60"Happy Christmas, my darling boy!" Scorpius grinned as his grandmother opened her arms for a hug. He hadn't seen her in weeks. "I've missed you so much!"
"I've missed you too, Grandmother," he assured her.
Narcissa pulled back and regarded her grandson. She frowned, making the creases around her eyes and mouth more evident. "You need a haircut."
From across the sitting room, Scorpius saw his mother frown at his grandmother's remark. She was engaged in a conversation with his aunt, uncle, and cousins.
"I'll be sure to get one. Grandfather," he said, extending a smile and nod to Lucius. In his seventeen, nearly eighteen, years of life, he'd never seen his grandfather hug anyone, and Scorpius was sure he wouldn't be the first person to earn a hug from Lucius Malfoy.
"Scorpius," he smiled back as if it pained him. "Don't listen to your grandmother, longer hair is and always has been quite fashionable."
Narcissa rolled her blue eyes. "Lucius, dear, long hair isn't fashionable just because you think you make it so," she sighed.
"I've yet to see anything I haven't made fashionable," Lucius retorted with a glare.
Draco crossed the room and put his arms around his parents' backs. "Ah, it wouldn't be the holidays without a senseless argument from you two," he said, kissing his mother on the cheek. "Great to have you both."
"It's absolutely wonderful to be back, Draco. I'm going to go say hello to Daphne, it's been ages, and I simply adore her."
"I know you do, Mother." Scorpius' father had a pointed expression on his face. Scorpius knew his grandparents would have preferred his father marry his Aunt Daphne rather than his own mum. Narcissa left them, dragging Lucius behind her to go greet Scorpius' aunt. As if on cue, his three cousins made their exit from the conversation and made their way toward him. The youngest was two years older than him, and his eldest cousins, twins, had celebrated their twenty first birthday a couple months prior.
"Scorpius, mate, it's been a while!" His youngest cousin, Nathaniel Nott, greeted him with a tight hug and a clap on the back. "You're getting tall, you bugger!"
Scorpius hugged his cousin back. "How've you been? How've the States treated you?" His cousin had recently begun working for the Department of International Magical Cooperation, like Scorpius' own father, and he'd been on a job in the United States for the past couple months.
"Wonderfully, the women are beautiful, so many blondes," he joked.
"You're repulsive." One of his elder cousins, Nicolette, curled her lip at her younger brother. "Please, don't be a pig like your dear cousin here." She smiled and attempted to hug Scorpius, although she couldn't properly with her large stomach getting in the way.
"Of course not," he assured her. "You look ready to give birth already."
"Oh, I wish," Nicolette rolled her eyes. "Not that I fancy going through all that again, but it's much better than feeling like a fat beast."
Scorpius nodded like he understood. "Where's your husband? And the other baby?"
Nicolette waved her hand lazily. "At his own mother's. I wanted to spend a single Christmas dinner without hearing crying, or hearing him brag on about his promotion," she explained. Scorpius had an eerie feeling that if he and Maxima had decided to stay together, she would come to resent and think of him in the same way Nicolette thought about her husband.
"I swear, women complain about there not being any good men around, and then when they finally get one, they begin complaining all over again," Nicolette's brother, Nicholas, said to Scorpius, rolling his eyes. "Bet if you had to marry a mudblood you'd be singing a different tune, right Scorpius?"
Scorpius cringed at his cousin. It was no secret his Aunt Daphne and Uncle Theodore were extremely prejudiced, and had raised his cousins to be the same. It made him uncomfortable.
"Er…sure…" Scorpius relented awkwardly.
"He looks like he's going to vomit at the thought of it," Nathaniel laughed, making a face at his brother. "I'd say half-blood is decent though, shagged a few of those. But only if they've got a half-blood parent, none of that mudblood nonsense, those are different altogether-"
"I'm going to go see about dinner," Scorpius said, cutting off his cousins.
He crossed the room to find his grandparents regaling the adults with the tales of their latest vacation. He greeted his aunt and uncle before turning to his mother.
"Yes, love?" Astoria asked.
"I just wanted to see about dinner."
"Oh, sure. I'll just pop into the kitchen and ask the house-elves if they're almost finished."
Daphne wrinkled her nose. She looked so much like Scorpius' mother, except her hair was a darker blonde and cut shorter. Scorpius also noticed she smiled considerably less. "You let your elves work on their own schedule?" she scoffed. "So, I suppose we'll eat whenever the house-elves decide we can?"
Lucius smirked at the comment.
Astoria swallowed hard, obviously trying to remain composed. "Well, they're working very hard and doing their best, if I were to rush them, then perhaps the food wouldn't be up to their best work," she reasoned.
"Ah, so this is why your elves are so lazy," Theodore nodded his head as if he were amused. "Draco, we'd be more than happy to let you borrow a few of ours, so you can see how decent work is-"
"We're perfectly satisfied with them," Draco said pointedly, putting his arm around Astoria comfortingly.
"I might go into labor by the time they've finished," Nicolette complained.
"We have a family Healer on hand in case that happens," Astoria responded shortly before leaving the room. Nicolette looked offended. Her brothers laughed at her.
Scorpius rolled his eyes inwardly. He loved his family, of course he did, but not when they were acting like the pompous, entitled snobs everyone expected them to be. He also hated how everyone but his father treated his mother like a joke for refusing to be the same way.
Ooo
Scorpius ate his dinner quietly, listening to his grandparents regale the details of their latest vacation in Spain. His other grandparents were currently out of the country. He couldn't wait until he was old enough and survived enough bullshit to warrant spending the rest of his life with his wife on vacations.
The dining room was decorated with Christmas trees and fake snow falling from the ceiling. Although he knew it was childlike, Scorpius couldn't wait until dinner was over so that he could open all the presents from his family.
"How's Hogwarts, tosser?" Nathaniel questioned, snatching a glass of champagne out of a house-elf's hand. Scorpius frowned at his cousin. He couldn't tell if he was asking out of genuine interest, or whether he just wanted to rub in his face again that he, Nicholas, and Nicolette had gotten to go to Durmstrang.
"Brilliantly," Scorpius lied.
"Honestly? I've heard so many things about that school it's ridiculous. I always wished you'd gone to school with the lot of us."
"Well, my parents wanted me close to home, and they'd gone to Hogwarts, so-"
"So had our parents," Nicolette reminded him. "But you know, what with people wanting to be more accepting and whatnot, they thought it best to send us somewhere away from all that mudblood bootlicking."
Scorpius knew his cousin was referring to the fact that Durmstrang didn't admit muggleborn students. He hated hearing his cousins speak this way. Although he loved all three of them dearly, it was proving extremely difficult to listen to their views without causing a fuss. For some reason, he was also bothered by the thought of how uncomfortable Rose would feel were she here to hear any of their conversation. He made a mental note to never invite her to any family functions, although he hadn't really thought that a good idea in the first place.
"I suppose," Scorpius relented dryly. "Although that would be impossible considering every other wizarding school in Europe is shut down for the time being."
"Yes, forgot about that. What's that all about?" Nicholas questioned. Scorpius wondered how his cousins could be so painfully oblivious.
Scorpius grappled with a way to answer without giving anything away. "Supposedly they aren't safe. There are a bunch of terror attacks going on over there, and they don't think it's safe to have schools open."
"Pity," Nathaniel frowned. "What about the girls from Beauxbatons though? That's got to soften the blow a bit?"
Scorpius didn't answer.
"Have you at least made any friends with the Durmstrang students? I'm sure they'll set you right," Nicholas said, sharing a look with his sister. She rested her hand idly on her stomach as she ate.
Scorpius was quiet for a moment. "Only a couple. Do any of you know of Ivan Krum?"
Nathaniel snorted. "Everyone does."
"No, I mean personally."
"Course, he's a great bloke, friendly guy. Had a few classes with him. Think he fancied Nicolette for a bit," Nicholas answered.
Scorpius frowned. "But how? Ivan's my age."
Nicolette shook her head. "I don't think so."
"Well, he's in Seventh Year," Scorpius argued.
"Well, his schooling's probably all over the place because of quidditch," Nicholas reasoned. "Probably had to repeat a few years. If he's such a great friend of yours, why don't you just ask him?"
"Wouldn't want to embarrass him," Scorpius responded. He went on to eat his food, suddenly deep in thought and disinterested in the rest of Christmas dinner.
Albus and Maxima combed the Hogwarts Express, looking for an empty compartment. He'd been rather eager to return to school. He almost preferred homework to any of the distractions in his personal life.
"Thought you'd want to sit with Sean?" Maxima questioned, raising an eyebrow. She smiled at him lightly.
"I live with the bugger, I've got the whole rest of term to spend with him." He answered. He regretted having to act like Maxima was just his friend once term started. In addition, they still had to speak with Scorpius about how exactly they were going to reveal Maxima's pregnancy. They'd decided leaking the news to the Prophet would make her a target now that they weren't quite sure what exactly they were up against. He knew they didn't have much time before they had to come up with a story, though.
"You've got the whole rest of your life to spend with me," Maxima reminded him with another smile. The crème turtleneck she wore made her skin look warm.
He had the sudden urge to kiss her then and there, but remembered he couldn't. He waved to some of the other students passing by on the train, looking for seats. Rose and Scorpius were already in their own private compartment, most likely snogging the life out of each other. Albus wished he was so lucky.
"There," Maxima said suddenly. She pointed to a compartment where Bianca sat. She was sitting alone, and she looked upset. Albus found that odd, considering any other time he'd seen her at school, she was surrounded by her friends from Beauxbatons.
"Don't you think you should talk to her alone?" Albus asked in a small voice. Maxima had already reached out and knocked softly on the compartment door.
"Maybe she'll open up to you, too," Maxima said hopefully.
Bianca looked up. Her eyebrows wrinkled when she saw Maxima and Albus.
Maxima opened the door slowly. "Hello, Bianca," she said kindly, entering the compartment with Albus. He shelved both their trunks.
"I do not think you should be here," Bianca said shortly. It was clear she'd been crying, but her eyes weren't the least bit puffy or rea. She turned to Albus. "I believed you said you should not be around me?"
Albus sat across from her with Maxima. He couldn't describe how uncomfortable the situation made him, sitting in the same train compartment with the last two girls he'd been sleeping with. From experience, he could say that situation typically didn't end well.
"Look, Bianca, I know you hate me-"
"I do not hate you," Bianca said softly. She turned to Maxima. "It is her that hates me, you told me that, no?"
Maxima gave Albus an annoyed look. "I don't hate you, Bianca. I had my own issues with Scorpius at the moment. Which… which is why we came to talk to you."
Bianca frowned. She wiped her eyes, and Albus saw the bracelet sparkle on her wrist. "I do not understand," Bianca said slowly.
Albus hadn't rehearsed anything to say, considering he didn't think he'd be part of this conversation.
"We know each other," Maxima started uncomfortably. "Do you know how?"
"My father and your father know each other," Bianca said simply. "Your father is a friend of the French Ministry, no? My father…"
"Your father what?" Albus questioned, his tone more sharp than he meant. He noticed Bianca looked mostly at him when she spoke. He regretted deeply what happened between them, but needed her to forgive him enough to open up.
"He is the Chief Warlock, ahead of all the lawyers in the French Ministry. He likes your father a lot, he thinks he is quite talented and could perhaps be the Chief Warlock here," Bianca explained. "He says Monsieur Zabini would be good to… change things…" Albus didn't much like the sound of that.
Maxima frowned. "How do you know that?" she questioned.
"I suppose I have heard a lot at family dinners," she shrugged. "Why are you asking about my father?"
Albus looked to Maxima to explain. Perhaps she'd be more likely to trust her. "We've had reason to believe that everything going on in Europe isn't as much of a coincidence as it seems," Maxima started. "Certain things are happening, that certain people are behind…"
"You think my father is behind something?" Bianca asked. Her expression looked more curious than shocked.
"Maybe not," but we just need to know what you know about your family. Would you be willing to tell us? We won't tell anyone," Maxima promised.
Bianca was silent for a while. If Albus had to say, she looked afraid. "Why do you need to know? And how can I trust you?" she asked.
Albus decided to step in. "That night, the last night you came to my room, someone that night told me to stay away from you, or they'd hurt you. That's why I broke up with you," he confessed. "And I have no idea who it was. So, you can't say anything."
Bianca's ice blue eyes widened. "Hurt me? Who would want to hurt me? I have not done anything!" she exclaimed.
Albus put a hand on Bianca's knee to calm her down. He didn't want any passerby to be suspicious. "We know you didn't. But do you know who would want to hurt us both? Someone in the castle is watching us, that's the only way they would have known we were together. Did anyone threaten you, or make you think they'd want to hurt you? You said you and your dad don't always get along? Do you think he's maybe having Ivan spy on you?"
Bianca shook her head slowly. She fidgeted with the sleeves of her light blue robes. "Well, Ivan, he said-"
"Said what?" Albus questioned eagerly.
"Said that I should not speak to you, because your family were blood traitors, and that it would anger my father if he told," Bianca explained, as if the thought troubled her. "But, I told him that I did care for you, and he said that…" Bianca let her voice trail off.
"What did he say?" Maxima questioned with a comforting smile. "I promise, you can tell us."
"That I should… use our relationship, for information…" Bianca admitted, as if she were still confused.
Albus got a chill down his spine. He was suddenly reminded of the day Rose and Scorpius had caught them arguing. It was beginning to make sense. "Information about what?"
"About your plan. He said you may try to stop things from being fixed, and if you ever revealed that to me, then I should tell him immediately," she said. "What does that mean?"
"I don't know," Albus lied, clenching his fists. "How well do you know Ivan?"
"He is my cousin," Bianca responded.
"I know but, you know how I've gone to school with all my cousins, and we spend a lot of time together? You said it wasn't that way with you and Ivan growing up. So why do you think he feels the need to protect you so much?"
Bianca shrugged. "He is my cousin," she repeated.
"When did you meet him?"
Bianca was quiet for a moment like she was thinking. "At a family dinner, last summer, very many members of our family were there, it was a formal event."
"And you never met him before that?" Albus questioned. "Your cousin, a famous quidditch player?"
Bianca shook her head. "No, I did not. His mother is one of the sisters of my father, but Ivan's father, Viktor, had separated from my aunt a long while ago. They are no longer married," she explained. Albus knew she wasn't lying. For as long as he could remember, Viktor Krum had been single, but he'd obviously had to have had a son somehow.
"How did you two become so close after only knowing each other for a year?" Maxima wondered.
"My father said Ivan was good, and that we should meet each other because I would need him soon. I was to trust him because we are blood," Bianca said simply. "My family has always said it is important to protect the blood. That is our family motto."
Maxima narrowed her eyes in thought. "And what do you think that means?" she asked.
"To protect family. Families are blood," Bianca responded.
Albus couldn't help but think her family motto referred to blood purity, rather than her actual family. "What is your family name?" Albus asked, albeit a bit embarrassed he didn't even know Bianca's last name.
"Leblanc," she answered. "One of the oldest pureblood families in France."
Maxima pursed her lips, probably realizing the barrage of questions was growing overwhelming for Bianca, and it was starting to give them more questions of their own. "But your family has Veela blood? Is it from your mother's side, then?" she asked.
Bianca shook her head. "No, my Veela blood is from my father," she answered. Albus didn't find that a surprise.
"How are you considered a pureblood, then?" Maxima asked, probably just to see how she would respond.
"Veela blood is pure blood. It makes our magic stronger, and makes us healthier, have better looks," Bianca said. "My whole family has Veela blood."
Maxima nodded slowly. "Do you know any other pureblood families that do this? I'm pureblood and my family doesn't have Veela blood," Maxima informed her. "Albus' mother is a pureblood, she doesn't have Veela blood either."
Bianca frowned. "Perhaps it is because my family is one of the very oldest and strongest. Many people now consider Veelas to be creatures and would not mate with them, but my family understands they are divine, and that a wizard who has Veela blood is a better wizard," she explained.
Albus and Maxima shared a look. "Are you related to anyone here other than Ivan?"
Bianca shook her head vehemently. "Only Ivan. He is my only family here. I suppose that is why I was so afraid to come here at first. But then I met Albus. But once you broke up with me and Ivan had begun to date Roxanne, I felt alone. My friends, they, are rather frivolous. They do not care about important things."
Albus felt his heart break. He wasn't sure if it was Bianca's Veela charm, or if her saying that genuinely made him feel like a shitty human being for doing her wrong. "I'm sorry. But I couldn't be there for you for your own safety. What about Ivan, though? He didn't comfort you?"
Bianca shook her head. "Am I in danger?" she questioned, her cheeks turning pink.
Albus didn't want to lie to her, but he didn't want to scare Bianca either. As it seemed, all that she was in danger of was not being evil like her other family members. He would have to discuss with Maxima how they would break the truth to her, if they decided to. He wasn't sure whether or not telling Bianca was against the rules, but he nearly didn't care. Whether or not they were together, he still cared what happened to her, and didn't trust anyone else to.
"We think it would be best to be a bit cautious," Maxima said vaguely. "And also, this conversation never happened."
Bianca nodded shortly. "But what am I supposed to say to Ivan?"
"Nothing," Albus responded. "If he does anything that makes you feel uncomfortable, tell Maxima, or me, and we'll figure out what to do about it."
"But that may put you in danger," Bianca protested. "I do not want to do that."
Albus gave her a small smile. He forgot how adorably caring she was. He immediately pushed the thought out of his mind. Maxima spoke up. "I wouldn't worry about that. But let's make a deal. If your father brings up anything about mine again, please tell me?"
Bianca nodded. "I will."
Rose looked upward as Scorpius entered the compartment with his trunk. "Good afternoon," he smiled. "How was the rest of your holiday?"
"It was good," Rose nodded, feeling her smile widen as she saw Scorpius again for the first time in over a week. "I'm stuffed, though, Gran sent us off with a huge breakfast. What about you?"
"Think my ribs might be cracked from the thousands of hugs my mother gave me before I left," Scorpius laughed. He took the seat across from her. Rose noticed he kept trying to push his hair out of his eyes. Perhaps he'd woken up too early to style it. She thought about offering him one of her headbands, and the thought made her smile a bit. "What?" Scorpius questioned.
Rose shook her head. She folded the corner of her book and set it beside her. "Nothing. Ready for term to begin? It's the last one," she said in a sing-song voice. The thought of leaving Hogwarts and being turned loose into the adult world frightened her. On the other hand, she was excited to see what things life had in store for her, granted she made it that far.
"I know," Scorpius nodded solemnly. "Soon, you'll be acing your entrance exams for St. Mungo's and I'll…" Scorpius' voice trailed off.
Rose noticed the troubled look on his face. "What's wrong?"
"I was meant to work under the Minister," Scorpius said in a low voice. "I suppose I should find out what I'm supposed to be doing now."
"Perhaps work under the new Minister?" Rose suggested hopefully.
Scorpius shrugged as if he didn't want to think about it any longer. Rose understood why. Her mother had said there still wasn't a clear option as to who the new Minister would be. The Ministry couldn't decide between simply choosing an interim Minister until the next election, or to hold an official election early. Rose's mother had also said that the likely candidates to be Minister were all hesitant to step in since it was still undiscovered what exactly had happened to Kingsley.
"Perhaps," Scorpius said flatly.
Rose reached into her bag and pulled out a few snacks. She offered some to Scorpius but he politely refused.
"Matter of fact, I have something you might like to hear."
Rose raised her eyebrows. "What's that? And why do I feel like it's something I won't like to hear at all?"
Scorpius took a deep breath as if he was still in disbelief at his news. "As you know, I had Christmas dinner with my family," he began. "My cousins, who are all a bit older, went to Durmstrang with Ivan apparently. My eldest cousins, who are twenty-one, said he was their age."
Rose almost choked. "What?"
"Exactly, and they seemed a bit adamant about it. Acted like he's obviously their age, and is only in our year because he's taken so much time off of school."
"Well, do you believe that?" Rose questioned, her mind thinking a thousand things at once.
"My cousins are quite a few things, but they aren't liars. They're also nosy about everyone, so I doubt they'd be wrong."
Rose pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow at Scorpius. "So, he's possibly what… twenty-one? And he's pretending he's seventeen? Isn't it just possible he's never lied about his age, just that no one's asked him how old he is?" Rose didn't know how much she believed this. However, she didn't exactly fancy another wrench thrown in her life at the moment. She already had quite a few.
"That's impossible," Scorpius said. "Hogwarts doesn't allow students past twenty, and you'd have to fail two entire years for that to happen," he reminded her. "Doubt someone as rich, famous, or brilliant managed that."
Rose bit her lip. Scorpius looked at her intently. "Don't make me say what I'm thinking."
"Well, I'm going to make you, on account of the fact that I don't want to say it myself," Scorpius told her.
"He's taking an antiaging potion," Rose blurted out uncomfortably. Scorpius nodded. They sat in silence together, contemplating. Rose twirled the end of her ponytail around her finger, thinking. "How do we prove it?"
"I don't know, I'd suppose we need to do more research."
"Bummer we can't have a toxicology report done," Rose muttered.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Muggle thing," Rose explained. "Tells you all the chemicals and such in your blood. Suppose we'll have to find out in a different way. Up to some spying?"
"Spying?" Scorpius asked with a frown. "Thought that was Roxanne's job?'
Rose shook her head. "Well, Roxanne doesn't know about this. And we've got to figure out when he takes it, where it keeps it, how often it needs to be taken…"
"So, I suppose you've forgotten he might be dangerous," Scorpius reminded her pointedly.
"So, I suppose you've forgotten Albus has an invisibility cloak," Rose said with a smirk.
"You're going to stake him out?" Scorpius asked. "Rose, that could be dangerous, if he catches you-"
"He won't. And someone's got to. Albus would be more likely to give me the cloak, and I know more about potions."
Scorpius put his hand up in protest. His eyebrows were furrowed. "But what if your marks slip? That's going to take a bit of time."
"As if that would ever happen."
"I still don't like the idea. Besides, he speaks a lot of French, if he says anything, you might not understand it. And besides, he's in my House, and he's quite big, what if tries to hurt you-"
Rose understood what Scorpius was trying to do. He was worried for her. She found it adorable, but she knew it made the most sense for it to be her who followed Ivan. "We both know I'm a rather talented dueler."
"Can't argue that. But still, you should let me go."
"No can do, Malfoy."
Scorpius sighed and pursed his lips. He looked out the window for a long while. When are you going to start?"
"Tonight," Rose shrugged, although her hand was shaking. "After the feast and the Prefect's meeting. I'll talk to Albus. Best not to waste time, right?"
"Rose-"
"Stop trying to stop me, Scorpius. Besides, you'll be making yourself useful as well."
"I will? How?"
Rose smirked. "By checking in the Restricted Section of the library for information after everyone's gone to bed."
Scorpius raised his blond eyebrows. "Are you mad? I could be caught."
"Don't you know the Confundus Charm?" Rose questioned, suddenly finding a bit of confidence in herself she hadn't had in weeks. Perhaps it was the adrenaline rush from the completely mad and dangerous, albeit necessary, thing she was about to do.
"I… I do."
Rose nodded. "Brilliant. Now, if you'd let me know the password for the Slytherin dormitories and Ivan's room number, we'll have a bit of information by morning."
Rose tiptoed quietly down the staircase leading to the Slytherin dungeons. It hadn't been much work to convince Albus to let her borrow the cloak, seeing as she was by far the most responsible cousin, and she hadn't mentioned to him her plan in full. The temperature seemed to decrease markedly as she travelled further down, past the dungeons, until the air became so cold and shallow she knew she had made it underground. At the base of the staircase was a brilliantly carved silver door with an animated snake etching in the center. Rose took the cloak off quickly, looking around to make sure no other students saw or heard her.
"Passsssword…?" the snake hissed.
"Anguis," Rose answered. The door opened slowly and she entered, tiptoeing quietly into the common room. A few students looked up from their work and conversations, probably wondering why the door opened and no students were entering. Apparently unbothered, they soon looked away and returned to her work. Rose didn't see any students she knew. She didn't fraternize much with Slytherin students, the only true exceptions being her cousins, Maxima, and Scorpius. She followed the long corridor Scorpius had said led to the boys' dormitories. The walls were covered in portraits of past heads of houses and other former Slytherins. The wallpaper was a dark brocade style, and bracketed torches lit the corridor every few feet. Rose kept walking until she neared the last few sets of rooms. She knocked, just to make sure no one was in the room. She tried the door and it was locked.
"Alohamora Maxima," she whispered. She heard the lock click on the other side of the door. Rose entered slowly. The room was modelled similarly to the bedrooms in the other Houses, except there were two beds in the room rather than four. Rose figured it was because Slytherin was by far the smallest House.
Rose could immediately tell which side of the room was Ivan's. It was spotless. The bed was perfectly made, and his broom was tucked safely in the corner. There weren't any photographs or decorations on the walls.
Rose pulled her wand from her pocket. "Accio, antiaging potion," she attempted. She waited for a second. Nothing happened. Rose wasn't surprised. She couldn't remember the actual name of the potion, and she'd very stupidly forgotten to look it up. She'd now have to resort to searching the room the muggle way, hopefully before Ivan or his roommate returned.
She hurried over to the drawer set beside Ivan's bed. She opened the first drawer and found nothing of note, only extra sheets of parchment, a few quills, and a couple sickles. She shut the drawer and opened the next one. It was filled with textbooks. Rose sighed. She knew she wasn't mad, but how stupid had she'd been to think Ivan would be enough of fool to hide any damning evidence in his own bedroom?
She opened the third drawer and frowned. She found a small, silver chest, adorned with light blue jewels. Rose smiled to herself, her theory officially confirmed. She tried to pry open the lid, but it was locked with some sort of lock she'd never before seen.
"Alohamora," Rose attempted, hoping that it would work. The lock turned and clicked. Rose smiled again. She reached to open the lid once again and yelped when the chest burned her fingers. She dropped the chest back into the drawer. It made a loud clatter. Rose examined her burned fingertips and quickly muttered a healing charm. Obviously, whatever was in that chest was important to him, and it wasn't something he fancied anyone else seeing or touching.
Beside it was another smaller silver case. Rose cautioned to touch it, but when she discovered it wasn't locked, she opened it quickly. She frowned at the contents. She picked up a small photograph of a woman. Rose could tell instantly it was an older photograph based on the woman's attire. She was blond with blue eyes and a kind smile. She was adorned with jewelry, most notably the earrings Scorpius' mother had given Maxima. There was something about the way she raised her eyebrows at the camera when she smiled, and how she tilted her head slightly, her smile alternating between a grin and a smirk. She raised her hand to move her hair back in a manner that was eerily familiar. Rose made out a silver and blue bracelet glittering on her wrist. Rose's mouth dropped open.
She reminded her of Scorpius. Not only that, Rose was one-hundred percent positive she was Scorpius' great-grandmother.
Rose had to take a deep breath to keep her heart from leaping out of her chest. She knew she couldn't take the photograph with her, but how else would she convince Scorpius of what she saw? Her mind still reeling, Rose gingerly replaced the photographs and examined the other contents. There was a collection of tiny vials filled with a silvery liquid. Rose knew they were unicorn's blood. They'd only used it in Potions once, since it was hard to obtain and considered highly taboo to kill a unicorn, so most who used them for potions waited for unicorns to die or be killed by other creatures.
Rose glanced down at the vials. There were so many she knew Ivan wouldn't miss one. She slipped it into her pocket, hoping it could bring them some sort of clarification, or perhaps they could use it to try to recreate whatever potions Ivan was using. She closed the small container and gently replaced it in the drawer.
Rose jumped as she heard voices outside the door. She shut the drawer quickly and scrambled up. She hurried over to Ivan's roommate's side of the room, knowing Ivan would have no reason to go over there.
The door opened. Ivan entered, unsurprisingly followed by Roxanne. Both of their hair was wet. They were both changed into sweats, and Ivan had a towel slung over his shoulder. Either Roxanne was a decent actress, or she wasn't willing to pass up a shag.
"Going to do your homework?" Roxanne questioned. "Y'know we're supposed to have come back ready for that Arithmancy exam."
Ivan nodded distractedly. "I am prepared," he assured her.
Roxanne took his arm and gave him a suggestive smile. "Pity, because I thought we could do some late-night studying…" she said.
"We can for you," Ivan assured her. He kissed Roxanne. Rose hoped they wouldn't end up full-on shagging right in front of her.
Roxanne pulled away and pouted. "My family missed you at Christmas dinner," she said. "They'd have liked to meet you."
"I told you I had dinner with my own family," Ivan sighed, as if they'd fought about it a few times.
Rose hoped Roxanne would take the opening that had just presented itself. "Oh, well how was that?" she questioned, walking her fingers up Ivan's muscular arms.
"Fine," he said simply.
Roxanne moved her arms around Ivan's waist. "Oh, just fine?" She questioned. "I go on and on about my family, I'd like to hear a bit about yours for once. What are they like?"
Ivan furrowed his eyebrows. Rose hoped he didn't suspect anything was wrong. "Traditional," he said simply.
"Does that mean they're boring?" Roxanne questioned. "Uptight?"
He nodded, snaking his arm around Roxanne's waist. "I am tired from practice, come to bed."
"Please, it's only ten," Roxanne scoffed. "Besides, I've got more reason to be tired than you. Rose and Scorpius kept us forever at that stupid Prefect's meeting. They were talking about being good examples for the students and all that typical bullshit, as well as making sure we're paying attention to safety precautions and all that."
If Ivan heard her, he didn't respond. Roxanne tied back her damp hair and joined Ivan on the bed.
"She's really starting to irk me, Rose," Roxanne said, immediately looking to Ivan to see how he'd react. Rose couldn't tell if she truly meant that, or was saying it for Ivan. She hoped not, considering she had absolutely no reason to be upset. "She's a right nag all the time. She's always on everyone's asses about things, always trying too hard to be perfect. Sometimes I think it's because- well, maybe I shouldn't say… it's mean."
Ivan looked interested. "Go on," he nodded.
Roxanne took a deep breath. She wrinkled her eyebrows and her expression slackened as if she was about to say something terrible. It was then Rose noticed her cousin was faking. She made the same expressions whenever she gave an apology she didn't really mean.
"Sometimes I think she's just overcompensating because of her blood, you know, because she's got to try a bit harder." Ivan glanced away for a second and Roxanne rolled her eyes as if she was annoyed that she even had to pretend her cousin being a half-blood made her any less clever of a witch.
"Her mother is a mudblood, no? My father used to be fond of her."
Rose felt her fists clench. She knew of the slur, of course she did, but she'd only ever heard someone say it aloud once, years ago. It frustrated her that such a foul word even existed, and that someone would dare use it against her own mother, who was double the witch anyone who dared to be so ignorant could ever be.
Roxanne nodded stiffly. "Think she doubts herself a bit because of that."
"As she should. The magic is not as strong in those who have tainted blood. That is why at my school, we did not teach mudbloods, or even those with a mudblood parent," he explained. "It is too risky."
"Risky?" Roxanne questioned. She placed her hand on Ivan's leg and leaned into him, probably to make the conversation feel less like an interrogation.
Ivan nodded vehemently. "Once mudbloods learn magic, they go and spread it, and they go on to have more children with dirty blood, weaker wizards, as you have said. Soon there will be no power in magic if everyone who possess it continues to mate with muggles and mudbloods. Then everyone in the world will be a wizard. There is no magic if everyone has magic."
Roxanne nodded her head slowly as if she couldn't figure out what to say. Rose wished she could have gotten all of Ivan's words on camera. They were basically a confession to the fact that he was an outright blood-supremacist, and with beliefs as strong as his, that was sure evidence he's be capable of doing anything to maintain blood purity.
Roxanne looked around the room, probably trying to buy some time to respond. "I'm going to run up to my room and get my notes so you can help me study," she said finally. "I'll be back in a few."
"But I am tired," Ivan protested.
Roxanne quirked an eyebrow. "If you help me study for say, an hour, I'll give you an entire hour's worth of a reward," she bargained. "Think of it as incentive to stay up."
Ivan smirked at Roxanne and waved his hand at her, as if allowing her permission to leave the room. She got up and made her way to the door Rose followed her out quickly, not wanting to be trapped in the room for the rest of the night with Ivan.
Rose followed Roxanne through the common room to the other side of the dorms where the girls slept. Roxanne entered her own room. She sighed and sat on the bed, clearly not interested in looking for her notes right away.
She screamed when Rose pulled off the invisibility cloak. Rose shushed her quickly.
"Where the hell did you come from?" Roxanne demanded.
"I heard everything. I was in your room when you were with Ivan."
Roxanne's facial expression didn't change. "Rose, you know I didn't say any of that because it's what I think. I just had to see if Ivan-"
"I know," Rose nodded. "You were brilliant. He's dangerous. Look, I found some other stuff of his that might be evidence. We don't have time to talk about it because, well, Ivan's expecting you, and I really need to talk to Scorpius."
Roxanne grabbed her schoolbag off her bedpost and nodded. She put it over her shoulder. "Okay," she said, "We'll talk about everything tomorrow, yeah?"
"Sure," Rose said, putting the cloak back over her head as she followed Roxanne out of the door.
OOO
Rose knocked repeatedly on Scorpius' door. She waited a while, hoping he hadn't yet left for the library. Finally, she heard movement on the other side of the door. Scorpius opened the door and invited her in.
"Rose," he said, sounding a bit confused. "I was just about to head out to the library."
"I know," Rose nodded profusely. "I was hoping I'd catch you in time."
Scorpius looked worried. Rose could barely see his grey eyes in the candlelight that illuminated his room. "What happened?"
"He has a picture of your great-grandmother," Rose blurted out. "I couldn't take it to show you, obviously, but it was her, I know it."
"How? I've never even seen a picture of her myself," Scorpius said, a hint of sadness in his voice.
"She looked like you," Rose said. She felt a bit bad that Scorpius simply had to take her word for it. "And she was wearing the earrings. And Bianca's bracelet. You two have the same great-grandmother. And Ivan too, I think. It's completely possible since he and Bianca are first cousins."
Rose went on to explain everything else to Scorpius, including the chest that had burned her, which she thought was probably where Ivan kept his potions, as well as the other items she found.
"Unicorn's blood?" Scorpius asked. "Where would he have gotten that?"
"Well, he's clearly got someone, considering he's also getting ahold of black market dragon's horn," Rose reminded him. She pulled the vial out of her pocket to show him.
Scorpius took the vial out of her hand and turned it over a few times. He shook his head, his mouth dropping open in disbelief as he stared at the silvery, thread-like liquid swimming around inside.
"Rose," Scorpius said in awe, his eyes finally meeting hers. "This isn't unicorn's blood. These are memories."
*Apologies for the long chapter, but I wanted to sort of put all the plotpoints together rather than spread them out a bunch so that they would be easier to follow. Thanks for reading! Please leave a review!