A Rose in a Million • Rose Weasley

Chapter 13

Scorpius and I walked into the the Great Hall for breakfast. After last night we were back on good terms, something that I was really happy about it. Those brief hours were Scorpius had been mad at me were absolutely torturous.

As we walked into the Great Hall that morning, we felt everyone's eyes on us. My cheeks reddened and even Scorpius, who normally did not get embarrassed easily, was clearly uncomfortable by all of the staring. 

"Is it just me or is everyone staring at us?" I whispered under my breath as we walked to the Gryffindor table.

"Not just you, Weasley." He responded and I was surprised to hear just how unnerved he was by all of this.

We saw Emma, Alice, Albus and Nicoletta already there eating breakfast. As we were sitting down to eat with them, the people next to us visibly scooted away. It was almost like they were scared to touch us, like we were contagious or something. 

"Why is everyone staring at us?" I asked my friends, my cheeks getting redder the longer people stared.

They were silent for a minute. At last, Alice spoke but her words were far from reassuring. "No one's staring at you, Rose. They're staring at Scorpius."

At our confused looks, Emma sent us an apologetic smile that I had never seen on her face before. I found the fact that she even knew how to make an apologetic face strange. "I take it you haven't read the Daily Prophet yet."

"What's in it?" Scorpius asked curiously, yet I could tell that there was a side of him that was scared to find out.

"See for yourself." Emma said, sliding the Daily Prophet to us.

Albus took it from Emma before either I or Scorpius could get to it. Scorpius outstretched his arm to take it from Albus, but Albus held it away from his reach. "Mate, trust me, you don't want to read it." He warned, a cautionary glint in his eye.

Scorpius frowned. "Give it here." Reluctantly, Albus handed it to him but not before giving him a certain look.

Scorpius read the article, his eyebrows furrowing the further along he read. I peaked over his shoulder to try and see what it said.

Last night, at approximately 11 o'clock, there was an explosion at Azkaban. Thus far, there are 10 known casualties with many of the bodies yet to be identified. Despite the casualties, it is believed that Lucius Malfoy, Antonin Dolohov, Augustus Rookwood, Alecto and Amycus Carrow, and Yaxley escaped and may be responsible for the explosion. It is common knowledge that all of the escapees were death eaters during the Second Wizarding War begging the question of why they escaped. Could they be planning something? And could their children or their grandchildren be the next generation in another deadly war of good vs. evil? As of right now, the Auror Department is taking all the precautions necessary to ensure the safety of all magical creatures...

My eyes widened as I read the article. It was bad. Not because former death eaters had escaped Azkaban but because of what the article was implying. I checked to see Scorpius' reaction but he had an unreadable expression on his face. He put the newspaper down, all the while his face never revealing his true emotions.

I turned to my friends, a strange look on my face. "What? People think Scorpius had something to do with it?" At the stony looks on my friend's faces, I cracked a feeble smile. "Don't be daft."