Disclaimer: JKR owns.
Lost Daughter
Chapter 16: Close Calls and First Sights
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[AN] Long chapter. Just putting all my ducks in a row…
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"I'm sorry to just show up," Harry said as he walked into Hermione's classroom, "Were you about to go to bed?"
Hermione looked down at her sleep clothes, "Oh, no. I-I just figured I'd change."
"Oh."
The two were quiet for a moment, both avoiding each other's eyes at all cost. After a few moments Hermione cleared her throat awkwardly, "Um, do you want to sit?"
Harry let out a laugh looking at the desk, "Sure Professor. I apologize for not being in uniform," he joked, going to sit down at the desk.
Hermione grinned, "You forgot your books as well. That's not a good way to impress a new professor."
"I'll be sure not to forget anything next time."
Hermione noted his implication of next time with a slight flutter of her heart as she sat down next to him. Silence engulfed the two yet again.
"So how was your day?" Harry asked, deciding to break the ice.
"Good. Rose and Hugo came and surprised me in the morning with presents and a birthday cake."
"Did you hear from Ron at all?" He knew that this was technically none of his business, but he
was curious.
Hermione shook her head, "Rose said she wrote him but he never showed. Fine by me."
"So this divorce is real then?"
Hermione narrowed her eyes, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing," Harry said, shaking his head defensively, "Just that… you're taking all this on by yourself. It's quite brave of you."
"Oh. Yeah, I guess." Without realizing she was doing so, her hand reached up to the necklace Amia had given her earlier. She completely believed in what Mia told her about the gift; taking the step to file for divorce already made Hermione feel stronger.
Harry noticed her toying with the jewellery, "That`s a nice necklace. Is it new?"
"Oh, yeah. Mia gave it to me."
Harry look surprised, "She gave you that?"
"Yes. It was a huge surprise; I didn't even tell her it was my birthday."
"She gave you a gift though. That must mean a lot," Harry said. He was amazed at how close the two of them had seemed to have gotten after only such a short period of time. He didn't want to mention it to Hermione though; he didn't want her to know he was jealous…
A faraway smile spread easily over Hermione's face, "She's very thoughtful. I think I'm really starting to get through to her. The other day we had a nice chat about relationships. She's even given me advice on Ron and how to tell the kids since she's a child of divorce as well."
"She knows about you divorcing Ron?" Harry asked, shock laced in his tone.
Hermione nodded, "Yeah, I figured I should explain a little after he barged in the other day."
"Wow," Harry muttered, turning to look off into the classroom, "You two really are hitting it off, huh?"
Hermione didn't notice the look of longing on Harry's face, "Yeah. It's funny how life can surprise you, sometimes when you're least expecting it."
Harry nodded jerkily, "Yeah… I um, got you something as well."
Quietly, he placed a small square case in front of Hermione. Something about the maroon case looked familiar to her.
"Harry, you didn't have to buy me anything," she said, her stomach doing back flips as she took the small box in her hand.
"I didn't buy it. Well I did, but that was a long time ago…"
"What?" Hermione asked confused.
He smiled, "Just open it."
Hermione stared down at the case for another few seconds before prying it open with her fingertips. A gasp escaped her as she saw the object nestled inside, "Oh my god… Harry, where did you find this? I thought I'd lost it forever!"
With the gentlest touch, she reached in and picked up her old crystal bracelet. She delicately touched the two angel wings guarding the little onyx stone in between them. She brushed her thumb over the `Hope' engraved on the stone. Tears pooled in her eyes as she remembered Harry giving the bracelet to her on her 19th birthday and all of the fond memories that had followed. This bracelet had been with her through the best times of her life. She had been devastated when she thought she'd lost it, but here Harry was, like her knight in shining armour presenting it to her again. It was a silly muggle metaphor, she knew, but that's how he seemed to her right now. Especially as he flashed her his most charming, lop-sided smile.
"I went back to the old flat and found it," he revealed.
Hermione gasped again, "You went back to our old flat?"
"Yeah. I go to Boston everyone in a while and stop in. Then I remembered the bracelet at work today and I figured I'd go."
Hermione's mouth hung open for a few seconds as she tried to wrap her brain around what he'd just said, "I-I've never even given any thought to what would happen to it… all of our stuff…"
He shrugged, "Everything's still there. Exactly how we left it."
"You… you don't have… trouble… being there?"
Harry was quiet for a few moments and for a brief second Hermione thought maybe she'd overstepped her bounds. Maybe they weren't ready to talk about all that just yet… But then, Harry shrugged lightly again.
"I did a lot when I first started going, but that was back when we first split up…"
Hermione averted her eyes from his at the mention of their split.
"But now, ironically enough, I feel like it's my sort of sanctuary."
"How soon did you go back?" Hermione whispered a few moments later after debating with herself over whether or not she should ask.
Harry looked at her, "That was the first place I went after Los Angeles."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Hermione didn't have to ask why, "You were waiting for them weren't you?"
Harry looked to her again, letting her know the answer by the depth of his stare. She inhaled sharply and turned away from his burning gaze.
Harry put a hand on hers, "We don't have to talk about this if you don't want to."
"No, I do want to. I feel like a proper idiot that I've never cared to ask you what you did when we separated. I mean, I cared it's just…"
"We were trying to move on," Harry answered for her, rather dully.
Hermione bit her lip, "Right."
Another silence rolled through the classroom. It was neither tense nor uncomfortable, however both could tell they were avoiding the things that they really wanted to say. The practice of self control was something that they'd both mastered over the years…
Harry was the first to break the silence, but only because he couldn't not. The feeling of her hands still resting softly under his was doing things to him, and while he'd rather be crucio'd then move his hand, he didn't want to get lost in the feeling of her skin under his again. With that thought in mind, he spoke,
"Did you ever think seventeen years ago that this is where we'd end up?"
"I did a lot of imagining back then, but this never made it in the group of possibilities," Hermione said quietly with a shake of her head.
She paused before looking down to her new watch. She smiled as she read the time, "Seventeen years ago… we were just about to go tour the Boston flat."
Harry nodded, thinking back yet again to her 19th birthday, "Yeah… and I had just gotten suspended from the auror program."
"And we had both just found out about Mia."
Harry shook his head, "Even though I'd just lost Teddy, I can still remember exactly how excited I felt over you being pregnant."
Hermione's smile trembled as her hand ran down her stomach, "I remember too."
Both of their minds slowly drifted back to how they celebrated their excitement on her birthday night. Harry squeezed her hand softly.
"Merlin… we were only kids back then."
She let out a fond breath, "Yeah…"
"Hard to imagine all the stuff we went through happening to other kids that age now," Harry said, thinking of James being only a few years older and having to deal with new fatherhood. The thought was so unrealistic he could hardly imagine it.
"Well, I couldn't have done half the things I did without you," Hermione said, nudging his arm.
Harry smirked, "Let's rephrase that: you couldn't have done half the things you did if it weren't for me."
She grinned, "You did get me into quite a bit of trouble."
"I'll say."
She laughed lightly as her thumb swiped over her bracelet still in her hand. She handed it out to Harry, "Will
you put it on me?"
"Sure."
"I always loved this you know," she revealed as he draped it over her bare wrist, "Before this I never liked jewellery."
He felt something like sunshine burst in his chest and spread throughout his entire body. "I'm glad," he said, trying to keep his smile under control.
When he looked up at her, finished with her bracelet, he found her to be smiling just as exuberantly. His light smile turned into a radiant grin at the sight of her, and they sat there for a few seconds basking in the surprise package of bliss.
After a second though, Hermione's teeth came over to clamp down on her lip. Harry felt his leg twitch so he forced himself to look away as she asked, "Are you thirsty? Neville brought by some wine earlier."
Harry took in a quick breath and nodded, "Wine sounds good."
Hermione pushed her chair back and stood, "I'm pretty sure I have some glasses but
if not I can transfigure some," she said, starting to stride off to her personal quarters.
"Okay," Harry agreed, still sitting at the desk. He took a second there, gulping and barraging himself to calm down. She was so close and his body was clearly starting to react. He didn't know what good or bad her personal quarters and a bottle of wine would do, but he didn't want to leave just yet. He couldn't leave now.
He paused for one more second before getting up from the desk and following her further off into the room.
…
Rose had no idea where they were walking to. She hadn't been paying attention to her surroundings ever since they met up with the two Slytherins. She'd barely taken to the surprise that hit her as they made their way down a narrow passageway that a statue of a one-eyed witch had been covering. She'd heard her cousin talk about the secret passage into Hogsmeade, but had never cared to check it out herself.
The rest of the walk down the passage, and coming out of Honeydukes into Hogsmeade meant little to her. She couldn't even have told you how long the walk took. All she had been concerned with was the boy walking closely behind her. He had removed his hand from its place on her back when they first climbed down the passage but he hadn't put any distance between them.
Rose's mind was in a tizzy. Why had Amia invited Scorpius? What was she hoping to get out of tonight? She didn't think her new friend was trying to embarrass her or anything, but she couldn't think of a proper explanation as to why this would make her let loose. Scorpius Malfoy being there and hanging around her was only going to make her tense, awkward, and nervous the entire night. And when Rose saw the building they were approaching, it only made another wave of unease wash over her.
Ministry of Sound was the popular night club in Hogsmeade. Rose had never stepped foot in the place but she'd heard her older cousin Victoire gossip about it. Rose seemed to be the only unsure one in the group as they approached the entrance.
Amia didn't stop at the end of the queue however, and continued walking up until she reached the front entryway. Even though she was the newest one to the town and had never been to the club before, she stopped in front of the bouncer with an air of total calm and confidence.
"Hey, I know you work here and everything, but I was wondering if I could ask your opinion on something?" she spoke, sounding like she had said the same line a thousand times before.
The large muscled bouncer gave her a once-over before grinning, "Sure sweetheart."
Amia went on, twisting her hands innocently in front of her, "I'm new to English clubs, so I was wondering is this one better or that place down in the lower lanes? This one has a longer queue, that's for sure."
The bouncer flashed her a smug look, "I guarantee you will have nothing but an outrageous night here."
"Yeah? The line is really long though…"
The bloke winked at her, "I can help you with that." Almost as if the bouncer was under Amia's spell, he lifted the rope and stood back so that she could pass.
Mia smiled winningly, "Thanks Gerard."
"Anything for such a beautiful woman."
Rose watched in awe as Amia stepped through easily and started into the club. Lorenzo followed behind her. Rose was next but right as she was about to pass the rope, the bouncer put a hand up.
"How old are you?"
Rose froze. She opened her mouth and struggled to formulate an answer.
The bouncer immediately saw through her hesitancy, "No students allowed-"
"She's with me," Scorpius said, stepping forward. Rose felt his shoulder bump into hers and his warm hand reach down to take hers.
The guard glanced sceptically down to their intertwined hands, "She's with you?"
"Yes," Scorpius repeated in a firmer tone.
The bouncer looked up to the boy before shrugging, "No problem then. Have a nice night Mr. Malfoy."
"Cheers."
Rose was lost as Scorpius tugged her forward. What was that about? Had Scorpius been there before? But if he had, wouldn't the bouncer know that he was a student too?
Just as she felt herself beginning to breach more theories, she told herself to forget about it. Amia came up grinning and with Scorpius's hand still in hers, it was hard not to smile back.
"Let's go get drinks!" Amia yelled over the loud music pulsing through the entry room.
"You think you can lure the bartender into getting us free drinks as well?" Lorenzo asked with a snaky tone.
Mia raised an eyebrow, "Jealous much?"
"If I was an attractive young American, I'd be getting let into clubs for free too!"
Amia rolled her eyes, "Talk, talk, talk. Why don't you come buy me a drink so everything you're saying can become more interesting."
Rose and Scorpius couldn't help but laugh while Lorenzo obviously reddened and stuck his tongue out at Mia. She nudged the boy playfully before heading down the spiral staircase leading to the dance floor and bar.
Lorenzo and Mia stopped at a free spot at the bar. Rose slid up next to Mia but then frowned as she felt Scorpius's hand pull away from hers. She became confused as she glanced back and watched him walk further down the bar.
She turned back to the bar shyly, letting her eyes dance over all the different vibrant bottles of alcohol. She took in an apprehensive breath.
"What do you want?" asked Mia, leaning close to Rose so that she wouldn't have to shout.
Rose bit her lip as her brain scrambled for any idea of what to order. After a couple moments, she came up empty handed. She shrugged helplessly, "I don't know. I've never drank before. I don't even know what there is to order."
Amia senses that the redhead was feeling a little overwhelmed. She put her arm around her hoping to calm her nerves, "Look, I'm not going to make you drink if you don't want to. Just get a soda or something," she advised soothingly.
Rose nodded, "Okay…"
"You know not to take anything from random guys, right?" Mia asked her again, this time her eyebrows furrowed in concern.
Rose nodded, trying to hide her smile. The look Mia was giving her reminded her a lot of her mum. Rose looked back to the bottles as Mia flagged down the bartender and ordered. Maybe she could get away with just water…
Mia took an exploratory sip of her drink as the attractive bartender gave it to her with a wink. She looked around, checking on the whereabouts of someone before she turned back to Rose, "I'm going to dance. Smile. You're having fun!"
"Mia-" Rose tried as her friend slipped easily into the crowd behind them. She stopped short when she saw Scorpius siding up to her.
He handed her a glass of brown liquid, "Here, I got this for you."
"Oh…" Rose took it, her mind automatically jumping back to the advice Mia had just given her about taking drinks from blokes.
"It's rum and coke," Scorpius told her, taking a sip from his own drink. He had a glass of amber liquid with a few ice cubes in it. "Very muggle. I figured you wouldn't know what to order."
Rose flushed, "Oh… thanks…"
Scorpius paused at the look on her face. He quickly realized that she thought he`d criticized her. "Not like that," he amended, "It just doesn't seem like you're a big drinker."
"I'm not," Rose told him with a shake of her head. She was staring intently at her drink, feeling too unworthy to meet his eyes.
"I figured." Scorpius took another swig.
Rose was suddenly compelled to prove that she could at least drink. She took a long pull from the alcohol-mixed soda and squinted as it rolled down her throat. She swallowed harshly and wiped her tongue over her lips before willing together the confidence to look up at him, "Are you?"
The blonde frowned, "What?"
She leaned in closer so he could hear, "Um, do you drink a lot?"
"During the summer, sure."
"Oh, that's nice."
Scorpius faltered and hurried to rectify himself, "That's not all I do during the summer. Just occasionally."
Rose nodded mechanically before raising her glass to her lips again. Scorpius turned away, his cheeks burning red. He cursed himself mentally for caring about what she thought of him and slipping up in front of her. He let out a frustrated breath before masking his face again and turning back to her.
"I'm sure it's easy for you to get alcohol," Rose said, trying to be conversational.
Scorpius frowned, "What makes you say that?"
Rose lost herself with the look he gave her, "Uh, just that you have a lot of money…"
He didn't say anything in response that time. Just stared at her frowning.
"I mean, if you wanted to you could probably just ask. I'm sure no one would say no to you…" Rose could feel the heat stinging her cheeks as Scorpius continued to stare at her. She sighed in humiliation and shook her head, "I'm sorry," she muttered hopelessly, "I don't know what I'm talking about."
Scorpius sucked in a breath before leaning into her ear, "You need to relax. We're not in school right now, have a little fun."
"Fun," Rose repeated sardonically, "Right, I'm working on it."
"This isn't your idea of fun?"
"I don't know, I've never been to a place like this before," Rose admitted, taking a glance behind her. The music was still loud, filling every part of the club. Lights were flashing out on the dance floor making the crowd of bodies visible. Rose briefly wondered where Mia was out there and if she was having a good time. If this was Mia's idea of fun then surely it couldn't be so bad.
"This place is shit compared to some places in London," Scorpius told her after she turned back.
Rose looked at him, "Oh."
Scorpius sighed as Rose turned back away from him. He wondered if she thought he was a git for acting too pretentious. Serves him right for trying to impress a Weasley.
"I'm going to get another drink," he told her before quickly taking off to the other side of the bar.
"Okay," Rose answered, but the Malfoy was already making his way through the throng of people. She sighed to herself as the song changed into an upbeat tempo. She turned, figuring she'd try and look for Mia again. Honestly, she appreciated her friends attempt but it seemed like tonight was not going to work out for her. Maybe Rose just wasn't cut out for being spontaneous and fun. She couldn't even get a guy that Mia had obviously bribed to stay interested in her. She briefly wondered if Scorpius was so uninterested in her because she was simply boring and plain looking, or if it had more to do with her being a Weasley.
"Excuse me."
Rose turned around as someone tapped her on the shoulder. A decent looking bloke was standing behind her, smiling at her.
"I hope you don't mind me asking, but was that bloke here a moment ago your boyfriend?"
Rose frowns at his question but then realized he must`ve been referring to Scorpius. "Oh, no. He's not," she told him with a shake of her head.
The bloke grinned and inched a bit closer, "That's good for me then."
Rose frowned and tilted her head, genuinely confused, "What?"
"Can I get you a drink?"
"I already have one." Rose took a drink to prove her statement.
The bloke snorted, "Can I get you a real drink?"
Rose looked at him. Was this not a real drink? "Uh… okay…"
"I'm Connor," he said next with a bright smile, holding out his hand.
"I'm-"
"Taken. Let's go dance."
Rose didn't even have time to think as an hand slid down her arm and fastened to her hand. Next thing she knew, Scorpius was in front of them, leading them through the crowd towards the dance floor. She didn't want to look back just in case she found that Connor bloke glaring, or coming after them.
After they walked down some stairs, Scorpius turned around suddenly, making Rose walk into him. She apologized quickly at Scorpius's intense look, but he seemed to be staring at her for another reason.
"Look if you want to go back and talk to that bloke, you can. I guarantee you though, he's only trying to bed you."
Rose frowned, "No! I-I don't want to go back."
Scorpius's posture seemed to relax. Gently, he pulled her closer to him, "Let's dance then."
Rose looked around awkwardly, her lip clamped between her teeth. "I-I've never danced before…"
"You've never done a lot of things," Scorpius replied.
Rose blushed but was sidetracked as Scorpius yet again grabbed her. "Just move," he instructed, still drawing her in.
Rose's breath hitched as she felt her waist come against his. "Okay…" she mumbled as Scorpius began synchronizing her movements with his.
It wasn't long before Rose and Scorpius, both reeling from the close proximity of each other, were moving freely with the rhythm.
…
Harry grinned in delight as he took another drink of wine while Hermione laughed loudly.
"That night was awful," he continued after his drink, "I don't think I've danced since."
Hermione laughed again, shaking her head, "Oh it wasn't so horrible."
"You only say that because you went with a quidditch star and ended up snogging him at the end of the night," Harry jabbed.
Hermione blushed, smiling sheepishly, "Well yeah, but that's not the only reason I have fond memories of the Yule Ball."
Harry rested his head back against the wall as he thought back to that night. "That was the first night we both realized how beautiful you were. I think we both felt like daft gits knowing that Krum realized it first," he admitted, a nostalgic smile on his lips.
She gave him a soft smile before taking another drink.
"You and your affection for quidditch players…" Harry teased after a comfortable pause.
Hermione laughed into her drink. She nudged him, "Shut up."
"History doesn't lie…" he muttered, watching as Hermione looked away and grinned guiltily.
He watched her for a few moments out of the corner of his eye. He hadn't seen her this carefree and happy in a long time. The sight of her caused a rush of adrenaline to shoot through him, like it always did when he saw her smile because of him.
"Do you think it's weird that we keep seeing each other like this?" he asked nervously a couple of moments later. The question left his mouth before he could give it careful consideration.
To his great relief, Hermione answered quickly, "No. I like being able to talk to you."
"I do too."
"To be quite honest, I've really missed this. Thanks for coming by."
Harry looked down to her wrist where she was playing lightly with the bracelet. He smiled, "Well it's your birthday, I wanted to see you."
"It's sweet of you," Hermione said, looking up to him.
Harry got caught up in her eyes for a brief moment, but quickly calmed himself, "More wine?" he asked, running through his words.
Hermione nodded slowly, "Okay…"
Harry was picked up the bottle and began pouring the fine liquid into Hermione's cup. He was just finishing it off when suddenly there was startling BOOM.
The entire room lurched. Harry felt wine soak into his shirt as he jumped up. The windows rattled in their windowpanes as the BOOM shook the entire castle.
"What the hell was that?" Hermione asked, standing up in shock.
Harry pulled out his wand, "I don't know…"
Hermione reached for wand on the table top. They both looked around searchingly for a moment before the walls shook with another BOOM. It was stronger the second time around; both Harry and Hermione had to take a step back to steady themselves. Once the floor was still once more, Harry rushed to the window and looked down towards the grounds.
"Harry?" Hermione called out worriedly as a quicker BANG reverberated around them.
Harry pushed away from the window and started for the door, "I think someone's trying to break in. Stay here."
Hermione didn't think twice before she ran after him, "Harry wait!"
…
Rose and Scorpius danced for a good while before they bumped into Mia dancing with another guy, looking like she was thoroughly enjoying herself. Mia let out a joyous yelp as she saw her friends and lurched forward to wrap her arms around them,
"Let's go get more drinks!" she suggested excitedly, flashing a grin at the bloke she'd been dancing with before leading them back in the direction of the bar. There, they found Lorenzo already working down his sixth or seventh drink.
After they all received a new drink, they headed over to a booth to relax for a few minutes. They were there for about ten minutes, laughing and having a rather good time before several lights turned on, illuminating the club.
"It's closing already?" Mia asked with a sad groan.
"Back to Hoggy-warty-Hogwarts for us!" Lorenzo shouted, raising his cup into the air.
Scorpius laughed, "You shouldn't have let him drink so much, Mia." He and Rose were sitting together on one side of the booth. Scorpius seemed perfectly at ease but Rose was reeling as she sat so close to the boy she'd always dreamt about. She kept taking little sips from her drink, hoping that her mind would get the picture and calm down. If Scorpius was so calm then she would be too.
Mia rolled her eyes as she looked from Scorpius to Lorenzo sprawled out in the seat next to her, "Well now I know Italians aren't known for their drinking."
"Hey!" the other Slytherin boy yelled out, "It's `cause pasta and beer don't mix."
They all laughed as Mia pushed him out of the booth, "We'll take your word for it. Now let's go."
They had just started heading for the exit when Lorenzo yelled out again, "Shit! I lost my coat."
Mia stopped and gave him an annoyed look, "Ugh, let's go look for it. We'll meet you guys outside."
"Alright," Scorpius replied as Mia grabbed Lorenzo and headed back towards the dance floor. Rose saw him reach for her hand again and lifted it to meet his reach halfway. His eyes shot down to hers, making her blush under his gaze.
The two were pushed from behind by others trying to escape the club. Scorpius tightened his grip on her before leading her outside into the street. The night was a little chilly, but Rose was able to forget about the cold because of Scorpius's warm hold on her.
"Did you have fun tonight?" Scorpius asked her, his tone much lower now that he didn't have to shout over music.
Rose smiled, "Yeah. I had a great time! Did you?"
Scorpius grinned, "It was alright."
Rose blushed yet again as she felt her knees tremble. She had seen that grin before but it was the first time being directing at her.
While Rose was lost in thought, Scorpius glanced behind her, noticing a group of blokes staring at them.
"You sure do attract quite the crowd Weasley," he drawled, not looking away from them.
"Huh?"
Rose turned around and saw the group he was looking at. "Oh. That was the guy from earlier. I wish he'd stop staring at me," she muttered innocently, turning back to face him.
"Is he making you uncomfortable?" Scorpius asked her quietly.
She looked up at him and saw him staring at her intensely. She shifted under his gaze, feeling her heartbeat pick up, "Sorta."
"Well there's only two things you can do…"
"Like what?"
Scorpius took a step closer, his tone lowering, "You could shout at the tosser to go stare at someone else's bum."
Rose laughed, "Or?"
"Or…" There was a brief pause in which Rose swore that time stopped and the street became serenely quiet. She didn't detect Scorpius leaning in, and therefore explained why her eyes snapped open in utter surprise as his lips touched hers.
Her eyes stayed open for only a second before she slammed them shut. Whether she was imagining this kiss or not, she refused to stand there like some immature wide-eyed little girl, as if she had no idea what to do. She had no idea what to do, but she couldn't fight the urge to do something back as Scorpius moved his lips against her.
She pressed her lips gently back into his and relaxed her mouth as she felt him suck lightly at her lower lip. She didn't realize her vigour strengthen as his arms encircled her waist.
They finished with a long, drawn out kiss before Scorpius pulled away and looked at her. "Or you could send the message that your with someone else," he finished, staring intently into her eyes.
Rose didn't notice his look though because her eyes were glued to his lips. Her gaze never faltered as she sucked in a breath through her open mouth, "I-I don't like confrontation…"
Scorpius touched his forehead to hers. "I didn't think so," he muttered before his lips dipped down to hers.
Rose felt like there was an electric current running through her entire body. She could hardly tell what she was doing as her tongue came out to run along his lower lip, but Scorpius answered back eagerly, boosting her self-confidence.
She had never been entrapped by someone before, nor embraced so intimately. The fact that her first snog was happening right now with Scorpius Malfoy put all of her emotions into overdrive. Her brain seemed to melt as his hands came up to caress her face, locking her position as close to himself as possible.
His hands were just starting to trace down her body when somebody cackled loudly behind them.
"AHAHA! Look at `em! They're snogging!"
They broke the kiss with a disheartening squelch. Scorpius turned slowly, levelling Lorenzo with one of his most severe glares. Rose, already red as can be, peaked out from around him in time to watch Mia slap Lorenzo on the arm.
"Shut up!" she hissed at the Slytherin.
Lorenzo recoiled and held his hands up defensively, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
Amia turned back to the two with a sheepish look, "So… we should probably head back to the castle now."
Scorpius nodded gruffly, "Alright."
Without looking at her, he reached down and took Rose's hand. Rose thought her heart was going to pound out of her chest as they started walking down the street but found her attention diverted at the sight of several large men hanging out down by the train station. They were all dressed in what looked like Ministry robes.
"Are those aurors?" Rose asked, causing the others to look down at the men as well, "What are they all doing here?"
Amia shrugged, not really worried, "I don't know. We should hurry and get drunk boy here back to the castle though."
Rose wasn`t really listening, she was still staring at the aurors, her mind quickly wandering over the different possibilities. Scorpius noticed her still looking and tugged her closer to him.
They turned into the alley before Honeydukes instead of quietly having Mia lead them through the front. As they arrived at the back door of the candy shop, Rose realized they were taking a different route as to avoid the aurors. It was a bit darker going in through the back and a bit drafty once they got down into the tunnel back to school. Rose let a flattered smile spread over her lips as she felt Scorpius pull her closer.
About ten minutes later, the four were trekking up the stairs to climb back out onto the third floor of school. Mia exited gracefully first, and turned to wait for the rest of them. As Lorenzo was lifting himself out, he tripped over the ledge and tumbled to the ground. Mia couldn't help but laugh while Rose and Scorpius climbed out.
Scorpius smirked as Lorenzo struggled to stand. Rose looked amused as well, but was more interested in the map Mia suddenly had in front of her.
"Is that-"
"Yep. James let me borrow it for tonight. It's pretty fascinating to say the least," Mia replied, pouring over the corridors surrounding them.
Lorenzo then came up next to Mia, "What is that?"
"Nunya," Amia answered without looking at him.
The Slytherin's face scrunched in confusion, "What?"
"Nunya business," Amia said again, making Lorenzo laugh drunkenly. Amia smirked at him before looking to Scorpius, "You guys should have an easy shot back to the dungeons if you're careful on the stairs and go through the tapestry on the ground floor. We should go this way though…" she said to Rose, her eyes returning to the map.
"Oh, okay," Rose said, awkwardly looking down to her shoes. Now that they were being forced to go their separate ways, Rose was returning to the insecure, nervous mush she had been earlier. Scorpius didn't notice, or if he did, he didn't do anything about it.
"You're leaving me?" came Lorenzo's child-like voice. He was staring at Amia like a lost puppy.
Amia wasn't phased. She gave him a wry smile, "Hate to say it Mr. Italy but our adventure has come to an end."
"Do I get a goodnight kiss?"
She smiled, gently reaching up to caress the boy's face, "No."
Scorpius snickered at his housemate before he pulled Rose behind the statue with him. Her stomach somersaulted as he leaned down and kissed her again.
"Goodnight Rose."
She was still in a daze when she answered, "Goodnight."
Scorpius sent her one last staring look before grabbing his laughing mate and leading him off in the direction of the stairs.
Rose blushed and cleared her throat lightly as she turned back to Amia. She was sure her friend would have plenty to say about tonight and Rose wouldn't deny her all of the gratefulness she had to offer. However, when she looked up to her friend she was staring back down at the map, a troubled frown set over her mouth.
"Something wrong?"
Mia was quiet for a moment, "No…" she finally started to answer, "but there's people out everywhere tonight. Tons of students are out walking on the seventh floor… it looks like they're Hufflepuffs being led by Professor Marythorn…"
Rose frowned, "That's strange…"
Mia then jolted, "Shit, someone's coming- let's go!"
Without thinking, the two girls hurried away from one-eyed witch, going in the opposite direction of the random patrol. Mia had just hooked a right down a corridor and Rose was getting ready to follow when a voice echoed down the hall.
"Stop!"
Mia spun on her heal, about to grab Rose and make a dash for it, but Rose was frozen in a ray of wand light. Mia felt her shoulders sag as the sudden downer of being caught came over her. She was just about to step out with Rose when the voice spoke again.
"Rose Weasley, is that you?"
Rose, who had her hand raised to block the light from her eyes, glanced up at the man, "Dean?"
"It's Auror Thomas right now kiddo," Dean said, lowering his wand, "What are you doing out of bed so late? Were you trying to find where the rest of the students are meeting?"
Rose frowned, hoping her confusion wasn't so apparent to the auror, "Um, I was just trying to get back to my common room. What's going on?" she asked as curiously as possible, hoping to take the suspicion away from her.
"There's been an attempted- who've we got here?" he suddenly turned his wand down the corridor on the right, illuminating Amia in wand light. Luckily she had managed to hide the map before he noticed her.
Rose sidestepped next to Mia, "This is my friend Amia. We were both just trying to get back to Gryffindor tower."
Dean stared at her for a long second before he nodded, "Right, well come on then."
"We can get back okay by ourselves if you're too busy," Rose offered as Dean started off towards the grand staircase.
"Nonsense," he said while shaking his head, "I think your uncle is looking for you anyway," as he finished, the auror's eyes fell over the girls' outfits. He glanced up at Rose before turning away and continuing to lead the way.
Rose bit her lip nervously, "Uncle Harry is here?"
"Yes. He was here when the attempted break-in occurred."
Both Rose and Amia's attention cut back to Dean with shocked expressions. "Someone tried to break into the castle? Who? Why?" Rose asked as they stepped onto the stairs with the auror. Amia was quiet as she studied the auror intently.
"We're still trying to figure things out. Right now it's important that you two remain calm. Just do what you're told and keep a lookout and you'll be perfectly safe, okay?" he asked them, speaking rather cryptically.
The girls shared a look, "Alright…"
On their ascent up the stairs, they noticed just how many aurors were bustling around the castle. Groups of students were walking with their heads and other professors were out trying to assist the aurors. Amia briefly wondered where Hermione was and if she was running around with some aurors trying to figure out who would try and break into Hogwarts.
…
"James, I'm going to ask you one more time- where is Rose?" Harry asked firmly, levelling a penetrating look at his oldest son. He was the first one to show up in the Gryffindor common room after his fellow aurors had started to arrive. Anxiously, he watched as James, Albus, and Hugo filed downstairs with the rest of the Gryffindors, but Rose and Amia had come up missing.
He hadn't known exactly what to look for when it came to Amia, but he studied each girl that came down those stairs and he didn't think any of them fit the part of his and Hermione's daughter. Harry knew he couldn't ask for Amia since his kids were under the pretence that he didn't know she existed. Therefore he was using the absence of Rose as his fuel of interrogation, even though he was equally worried about his missing niece. He was hoping that when they found Rose, they'd find Amia too.
"Dad I honestly have no idea," James told him for the hundredth time, "Maybe she had patrols tonight and she's helping everyone out."
"I already checked with the other prefects and she wasn't on duty tonight. What's going on?"
James let out a frustrated sigh and he looked around the common room, trying to think of something else to say to his dad. He was going mental under his father's questioning. The truth was he knew that Mia and Rose had some little rendezvous planned- Mia had come to him earlier asking for the Marauder's Map (something that had come up during one of their nightly common room chats). However, he had no idea where they were or why they weren't back yet. He was just as concerned over this attempted break in, but wanted to get Harry off his back for a little bit so he could sort things out for himself.
"Did you check the library?" James offered, looking back to his dad.
"She would've been returned by now. This is serious James, if you know anything-"
"Dad, I don't know! She could be anywhere right now. The library, with Aunt Hermione, with the rest of the students…" James trailed off hopelessly, again looking back around the common room. He was running out of ideas to feed his dad. The thought that he'd just have to tell him the truth briefly entered his mind before his eyes rounded on the portrait hole. His heart skipped in relief as he saw two familiar faces coming through, "… Or she could be right behind you."
Harry raised his eyebrows and then spun around as James pointed behind him. Harry felt relief flow through him as he saw his niece, but then his eyes travelled to the girl standing behind her and his whole body froze. His eyes widened powerlessly as he took her in.
"Great night for a party, huh guys?" James asked sarcastically as he saw their dresses, though he was severely relieved that they were alright and that his dad could stop quizzing him now.
"Sorry!" Rose exclaimed, immediately tugging her dress down, "We didn't realize what was going on. We were… uh…"
"In the greenhouse, looking at some plants," Mia filled in for her, "Studying, you know…"
"Studying!" James rejoiced, "Such a believable activity for you two on a Saturday night. Now that this has all been resolved I think we should let Dad return to business and go to bed."
Mia nodded at him, "That's a good idea because we are really tired. Right Rose?"
"Yes! Super exhausted." Rose faked a yawn but it went unnoticed by Harry who was still staring unabashedly at Amia. He couldn`t be sure but he thought he felt tears welling up in his eyes as he continued to stare at the girl… his daughter… The last time he'd been with her she was only a couple hours old and now she was this beautiful sixteen year old, holding an amazing resemblance to Hermione.
And her eyes… the experience of having his own eyes stare back at him was something he'd never forget.
Amia was still staring back at Harry when Rose and James began to notice their silent exchange.
Rose cleared her throat, "Um, Uncle Harry this is my friend Amia. She's a transfer student from America."
"Nice to meet you," Mia greeted quietly before awkwardly looking away. She supposed she should've been used to the amount of staring that British adults did to her, but she'd be lying if she said it didn't make her feel self-conscious and nervous every time.
Harry seemed to snap back to reality as soon as the California girl looked away from him. He blinked several times and let out a loud breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
"It's late," he said rigidly a moment later, snapping back into auror mode, "You three should get to bed. Students are being taken to the Room of Requirement to sleep if you're too uncomfortable in your own beds. There will be aurors in the common room all night though so you will be… safe…" Harry finished with his eyes focusing back on Amia. He couldn't help but think that before he'd seen her it was easy to say that they needed to protect her as the Cooper's daughter… but seeing her now he was overcome with the sensation that he was seeing his daughter, again, finally after so many years…
"No one actually made it into the castle, right?" Rose asked, looking curiously at her uncle.
Harry jolted and shook his head, "No. They couldn't get through."
"I'm sure we'll be fine," Mia said, making the first move towards the spiral staircase. She waved to the boys, "Night James, goodnight Mr. Potter."
"Goodnight," Harry responded softly, watching her walk off to the stairs with gentle eyes.
James rubbed at his eyes, "I'm off too. Night Dad."
"Goodnight son," Harry replied as he too headed off to his dorm.
Rose was the last to go. "It was good seeing you Uncle Harry," she said, coming forward and kissing him on the cheek.
Harry squeezed her shoulder, "Sleep tight Rose."
Rose nodded and started off for the stairs. She had just hit the first floor landing when Amia appeared around the corner. Clearly, she'd been waiting for her.
"Just curious, do people try to break into Hogwarts often?"
Rose let the concern wash over her face once again, "No. I mean, not since I've been here and before that, the only thing I could think of is when Death Eaters got inside and ran the place during the war. But since then Hogwarts has been the safest place in the world pretty much."
Amia made a thoughtful sound in the back of her throat before she looked back at Rose. The fifth year was leaning against the wall with a smitten grin hanging over her lips. Mia couldn't help but smile.
"Tonight's been crazy, that's for sure," Rose said, "Thanks for taking me out."
"Did you have fun?" Amia asked, already knowing her answer but wanting to hear it anyway.
Rose smiled dizzily, "Yes. This was the best night of my life…"
"I bet it was," Mia smirked, starting to walk up the stairs again.
Rose frowned as she followed her, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Nothing. So how was making out with Scorpius?"
"Mia!"
"I have to say, you look liked an old pro…" Mia trailed off, turning around to shoot Rose a teasing look.
Rose looked humiliated, "How long were you watching?" she asked, dreading to hear the answer.
Mia let out a laugh, "I'll put it to you this way, you guys were going at it like animals. I almost had to cover my eyes…"
Rose's cheeks were nearly glowing red, "I'm so embarrassed…"
Mia gave her a light-hearted poke, "Don't be. It happens to the best of us."
"I wasn't even the one to kiss him…"
Mia smiled, "You underestimate yourself, Rose."
They both stopped as they reached the fifth floor landing. Rose rested against the wall and brushed her hands up her face, resting them at the top of her head, "I can't even think right now. My head is spinning…"
"Get some sleep," Mia said, pushing her off towards her door.
"I'll try."
"The faster you fall asleep, the faster you'll get to those sweet, Scorpius filled dreams," Mia reminded her teasingly.
Rose grinned, "I'll try harder then."
"That's the spirit."
Rose waved one last time before disappearing into her dorm. Mia smiled to herself as she started up the stairs again. She felt well happy knowing that she made Rose happy with herself. She hoped that her friend would start to feel more confident with herself as a result of tonight, and she hoped that her and Scorpius would continue meeting up for both their sakes.
As she made it into her room and started to get ready for bed, she couldn't get the thought of Harry Potter off her mind. She hadn't been stared at so blatantly like that since her first day here.
Like her first day with Hermione, she would tell herself to forget about their interaction. However, that wouldn't stop her from wondering why.
…
Ten minutes had passed since the kids had went upstairs to bed, yet Harry was still downstairs in the common room. He had fallen back onto one of the plump sofa chairs, and was staring into the fire, lost in thought. He knew that he needed to get back to work and that his colleagues needed him in mint condition so that they could figure out who exactly was trying to get into Hogwarts uninvited, but he couldn't get his mind to properly think about anything but Amia.
Their Lilly was so big now. Hermione had been right, they had a girl that looked exactly like her. He couldn't believe that he'd had a part in creating someone so beautiful. He had of course had these feelings of fatherly affection towards his two sons, but in this case it was different. Like he had always felt a pull of longing and now that pull was satisfied.
He closed his eyes desperately as he remembered back to the first time he'd seen his daughter nearly seventeen years ago. All the love he'd felt for her then was flowing through him once more, now accompanied with a sense of relief. At least she was safe. At least they'd made it to this point-
"Harry?"
Harry jumped in his seat. He quickly rubbed at his eyes before looking up to the auror addressing him. "Yes Harper. What is it?"
"We found something that we thought you should take a look at."
Harry readjusted his glasses, getting his mind back to business as he stood, "What?"
"There's a magical residue that has been left on the front doors. It's different than a normal wand residue though," Harper told him, his confusion evident on his face, "We have it bottled up but McKinley still wants you to come look."
Harry nodded, "I'll go. Can you stay here and watch the common room until someone comes to replace you?"
"Yes sir," Harper agreed, taking his wand out.
Harry started for the portrait hole but then turned around as he thought of something else, "And keep a close eye on the girl's staircase, will you?"
"Yes sir."
Harry thanked him before he left through the portrait hole, scrubbing a tired hand over his face. He didn't like the idea of anyone harmful in the castle when Mia was sleeping peacefully in an upstairs dormitory. If anything, tonight was a testament to how he would do anything and everything to protect his daughter. The promise he'd made to her and himself seventeen years ago hadn't changed at all. He was still going to do anything and everything to protect her, no matter what that meant for him.
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Next chapter: Ron pays an unwanted visit.
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