remember where she could have left it. Only to get confused, then angry, and then kick one of the cushions she had thrown to the floor.

With all the ruckus she was making, it was no surprise when Priya, her other best friend, hurried downstairs; thinking she had been attacked by some ghastly beast, and not a stroke of forgetfulness. After 20 minutes of trying to calm her down, the two of them were sitting in an armchair; Priya slumped in the corner, stifling a yawn. Rose had a defeated look on her face, head in hands.

"So tell me again what happened." Priya said, breaking the long silence.

Rose explained the whole story, her voice wavering when she mentioned Malfoy. Priya unconsciously ran a hand through her sleek black hair, and it quivered to her touch, turning from black to purple, then to a pale pink, then to a faint orange.

"I'm telling you Priya, he was watching me!"

"Sure he was Rosie."

"In fact, I bet it was him that stole the ring, the snake."

"Oh come on. He is a snake, but a thief? I have a bit of trouble thinking of a reason he would ruin his golden reputation."

Rose sucked in a breath, desperatly trying to remember what had happened earlier that day.

"Look, Rosie: If it makes you feel any better, I'll ask him myself."

Rose snorted.

"Because nobody can resist your natural charm, huh Priya."

"Yea, not even Malfoy."