A Rose in a Million • Rose Weasley

Chapter 10

A/n: Back again with another update! Don't forget to comment and vote! Happy reading :)

The voices belonged to none other than mum, dad, and uncle Harry. I recognized their voices the moment I heard them. And in that moment, I knew, I knew something bad had happened.

They rarely came to Hogwarts and when they did they always, always told us they were coming. The fact that they hadn't told me they were coming scared me. It was obvious they were trying to keep their presence a secret, but why?

I know that it's wrong to eavesdrop, but this seemed important. And the fact that they were being so secretive, only made me more curious. Whatever it was, it was bad and they didn't want anybody knowing.

"Minerva, you and I both know that it isn't safe out there any more." A voice that I recognized as uncle Harry's said. He sounded frustrated as if he couldn't quite believe that he was saying that.

"You're quite right. But the last thing we need is for parents to panic." McGonagall responded, her voice unwavering.

"Maybe they should panic." My dad muttered, and I already knew that my mum had probably sent him a look for that comment.

"I beg you to reconsider. Just in the last five months, there has been an increase in activity of magical creatures. They're showing up in places they shouldn't be. Almost as if they were running away." This time my mum spoke, but her voice no longer held the certainty and assurance that it always did, the same certainty that I had come to know very well. This had her a lot more nervous than she'd liked to admit and it was evident.

"I mean, just last week a giant was discovered in the middle of London. Complete nightmare of a case. Ended up obliviating a sizable amount of muggles' memories." My dad said, his tone deadly serious. Merlin, if my dad was taking things seriously, then this was bad. Really bad.

"What do you think could be causing all of this?" McGonagall asked.

Uncle Harry sighed, a heavy and long sigh. A sigh that sounded much too old to belong to him.
"I have no idea. But whatever it is, it is clearly dangerous enough to have the others scared. If you ask me that's quite terrifying in itself."

                                 ***
The minute I heard what Uncle Harry said, I ran.

I kind of forgot why I had been sent to McGonagall in the first place, hence why I ran back to the common room.

My friends were all huddled in a circle, playing what looked to be like an intense game of exploding snaps. Usually, I would join but I had more important things on my mind, in particular the whole the wizarding world is dangerous again thing. That sort of thing tends to put a damper on people's moods.

As soon as Scorpius saw me, he sent me a smile but I was so wrapped up in my head that I didn't notice it. His smile disappeared and was replaced with a confused expression.

He put his cards down and walked towards me, much to the disarray of the others who were still playing. He sat on the edge of the sofa I was sitting on and it was only then that I noticed his presence.

I looked up at him, my face expressing the thousands of fleeting thoughts and feelings flying through my head. For the first time, I wasn't thinking about how fast my heart was beating or the way I always felt like a first year around him, I was too concerned with what I had just learned. He met my expression with a questioning look and I shook my head. Not here, not in this place where anybody could hear.

Scorpius nodded and took my hand. He led me past the hoards of rowdy Gryffindors, past the few students milling around the corridors, and past the Ravenclaw tower.

I already knew where he was taking me. It was our place, a place that belonged to only us, a place where we could be alone.

I sighed in content as we reached our destination; the astronomy tower. Merlin, I loved this place.

The slight breeze ruffled my hair, but I didn't mind and I smiled when I noticed that we had come just in time to see the sunset. Someplace along the line, I had removed my hand from Scorpius' grasp as I was now very close to the edge while Scorpius was still behind. I leaned my body against the railing, taking it all in.

Not a lot of people tended to come up here due to the unfortunate rumor that it's haunted by the ghost of the last headmaster. I seriously doubted that, but nonetheless I wasn't about to tell people otherwise. This was Scorpius and I's place and I wanted it to stay like that for as long as possible.

Scorpius walked towards me and he too placed his hands on the railings. He looked at me, his expression conveying his concern. "What's wrong, Rose?"

I sighed. "Everything."

"Does it have anything to do with Professor Taylor?"

"To hell with Professor Taylor." I muttered and Scorpius chuckled in reply.

I shook my head and bit my lip. "No, it's worse. So much worse. The world is turning to shit."

"As if it wasn't already."

I took a deep breath before speaking but I'm certain that my voice was shaking. "I overheard mum and dad, and uncle Harry talking about it. About how it isn't safe here anymore."

"And you're sure it was your parents and Harry?"

"Absolutely. I was raised by them, I would recognize their voices anywhere."

We stood there for a while, letting the silence wrap around us, both of us lost in our own thoughts. It wasn't until much later that I realized that we had completely missed the sunset. Now, there was just the odd sprinkling of stars dotting the midnight blue sky. We stood there, illuminated merely by the small silver of moon and the stars that tried to shine brightly.

"Scorp, what do we do?" I broke the silence, my voice sounding much too loud in the quiet of the night.

He shrugged his shoulders and frowned. I could practically see the cogs whirling in his head. "Honestly, I don't know. But we can't tell anybody else, not even our friends. The last thing they need is to worry about this. For all we know, this could be nothing."

"For once, I really hope you're right."

"So do I."

***

By the time we returned to the Gryffindor tower, it was late. Really late.

I quietly said my goodbyes to Scorpius making sure to not make any noise as we both went our separate ways.

I was just glad this day was over. I was emotionally spent and at this point, I more than welcomed sleep.

To say that I was happy when I saw my bed was an understatement. I was beyond relieved.

As I tip-toed to my bed, I accidentally bumped into Nicoletta's bed. I paused and cursed myself for my clumsiness. I expected Nicoletta to wake up or at least to turn over but I heard nothing.

Intrigued, I crept closer to Nicoletta's bed but when I looked, there was no one there.

She had left yet again. And now, I was considering more than ever, the possibility that she wasn't simply in the bathroom or in the kitchens. Wherever she was going, it couldn't be good.