Rose Weasley and the Hidden Mask

[~Noelle~]

Rose Weasley

and the Hidden Mask

By Noelle

Author's Note: I'm going to update this story in one post, and you can leave comments, suggestions, and questions in replies. By the way, I may take ideas and requests for how the story goes on.

Chapter One: The Sorting


Rose pressed her face against the train window, trying to see her mother and father amongst the crowd of parents seeing their children off to Hogwarts. She looked and looked at everyone standing on platform 9 3/4. Some people were dressed in clashing Muggle clothes, others were full out in robes. She finally spotted her father's bright red hair. He was hand in hand with her mother, both of them waving at their eldest daughter. Rose smiled and waved back. She already missed them, even though the train hadn't moved an inch yet. She then was pushed back away from the window.


"Albus!" She exclaimed, irritated, "I was trying to see my mum and dad!"


Albus, however, didn't respond, his face was glued to the window as her's was. No matter how hard Rose shoved him, he didn't leave the window. Sighing, she sat down on the compartment bench. A few minutes later and the train started to set off, and Albus sat down on the bench across from her, "Rosie?"


Rose glared at him, still mad that he hogged the window, "What?!"


Albus was taken aback at her outburst, "I- I just wanted to know if you think I will be in Slytherin."


Rose groaned, this was all her cousin has been thinking about ever since his older brother, James, came home from school over the summer. "I don't know, Al, but you should stop worrying about it and stuff."


"Well, what about you? Aren't you scared? Just a little?"


Rose had thought about the Sorting over the summer, but really, she couldn't care less. To her, being sorted will be a great way to make friends with similar interests, "No, not really."


"But, what if it puts you in the wrong house? What if it puts me in the wrong house?!"


"Al, that won't happen."


"But what if it puts me in Slytherin?"


"Then you'll be in Slytherin."


"But I wanna be in Gryffindor! Like James and my dad!"


"Well, it isn't up to you, now, is it?"


"Actually, it is. My dad said I can pick if I want to!"


"Then why are you worrying?"


"I don't know. I guess I'm kind of nervous..."


Rose smiled at her cousin as he looked down, obviously frightened, "Oh, Al, it will be alright."


He looked up, "You think so?"


"I know so!" She exclaimed, happily.


Albus smiled, "What have you been doing over the summer?"


Before Rose could answer his question, the door slid open and a skinny pale boy with almost white hair stood in the frame, "May I sit with you? All the other compartments have older, scary kids."


Rose vaguely remembered this boy as the one her father pointed out. The one in which she was supposed to beat at every test. She didn't think it would be a good idea to have him sit with her. If her father found out he might get mad at her, but before she could deny him a seat Albus nodded and he sat down beside him.


"What's your name?" Albus asked curiously.


The boy smiled, "My name is Scorpius Malfoy. What's your name?"


"I'm Albus Potter."


Scorpius nodded, "What's your name?"


He was looking at Rose. She looked back at him, there has to be something wrong with this boy if her dad wanted her to beat him at every test, "Rose Weasley."


"Nice to meet you two," he said politely.


Rose nodded, curtly. She was suspicious. He had to be planning something. She trusted her dad full heartedly and if he thought this boy was shady, then so did she.


Albus didn't seem to be as suspicious though, Rose noticed, because he was happy to talk to Scorpius, "What house do you think you are going to be in?"


"I don't know. My mum and dad were both in Slytherin, so I guess that one. They could get really mad if I wasn't."


Albus' eyes widened, "You want to be in Slytherin?!"


Scorpius nodded, "Yeah, because if I'm not my parents would probably kill me."


"Why?"


Scorpius sighed, "They get really mad at me for stuff and they told me I gotta be a Slytherin."


Albus frowned, "That's really sad."


Rose rolled her eyes, "You're lying." She knew that this is a tactic to play with their sympathy, and even if Al fell for it, she wasn't going to.


Scorpius looked at her, "No, I'm not."


"Yes, you are!" Rose retorted.


"No, I'm not! My dad would be really mad if I wasn't in Slytherin."


"Maybe, but I bet he wouldn't kill you."


"It's a figure of speech!"


"Stop fighting!" Albus burst out.


Rose and Scorpius shut their mouths and looked at Albus.


"Stop fighting," He repeated, "Rose, he isn't lying."


Rose was about to argue, but decided it was pointless. She looked out the window as the compartment fell into an awkward silence. She watched as the train passed rolling hills and small lakes and ponds. Albus and Scorpius picked up conversation sometime later, but Rose wasn't paying attention. She was lost in her own thoughts. Was he lying? If he was why? What is wrong about him? So wrong that her father wanted her against him?


The squealing of train wheels against the tracks took Rose out of her thoughts. She looked out the window again and it was dark. How long had it been? Albus and Scorpius stood, ready to leave. Rose stood with them and they walked out of their compartment and off the train, into the cool, early September night.


Rose then heard a loud voice, "Firs' years! Firs' years over here! Follow me! Firs' years!"


"Al, this way!" Rose grabbed her cousin's hand and dragged him toward the huge man that was calling for them. Unfortunately, Scorpius followed them. Rose was hoping he would be left behind.


The huge man then smiled, "Rose! Albus! Good to see yer!"


Rose then recognized him as Hagrid. How didn't she see that earlier, she didn't know. But, she smiled back, "Hi, Hagrid!"


Albus greeted Hagrid as well, then they were off. On the walk to wherever they were going, the huge group of first years seemed to separate Rose from her cousin. Before she knew it, she was walking side by side with a girl that had curly honey blonde hair.


The girl smiled at her, "Hello."


Rose grinned back, "Hi."


"I'm Ellie Waters."


"Rose Weasley."


Ellie smiled, she was much smaller than Rose, but seem kind and friendly. Suddenly the group of first years stopped, and Ellie was jumping on her tiptoes to try to see what was going on. Rose was tall enough to see that they were at the edge of the lake. There were many wooden boats floating in the lake's calm and small waves.


"We are going to ride the boats across," Rose whispered to Ellie, not even listening to Hagrid.


There was four to a boat, Rose climbed in an empty one. She assisted small Ellie into the boat. Albus ended up finding her again and jumped into her boat and, unfortunately, Scorpius clambered in behind him.


"Ooohs" and "aaahhhs" could be heard from the first years as they crossed the lake and Hogwarts castle came into view. Rose thought it was beautiful. It was a stone castle with windows that seemed to be golden by the light within shining outward through the glass. The reflection fell upon the rippling lake. All in all, it was definitely what it was supposed to be aiming for. It was magical.


The first years were then filed out of the boats and into the castle. They were led down a long corridor and stopped just before grand looking double doors that no doubt led to the Great Hall. Then, a professor, Rose recognized him at once as Neville Longbottom, a family friend; stood out in front of all the first years and cleared his voice. All the chuckling and chattering subsided and Longbottom smiled, "Welcome to Hogwarts! Soon, you will be led into the Great Hall and lined up alphabetically. Then, there will be a hat place on top of each of your heads, that will sort you into one of four houses. These houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Once you are sorted you will sit at your house table and Headmistress McGonagall will make an opening speech. After that, we will have a nice feast and everyone will be able to have a great school year!"


After a few minutes of nervous glances, the first years were lined up alphabetically. Rose stood behind Ellie and in front of a tall boy who looked like he could break her in two. They filed into the Great Hall. Rose was amazed by how beautiful it looked. White candle floated in air and the ceiling wasn't really a ceiling at all. It showed the night sky, beautiful and perfect. The first years stopped in front of a rather old and tattered witch's hat. A rip that was just above the brim opened and began to sing.


"Let's put our hands together and welcome everyone to a new year,

Watching young one's being sorted and make friends that are dear,

They can be sorted amongst the courageous Gryffindors,

Where bravery and friendship can make one's happiness soar,

Or might one be suited for the intelligent Ravenclaw,

Where knowledge beyond belief can make one know it all,

Maybe you are a Hufflepuff,

Where trust and finding friends is the stuff,

Last, but not least, we have cunning Slytherin,

Where the bold and self-confident stand,

So come on don't be shy,

Put me on and give it a try!"


Once the hat was done, Longbottom took out a roll of parchment and began to read it, "Aberston, Frank."


A boy with brown, mousy colored hair stepped forward and sat on the stool. Longbottom placed the hat upon his head. All was quiet for a second before the hat announced, "HUFFLEPUFF!"


The students at the Hufflepuff table stood and cheered. Frank ran to them and was seated amongst them. Rose thought that it seemed easy enough, but she looked ahead in the line and saw Al's hands shaking. She sighed, once this is over, he'll be so much happier. A few names were called out and Rose wasn't paying attention until she heard Longbottom announce, "Malfoy, Scorpius!"


Scorpius took a deep breath and sat upon the stool. The hat was placed upon his head and he closed his eyes, whispering. Rose thought his was taking a ridiculous amount of time. The hat finally said, "Alright, I guess if that's what you truly want, SLYTHERIN!"


Scorpius looked relieved as he walked over to the cheering Slytherin table. It was only a little while before Rose heard Longbottom exclaim, "Potter, Albus!"


Albus made his way to the stool, still nervous looking. Rose watched as the hat was barely placed on his head before it rang out, "GRYFFINDOR!"


Albus, beaming, ran and sat next to his older brother, James, at the jeering Gryffindor table. Rose sighed as she watched Marlena Quimp be sorted into Slytherin; Richard Ross, Ravenclaw; Penelope Ruthine, Gryffindor; Alaina Sathers, Hufflepuff; Quinton Trimmers, Gryffindor; Anne Vain, Ravenclaw; Steve Votts, Slytherin; and Mary Waine, Hufflepuff. She then heard Longbottom announce, "Waters, Ellie!"


She watched Ellie's curly blonde hair swing back and forth as she skipped up to the stool and sat upon it. When Longbottom placed the hat on her head it went over her eyes and almost covered her nose. It took a few seconds then announced, "RAVENCLAW!"


Ellie sprinted to the celebrating Ravenclaw table and sat amongst them, happily. Then, Longbottom announced, "Weasley, Rose!"


Making her way up to the stool, Rose suddenly knew how Albus felt. Her stomach seemed to twist into knots as she sat in front of her peers upon the stool. She then felt the hat being place upon her head and watched as all light disappeared, the hat covered her eyes.


She then heard a voice in the darkness, "Ahh... A Weasley. But, you aren't like the rest of them, are you? No. You seem more smart, cunning, intelligent. You do have some bravery within you, but your knowledge is outstanding. But, you would stand up to others, and help others. Oh, tough choice, tough choice indeed. It must be... RAVENCLAW!!!!"


The hat was lifted from her head and she was walking toward the cheering Ravenclaw table. She sat beside Ellie as Trevor Zonts is sorted into Slytherin. She couldn't help but smile.


An older looking woman made her way to a podium in front of the staff table she smiled and everyone fell silent, "Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. We welcome our newcomers and I wish you all a happy school year. May I remind you that the Forbidden Forest is forbidden by all students and that there is to be no magic in the halls. Everyone, again have a great year, enjoy your meal." With a flick of her wand, food appeared on platters and Rose, who was hungry ate until it was time for the prefects to lead her to the Ravenclaw tower. A girl named Faith Garden led them up to the tower and explained you needed to answer a question to gain access.


Once in, Ellie and Rose made there way up to bed, too tired to pay attention to any details about the common room. Rose slumped under the covers and fell asleep.




Chapter Two: The Corridor of Broken Chandeliers


Rose woke up to being shaken, "Rose, wake up! We only have five minutes to get to our first class!"


Rose's eyes burst open, "Five minutes?!" She sat straight up, "Why didn't you wake me up earlier?!"


Ellie was fully dressed and her hair was pinned back, "I didn't want to make you mad."


"Well, I'm mad now!" Rose was already pulling on her cloak over her new school uniform, "What do we have first, and how long will it take to get there?"


As Rose ran a brush through her auburn hair, Ellie looked at her piece of parchment, "Charms. I think it shouldn't take that long to get there, though, if we hurry."


Rose finally pulled her hair back into a high, curly pony tail and grabbed her school bag. She slung it over her shoulder, so the strap went across her chest, "I can't believe you didn't wake me up earlier!"


"Sorry," Ellie squeaked. Together, the girls sprinted down the stairs into the common room, where only a few sixth and seventh years were. They then ran out the door and down the tower steps.


Rose looked at her watch, "Two minutes. Do you know where it is?"


Ellie nodded, "Um yeah... Er.... This way!" She led Rose to the right.


Rose looked around, this part of the castle didn't seem like the rest of it. It was dark and dreary. Chandeliers were not hanging from the ceiling, but instead broken on the floor. There were spots on the walls that looked as if parts had been singed and places where the wallpaper had been torn. Rose bit her lip, "Ellie, I don't think this is the right place."


Ellie nodded, she seemed frightened, "Y- Yeah."


The girls turned, their paces quickened as they tried to not only find Charms, but most importantly, leave this corridor. Their quick walking turned into a full out sprint. Rose, not really paying attention to what was in front of her, ran right into Faith Garden, the Prefect that showed them the Ravenclaw common room. They both stumbled backwards, some books falling out of Faith's arms. Ellie, who had ran passed Rose when she collided with Faith, sprinted back and began help Faith gather her books.


Once Faith had collected herself she looked at the two first years before her, "What are we doing running about the castle when we should be in class?"


Rose cringed, she was already in trouble, "We were just trying to find Charms class..."


"Yeah!" exclaimed Ellie. "We don't know where it is."


Faith, instead of pulling out a leaflet, as Rose thought she would, smiled and motioned them to follow her.


Rose sighed mentally to herself. Maybe, she won't get detention on her first day. She followed Faith up two flights of stairs and turn right. Three doors to the left of the corridor, Faith stopped and knocked.


A voice from inside the room said, "Come in."


Faith opened the door and inside were many rows of desks where first years from Slytherin and Ravenclaw sat, "Sorry, Professor Flitwick, I found these two lost in the corridors."


A short, white haired man that stood a pile of books nodded, "Thank you, Miss Garden."


Faith smiled and left, leaving Rose and Ellie to sit in the only empty seats left unoccupied. The ones to the left and right of Scorpius Malfoy.


Sighing, Rose took the one to his left. How could this be any worse? She then took out a piece of parchment and a quill. She listened as Flitwick began to explain the class and what they'd be doing in the coming months, jotting down anything she thought was important.


Scorpius was quiet. He was probably planning something, Rose thought to herself as she glanced over at his face. He seemed to be concentrating on taking notes. How stupid did he think she was?


Moments later, chimes rang and it was time to move on to their next class. Rose gathered her parchment and placed it in her bag. She then moved her arm across the desk and grabbed her ink pot, but knocking her new quills onto the ground. She sighed and placed her ink pot inside her bag, but before she could bend down, Scorpius had already fetched her quills and held them out to her. Rose glared and him and snatched her quills away from him and put them in her bag. What is trying to do?


Scorpius smiled, “See you later!” He then headed out the door, to where ever Slytherins were going next.


Rose sighed and left the classroom and headed to History of Magic, in which they shared with Gryffindor. She smiled as she sat beside Albus and took out parchment. The ghostly Professor Binns didn’t even explain what the class was going to be about, but rather began the year drawing on about the history of goblins. Rose took every word in, copying down anything that seemed important. She glanced quickly over at Al, whose head was laying on his crossed arms. Rose gave him a nudge, making him look at her. She motioned toward Binns, but Albus just shook his head and went back to resting his head on the table.


Rose rolled her eyes and continued taking notes until the class period ended. Most of the rest of her classes flew by until it was time to go to her last class. She made her way through the corridors to Defense Against the Dark Arts. As she crossed the threshold, she was instantly amazed. The room was four times the size of her regular classroom and the desks were in two rows that went around the whole perimeter of the classroom. Her parents never said it looked anything like this!


She spotted Albus sitting in a desk to her right and sat beside him. They must be taking this class with Gryffindor, Rose thought, but she couldn’t be more wrong. Soon, several first years from all houses filed in. Rose was confused, “I thought we only took classes with one other house.”


Albus shrugged, “I’m not complaining. Hey! Scorpius! Over here!”


Rose groaned as Scorpius made his way over to them, smiling. He sat on the other side of Albus, “Hey!”


“How are you?” Albus asked.


“Good! Hogwarts is awesome!” Scorpius exclaimed, beaming.


Albus nodded, “Yeah, but History of Magic was really boring.”


Scorpius shrugged, “I thought it was interesting.”


Just then, a tan skinned man walked into the center of the room. Conversations and jokes ceased as the man cleared his throat. He didn’t seem strict, because he was smiling, “Welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts! This year we started combining all the houses into one classroom, and we got a bigger classroom so we may do some dueling. In this class you will all learn how to defend yourselves in case the unthinkable happens. And when I say unthinkable, I mean magic that you may have never imagined or thought of. But, once you are done with this class you will all be able to defend yourself against basic Dark magic.”


Murmurs rang throughout the classroom. Out of the corner of her eye, Rose saw Scorpius raise his hand. The professor nodded at him. Scorpius cleared his throat, “Did you say we will be deuling? As in, each other?”


The professor shook his head, “No, those won’t come until your fourth years. In first year, you’ll be ‘battling’ against three cardboard boxes stacked up.” Sounds of disappointment filled the room and the professor smiled, running his fingers through his bronze hair, “Oh, we don’t want anyone to get hurt. Plus, you have to learn some spells first! You also have to know defense tactics, so we will be only reading the book until after Christmas.” The class groaned.


A dark colored Slytherin girl across from Rose’s side of the room raised her hand, “What’s your name?”


The Professor smiled, nicely at the class, “Oh, I have forgotten that, haven’t I? I’m Professor Grant.”


A Hufflepuff boy raised his hand, “When did you start working here?”


Grant smiled, “This is my um...” He paused, thinking how long he had been teaching, “Fifth year teaching this class, the last Professor, Professor Farthings, decided he would rather teach Potions once Professor Slughorn left. Now, let’s take out our books shall we? Does everyone have a copy of Magical Self Defense by Gabrielle McSayers?”


Everyone took out their books and, at Professor Grant’s cue, began reading the first chapter. The room was quiet until the chimes rang, indicating classes were over for the day. Everyone scrambled outside, into the cool autumn day. Rose wandered around the grounds, quietly, watching as everyone met up with friends and were catching up on their summer. First years were either making friends or talking to older sibling. Rose smiled and spotted Ellie. She began to walk towards her, but two other girls beat her. One of them had brown wavy hair and the other had straight blonde hair. Rose walked up to them all, smiling, “Hello.”


All three of them looked at her. Ellie smiled, “Hey Rose!”


The girl with the brown hair looked at Rose intensely, analyzing her, “You have really frizzy hair, you know.”


Unconsciously, Rose touched her ponytail, where her really curly auburn hair was pulled together. She smiled slightly nervous, “Um, yeah.... I got it from my mum...”


Ellie smiled at Rose while the other two smirked. The girl with blonde hair rolled her eyes, “Well, we must be going. You coming, Ellie?”


Ellie looked at the girls and nodded, “Of course!” She looked at Rose, “I’ll see you later!” The girls then walked away, leaving Rose alone. She sighed and continued walking aimlessly. So this is how she was going to spend her years at Hogwarts? All alone?


Suddenly, a voice yelled, “Hey, Rose! Come over here!”


Rose spun around, smiling, and saw Albus waving her over. She ran to him, not even caring that Scorpius was right next to him. Maybe she did, have somebody to spend time with, “Hey, Al!” She finally caught up to them and began walking on Albus’ left, Scorpius was on his right.


“Hello, Rose,” Scorpius smiled. What was he up to? He had to be doing something, hanging out with Albus. Was he trying to to get to her through him?

Albus grinned, “What have you been up to?”


Rose shrugged, “Nothing really, there is nothing to really study for right now.”


Albus smirked, “That’s all you’re gonna do, isn’t it?”


Rose rolled her eyes, “No, of course not, but if we came here for school we should at least learn something.”


Albus groaned.


Scorpius looked at him, “She’s right, you know. It is important for you to pay attention in classes so you can learn magic.”


Rose looked at Scorpius. Now he was agreeing with her? What was this all about?


Albus groaned again, “And just when I thought you were cool.”


Scorpius laughed, “Oh, I am, don’t worry. Have I failed you yet?”


Albus smiled, “No, but it’s only been two days.”


“Where are we heading, anyways?” Rose asked, as they passed the Quidditch pitch.


Albus grinned at her, “To see Hagrid, of course!”


Rose nodded and they continued walking, side by side, to a hut with smoke puffing out chimney. They made their way up to the wooden door and Albus knocked on it. There was sounds of shuffling around and the door opened. There stood Hagrid, smiling, “Why, hello there, Albus ‘nd Rose.” He then looked over at Scorpius, “Why, I don’ think I have met yeh. Wha’ happens to be yer name?”


Scorpius smiled, “My name is Scorpius.”


Albus grinned, “Yeah, he’s pretty awesome.”


Rose rolled her eyes and mumbled, “Sure he is.”


Scorpius looked at her, “What was that?”


Rose looked up, “Oh, nothing.”


Scorpius looked at her, confused. Rose wondered to herself what he was thinking and more so, what his plan was to destroy her life.


“Well, it’s nice to mee’ yer,” Hagrid said, grinning, “Would yeh like to come in?”


Albus nodded and grabbed his friends’ wrists, dragging them inside. Rose felt that his grip was a little too tight, but she didn’t complain. She looked around at the hut, amazed at how big everything was. She felt as if she was smaller than even Ellie. The three children stood together, as Hagrid sat in a chair at a table.


Hagrid smiled, “Wha’ brings yeh three here?”


Not only Rose, but Scorpius too, looked at Albus, who was beaming, “We haven’t seen you since Christmas and wanted to know how you were!”


“I’ve been all righ’ here at Hogwarts. How was yer firs’ day?”


“Great!” Albus exclaimed.


“How abou’ Rose ‘nd Scorpius? How was yer two’s day?”


Rose smiled, “It was good. I liked History of Magic a lot.”


Scorpius nodded, “Yeah, same here, but I really think that Defense Against the Dark Arts is going to be interesting.”


Rose nodded, smiling, then scolded herself for doing so. He’s trying to get to you, She reminded herself.


Hagrid looked out the window then to them, “Well, I’d like yeh to stay and talk, bu’ you bes’ be goin’.”


Rose looked out the window, too, and saw that the sun was already setting. Where had the day gone?


Smiling, Hagrid ushered the three out of his hut, and together they began to walk towards the castle. Scorpius grinned, “He was nice.”


Albus nodded, “Yeah, he’s really funny too! Dad told me some stories about him from when he went here!”


Albus then launched into story, but Rose didn’t really pay attention. She was too busy wondering whether Scorpius actually like the same subjects as her, or if he was just agreeing with her for some unknown, mysterious cause. Maybe she would never know.


No, she would find out. No matter how much effort it took.





Chapter Three: Raised Hands


The rest of the trip to the castle was uneventful and Rose woke up the next morning with plenty of time to get ready. Her auburn hair was pulled into a high ponytail, as normal. She smiled as she had time to spare and wandered into the common room, finally able to soak in the birdcage like roof. The windows showed off much of the grounds meeting the golden sunrise. Rose smiled to herself. Today she would be able to eat breakfast.


Rose turned and smiled as she watched Ellie stumble down the stairs. She walked up to Rose and yawned, "Good morning, Rose."


Rose grinned, "Would you like to go get some breakfast?"


Ellie nodded, "Yeah..."


The two then made their way to the Great Hall and sat at the long Ravenclaw table. Once the room was filled, the silver platters were filled with various food. Rose happily helped herself to a plate of salted scrambled eggs, bacon, and a biscuit. She sipped her silver goblet full of sweet pumpkin juice.


Suddenly, with many feathers floating down towards the ground, a flock of owls soars in through the openings in the wall. An owl with white feathers that had hints of yellow-gold when reflected in light landed in front of Rose.


Ellie looked wide-eyed at the bird, whose leg was outstretched with a small scroll of parchment. "Ooooh! I wonder who sent it, Rose!"


Rose smiled at her, "It's my mum and dad. We just got this owl because our other one isn't really reliable...." Rose carefully untied the delicate scroll and petted the owl's head affectionately.


As Rose unrolled the scroll, surprised not to be looking at her mother's neat handwriting, but her brother's scrawl plastered on the parchment. Ellie leaned over her shoulder to read what it said.

Dear Rose,

How is Hogwarts? What is it like there? I really miss you! It's really lonely here without you and I had to degnome the garden all by myself! Dad says that you'll be home for Christmas. Is that real? I wish I could go to Hogwarts. I still have to wait 1 more year! Doesn't that seem like forever? Well anyways, I have to go now, or mum will find out that I'm not cleaning my room.

From,

Hugo Weasley

Ellie's eyebrows furrowed, "Who's that?"


"My brother," Rose replied smiling. Unlike other families, where siblings fought constantly, Rose and Hugo were more like friends. They got along just fine. Rose would help Hugo understand things and Hugo, in return, would listen.


"He has sloppy handwriting," Ellie pointed out.


Rose simply shrugged and pulled out a small piece of parchment from her school bag. She then pushed her plate and goblet aside, smoothing the parchment against the table. She then grabbed a quill and ink, and began writing.

Dear Hugo,

I'm having a great time here at Hogwarts! You'd love it here! There are many different classes and people. I made a friend named Ellie and I will always have Albus, too. Incase you were wondering, I was sorted into Ravenclaw and so far I like it.

Yes, I will be coming home during Christmas. I promise. You should probably do what mum and dad ask of you, so you do not get in trouble. Speaking of mum and dad, tell them I said I love them and I'm doing fine.

With Much Love,

Rose Weasley

Rose the rolled up the parchment and tied it in place around the owl's foot, "Home to Hugo. You know where that is." She grinned as she watched the owl fly away.


Ellie smiled, "Well, that was nice."


Rose nodded and stood, it was about time to be heading to their first class. Avoiding the "Corridor of Broken Chandeliers," as Ellie called it, the girls made their way straight to Charms. Once allowed in the classroom, Rose made sure that she and Ellie sat as far away from Scorpius as possible. Class began when Professor Flitwick stood on his pile of books, "Welcome to your first lesson. We will performing the spell 'Wingardium Leviosa.' Does anyone know what this spell does?"


Rose's hand flew into the air. She had spent a lot of the summer going through her textbooks, asking her mother and father questions about various spells and potions. Some nights, if she was lucky, she would remember her mother bringing out one of her old textbooks, with spells not even in her book.


Rose must have not been the only one with their hand up, because Flitwick didn't even look in her direction when he asked, "Yes?"


"It levitates the object you cast the spell on," a familiar voice said. So familiar. Rose turned around to see Scorpius smiling brightly. So, was this what he was up to?


"Correct! Ten points to Slytherin! Now, we will all be practicing the levitation on feathers," And when Professor Flitwick flicked his wand, a feather zoomed to every student. "Now remember, the wand movement is a swish and a flick."


Rose looked down at her feather and moved her wand with her words, "Wingardium Leviosa!" The feather shot right up in the air. Her first try, and she was successful. She looked around to smirk at Scorpius, only to find that he had been just as successful as her. She grimaced, looking at her feather that was now on her desk from losing eye contact. Sighing, she repeated, "Wingardium Leviosa!" The feather floated in the air again,she was determined to keep it in the air longer than Scorpius ever could.


A week later, Scorpius and Rose had been upgraded to bricks, while the rest of the class still struggled with the feathers. Professor Flitwick even placed them together in the front table every day so the rest of the class could see what to do and to Rose, this was torture. She always walked in, seeing him smiling, but she knew that deep inside he was laughing evilly at her. Every time he said, "Good morning, Rose! How is your day so far?" he was really insulting her in his mind, saying that he was better at magic than she was.


Every day, Rose was determined to get her brick in the air first and keep it suspending longer than Scorpius could. Although, Scorpius didn't think about it that way, so it seemed. He always smiled at Rose and gave her encouragement. What was his plan and why did it involve getting into her mind?


Clearing her throat after another drop of the brick, Rose articulated, "Wingardium Leviosa!" The brick floated into the air, but Rose must admit, it was harder to keep the brick in the air than it was the feather. Soon her brick fell with a thump! And Scorpius' came shortly after.


Just then, chimes rang and it was time to move to the next class. Rose gathered her things and made her way out into the corridors full of hyper students. It was the week for Quidditch try-outs, something Rose never really cared for. Although, whenever she was with Albus, all he could talk about was being on the Gryffindor Quidditch team one day. He really wanted to be a Chaser... Whatever that meant.


Rose finally squeezed her way through the jostling crowd of students and made her way into History of Magic. She sat in her usual seat beside Albus, who was currently doodling on a piece of scrap parchment. Rose couldn't see his drawing, but she suspected it had something to do with Quidditch.


Rose took out some parchment and a quill, readying herself to take notes. Professor Binns came into the classroom and smiled. All the Gryffindors and Ravenclaws focused on him. He began going on about various historical facts and before Rose knew it, class was over and she had filled two scrolls of parchment with information.


Rose zoomed through Transfigurations, in which they just read the textbook, and sat through Potions, creating a potion which cures upset tummies. Then, she made her way to Defense Against the Dark Arts. She sat in her usual seat beside Albus. Scorpius sat on his other side and smiled, “I can’t wait to go watch the Slytherin Quidditch tryouts today!”


Albus gaped at him, “Your’s are today?!”


Scorpius nodded, “Yep.”


“Lucky!”


Rose sighed, Quidditch was such a boring subject to talk about. She opened her textbook to the next chapter they would be reading, Magical Ways of Protection Without A Wand. She began skimming the chapter when Professor Grant walked in, “Books away! We will be having a class discussion on the previous chapter about protection against Muggle’s pets.”


Rose closed her book and put it back into her bag. She looked up at Professor Grant, who was in the center of the classroom. He was looking around at all the students, smiling, “So, we know that it is against the law to perform magic while in the presence of a Muggle. But, what if their pet, let’s say dog, lunges at you. What do you do?”


Rose raised her hand and looked to her right to see Scorpius was raising his hand too. She raised her hand higher, and so did he. She raised her hand even higher, and he followed suit. She stood up, her hand raised to it’s maximum length. Scorpius stood too, his arm raised higher than her’s. Rose glared at him when Professor Grant called on him.


“At first you don’t try to use any magic, and just act like a Muggle,” Scorpius answered, grinning.


“Correct! Take ten points!” Professor Grant exclaimed.


Rose groaned and plopped down onto her chair. She crossed her arms and looked at her desk.


Professor Grant cleared his throat, “And, what if there aren’t any Muggles around, just their dog coming after you?”


Rose raised her hand, pointlessly, because Scorpius was called on again. Smiling he answered, “Then, you should use the Confundus Charm. It will only confuse the dog so you can get away, without injuring it.”


“Correct again, Scorpius, take another ten points!” Professor Grant exclaimed, “Now, what if there is only one Muggle around, and you must defend yourself from the dog, because it is about to seriously hurt you?”


Rose raised her hand, but Scorpius was called on again. Before he could even answer, Rose stood, “How come he gets to answer every single question!?”


She could feel her face burning red as Professor Grant looked at her, “Now, Rose, we shouldn’t speak out of turn, should we?”


Rose felt tears fill her eyes, threatening to fall. Her voice started to become hoarse as she spoke, “But you never call on me!”


The tears did, suddenly fall down her cheeks, was Scorpius a better student than her? Did she fail her father? Professor Grant looked at her, “Maybe, you should raise your hand faster than Scorpius, if you wish to answer the question.”


To make matters worse, Scorpius looked at Rose sympathetically. So, he is trying to get at her? Even now? Not giving it a second thought, Rose packed her bag and headed towards the door.


“Rose! Come back!” She heard Albus call, but she continued into the corridor.


She ran as fast as she could toward the bathroom. But, she didn’t make it far before James stopped her in the middle of the hall, “Are you alright?”


Rose tried to ignore him and walk around him, but James managed to grab her by the shoulders and direct her on a walk around the corridors.


“What’s the matter?” James asked, once Rose resolved to only sniffling.


“Scorpius,” she answered, quietly.


James smirked, “Ah, boy troubles already?”


Rose shook her head, “No...”


“Then, what’s wrong?”


“He- He keeps answering all the questions because Professor G- Grant only calls on him. A- And he is always nice to me. But, th- there has to be something wrong w- with him.”


“And, why would you say that?”


“Because, my dad told me to beat him at every test.”


James stopped walking and started laughing. Rose frowned and glared at him. How was this even funny?


Once James stopped laughing he looked at Rose, “Oh, you’re being serious. Rose, don’t listen to your father all the way. He jokes a lot and plus, he really doesn’t like Scorpius’ dad.”


Rose looked up at him, “Why?”


“Well, maybe it’s best if he tells you.”


Rose looked down as the chimes rang for the end of classes and students began to fill the corridors. James patted her on the back, “Maybe you should try to make friends with Scorpius. I have to go now, though. Good luck!” With that, James was gone.


After dropping her bag off on her bed, Rose made her way outside. The fresh air seemed to relax her and calm her nerves. She began to make her way to a tree, when Albus made his way up to her, Scorpius traveling in his wake.


As much as Rose wanted to walk in the other direction, she stood still, feeling that she shouldn’t shun Albus.


“Are you thick!?” Albus exclaimed, “You just walked right out of the classroom! Did you know that Grant took twenty points from Ravenclaw because you did that!? Not many happy Ravenclaws in that classroom, I can tell you that!”


Rose sighed, looking at Scorpius, who seemed to be looking down at his feet. Rose then looked back at Albus, “Al, I’m okay now. No need for the scolding.”


Albus looked at her, skeptical, but nodded, “Well, I guess I can’t be mad at you, since my house didn’t lose any points, but if I was a Ravenclaw, I would be so mad at you!”


Rose rolled her eyes, “Yeah, yeah, I get it.”


Albus looked at her, “Well, are you coming with us?”


Rose looked right at Scorpius on the word “us”. She didn’t avert her eyes from Scorpius when she answered Albus, “Where?”


“To watch Slytherin Quidditch tryouts, of course!” Albus exclaimed.


Rose sighed, Quidditch sounded so boring, but if all the Ravenclaws were mad at her, then there was a near zero chance that Ellie would want to do something with her. She nodded, and Albus began to lead the way toward the Quidditch pitch, Scorpius to his left. As Rose walked behind them she saw a few Ravenclaws in her year glaring at her. She looked down, hoping they would look away.


Finally they made it into the stands and looked out into the pitch, which was filled with various students dressed in green and silver, clutching broomsticks. Then a boy with dark black hair made his way into the center of the pitch and called out in a loud, deep voice, “Welcome to Slytherin Quidditch try-outs! Now, could I have potential Beaters get together over there.” He pointed at one end of the pitch. A portion of the group broke off and walked over to the area in which they were directed to be. “Now, Chasers over there!”


Rose smirked as Albus perked up at the word “Chasers.” She watched as his eyes followed the group that walked over to the place where the boy was pointing.


The boy smiled, “Now remember, there are only two Chaser spots open, since I am a Chaser. Alright, Keepers over there.” The rest of the group except one small girl moved over to the indicated area. The one small girl looked up at the boy. The boy looked at her, almost disappointed, “So, I guess you’re our Seeker?”


The little girl nodded, wide eyed, “Yes, sir.”


The boy sighed, “Alright, I’ll see how good you are. Go wait over there.” He pointed to the near goals. She nodded and ran there fast.


Scorpius and Albus watched intently, making comments every few seconds. Rose however, just skimmed over the Chasers, Keepers, and Beaters, already knowing pretty much which ones would make the team, but she couldn’t help but look at the little girl, who was in her year, no doubt, continue to fall off the school supplied broom after only being in the air for thirty seconds. She could see the boy shaking his head, upset no doubt.


“Hey, I want to get closer to the pitch and get a better look at the Chasers,” Albus said, Rose nodded, along with Scorpius and the three made their way down to the edge of the pitch.


Rose watched as the small girl made her way pretty high up into the air, much higher than the goal posts. While Albus’ eyes were still glued to the Chasers, Rose could see out of the corner of her that Scorpius was looking at the girl too. He seemed slightly nervous.


The girl was flying in figure eights around in the air. She continued accelerating faster and faster. Then, suddenly, her broom went out of control and she began free falling.


Rose watched as Scorpius grabbed a broom right out of a boy’s hand and jumped on it. He kicked off the broom and began flying directly toward the falling girl. He almost missed her, but ended up grabbing her hand. Then the girl reached up and grabbed Scorpius’ broom and, with Scorpius’ help, pulled herself up onto it. Rose watched as Scorpius made his way down, the Slytherins gathering around, cheering. Scorpius put the girl on the ground, where she looked up and him, shaking. Scorpius smiled at her, before turning around and running toward Rose and Albus. Albus was beaming and gave Scorpius a high-five. Rose just stared at him, why did he save that girl? Was he really nice, like James suggested?



“Did you see that!?” Albus exclaimed.


Scorpius nodded, “Yeah... I was the one who kind of did it...”


Then, the boy with the dark hair came over to Scorpius and slapped him on the back. He was grinning, “Hey, I’m Tyler Ferrins. May I have a word with you?”


Scorpius looked at Rose and Albus. Rose watched Albus nodded, excitedly. Then, Scorpius walked away. Rose looked at Albus, “What now?”


“I don’t know. I bet he’ll tell us later, but it’s nearly time for supper. I’m starving!” Albus exclaimed.


Rose nodded and she followed Albus up to the Castle and into the Great Hall where they broke off. Rose made her way to the Ravenclaw table, where many glares were made her way, but she didn’t really think about it. She looked at the near empty Slytherin table. Most of them must be still at the pitch. Ellie walked toward the table with the two snobby girls that made fun of Rose earlier. Rose smiled at Ellie, but she just glared back at her and sat at the other end of the table.


Rose sighed, and watched as the rest of the Slytherins made their way into the Great Hall, many of them with dirty robes and frowns on their faces. Some had smiles, but the one with the biggest smile had to be Scorpius.





Chapter Four: The Plan


"What?!" Albus exclaimed the next afternoon, when the three were sitting under a tree.


"How many times do I have to tell you?" Scorpius laughed. He sat between Albus and Rose, beaming. "I'm the new Slytherin Seeker. Although I can't complain, I would rather be a Beater."

"That's totally wicked!" Albus smiled, "whose try-outs are today?"

"Hufflepuff, I think," Scorpius answered.

"You think they'd let us watch if we don't know any Hufflepuffs?"

"Who cares?!" Rose interrupted. She really didn't wish to watch any other Quidditch try-outs. What she really wanted more than anything was to sit under this tree and finish up on the homework that she was doing. It was a series of many rather easy short answer questions that Professor Sammel, the Transfiguration professor, assigned.

"Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed." Albus said, sticking his tongue out at Rose.

"Oh, real mature, Al!"

“Stop fighting!” Scorpius intervened, “It gets rather annoying, and Albus, we shouldn’t even go to the Hufflepuff Quidditch try-outs anyways.”

Albus frowned, “Aww... Why?”

“Because, none of us are Hufflepuff, can’t you tell?” Scorpius explained.

“I agree, I don’t want to go,” Rose said, not believing that the words came out of her mouth. Agreeing with Scorpius was rather strange and she was against it, but on the other hand, she really didn’t want to go to the Quidditch try-outs.

“Fine,” Albus groaned, “Hey, Rose, can you check my work?”

Albus passed his parchment to Rose, who nodded and started going over his short answers, crossing out incorrect answers and replacing them with the correct ones. “You know you only have to tap the object, not do some ridiculous wand movements, right?”

“Oh, whatever, just get it done,” Albus said. “Once you finish we can find something to do.”

“How about the library?” Scorpius suggested, shoving his parchment into his black messenger bag.

Albus groaned, “That sounds so boring.”

Rose shrugged, “I don’t know. I like the library.” She took her eyes off of Albus’ assignment and looked at Scorpius. Another similarity? How could this be? Is he actually planning something? A week ago Rose would have thought so, but now she wasn’t so sure.

Albus groaned again, “Why don’t we do something fun!?”

Rose sighed, fixing Albus’ last error, “As in?”

“I don’t know. Maybe we could go on an adventure! Oh, thanks.” Rose had handed back his parchment and he was reading through the answers she had corrected.

“An adventure?” Rose laughed, “Where? How could we go on an adventure?”

“I don’t know where, but my dad told me stories about when he went on adventures!”

Scorpius sighed, “We have to know where to go if we want to go on an adventure, Albus.”

Albus mentioned something about the Forbidden Forest and was explaining something about giant spiders. Rose, although, wasn’t really listening as the memory of the one dreadful hallway filled her mind. “The Corridor of Broken Chandeliers,” she whispered.

“The what!?” Albus exclaimed, excited.

His outburst brought Rose back to reality, “Oh, nothing.”

“Oh, you definitely said something!” Albus beamed. He was practically bouncing on his knees.

Rose sighed, she supposed she would have to tell Albus at some point, but with Scorpius looking at her with such an intense gaze that it felt as if he was burning holes into her head, she didn’t really feel comfortable. She then looked at Albus again and sighed, curse his eagerness, “I just was thinking about the corridor that Ellie and I went by on our first day of class on accident.”

“Where is it!? You need to show us!”

Rose had expected Albus to respond like that, but she looked over at Scorpius. He was nodding, as if she had to explain more. She sort of didn’t want to tell Albus about it with Scorpius around. She didn’t know whether to trust him or not, but Albus probably wouldn’t want to stop discussing the hallway.

Sighing, Rose looked down and began to pick at the grass, “It’s just a small walk from the Ravenclaw Tower. You just turn right at the third turn.”
“I say we should go check this out,” said Albus, surprisingly in a whisper that sounded somewhat serious.

Before Rose could argue against this crazy idea of returning to that corridor, Scorpius nodded, “I agree. It seems sort of shady, what if the professors don’t know about it?”

“Maybe we could tell them?” Rose suggested, feeling a little nervous about the whole thing.

“No, we can’t tell anyone we know about it! What if they think that we were the ones that broke all of those chandeliers?” Albus said, looking at Rose. “We will go check it out and see what is in there.”

“Yeah, just look around,” Scorpius nodded.

“But, what if we aren’t supposed to be in there?” Rose asked, she felt as if she would throw up.

“Oh, Rose, I thought you were brave.” Albus said, rolling his eyes, “If you won’t go, Scorpius and I’ll just have to roam the castle tonight clueless and get caught.”

“No, Al, you wouldn’t do that.” Rose looked at him, pleadingly. “Fine... I’ll show you, just don’t get yourself in trouble.”

Albus and Scorpius grinned, high-fiving one another. Rose sighed, “When are we doing this?”

“I don’t see why we should wait,” Albus said, his eyes widening.

“Woah, Albus. Don’t get so excited. We can’t let anyone see us go in there,” Scorpius said. “What time do you think we should go in, Rose?”

From that question, Rose knew that they had automatically put her in charge. That meant whatever happened, good or bad, would most certainly be blamed on her. She bit her lip, thinking, whatever time they left, it had to be a perfect time to go, so they didn’t get caught, “How about right after dinner?”

Albus and Scorpius both nodded. Rose looked back at the grass; she never wanted to break any of the rules, especially for a stupid hallway. Although, maybe this would be the true test as to whether she could fully trust Scorpius or not.

Albus got up and looked at them, “Well, I have to go get ready.”

“We aren’t leaving for a few hours, Al.” Rose informed him, looking at her watch.

“I know, but I have to go dig something out of my trunk.” With that, Albus ran into the castle.

Scorpius looked at Rose awkwardly, “So... Library for now?”

Rose nodded, “Sure.”

She didn’t plan on sitting with Scorpius, but once they got there, they found the library quite packed. The two sat at a wooden table, crammed between two worried looking sixth years whispering to one another. They didn’t have any sort of book or parchment with them; in fact that is what all the students seemed to be like, nervously whispering to one another. Scorpius gave Rose a questioning look, but didn’t say anything, going back to looking around at all the students.

Rose looked at the sixth year who was sitting by her, “Excuse me, but what is all this fuss about?”

The girl looked down at her, wide eyed, her brown hair seemed to be sending off electricity, the way it stood up, “Haven’t you heard? A third year Hufflepuff boy didn’t show up to Quidditch try-outs.”

Rose thought this was such a huge commotion for a boy who just didn’t show up to Quidditch try-outs. In fact, she could almost laugh about it, “So?”

“So, he was bragging to his friends yesterday on how he would make the team, but nobody has seen him since then. Now that he hasn’t been at try-outs, like he has been every year, it's said that he has just disappeared.”

“Disappeared? But that can’t happen. My mum told me that nobody could apparate or disapparate onto Hogwarts grounds.”

“That’s the strange thing, isn’t it? Nobody knows how he disappeared, but he just did.” The girl then turned back to her friend, who was impatiently tapping on her shoulder.

Rose knit her eyebrows together, this couldn’t possibly be true. Probably just another tactic to try and scare the first years, but why would there be so many of them gathered into the library, nervous beyond belief?

She sighed and grabbed herself a book about magical creatures that looked rather interesting and submersed herself into it. Dinner time came faster than she knew it and she sat at the Ravenclaw table. She spotted Albus at the end at the Gryffindor table and Scorpius in the center of the Slytherin table. Now, she began to wonder, where they were going to meet after dinner to go to the Corridor of Broken Chandeliers.

Rose scoped herself some beef stew and grabbed a bread roll. The salt in the stew seemed to only slightly calm her nerves. She broke off a piece of the bread and dipped it into the stew, watching it soak up the broth. She then ate it and repeated this, like a robot. She could only think of the plan and nothing else.

Soon, the stew left the tables and various pies filled the silver platters. Rose couldn’t even think about eating just a slice. Any other day, she would be thrilled to take a slice of blackberry pie, but knowing what she was about to do, she couldn’t do it. She stole a look at Albus, who had placed three slices of pie onto his plate. He seemed very happy, laughing with all his Gryffindor comrades. Rose looked at the pie on her table. She took a small sliver, after seeing everyone at the table doing so, not wanting to look suspicious. Although, Ellie was eyeing her. Did she know what Rose was about to do? The thought made Rose’s stomach twist even more.

Finally, dinner was over and the students began to make their way to bed. Rose looked at Albus and Scorpius, finally making eye contact with them both and walked towards where the Ravenclaws usually went after meal time. Albus and Scorpius followed, receiving stares from Rose’s house members. Now how were they to break off? Rose looked behind at Albus and Scorpius, and gave them a look of utter confusion. Albus returned the confused stare, but Scorpius looked rather confident. He then suddenly made a sharp turn into an empty corridor, dragging Albus with him. It was now up to Rose to get away, unseen.

Just as she was about to copy Scorpius, and turn a sharp left, Ellie bounded up to her. “Hey, Rose, I just wanted to tell you I was sorry about yesterday. It was those girls; they were saying really nasty things about you.”

“Oh... Er... Thanks, Ellie.” Rose tried to break off the conversation by moving through the crowd of Ravenclaws, but Ellie followed.

“I am really, really sorry. I want to be friends again.”

“Okay, we can be friends, I forgive you,” Rose answered, quickly, hoping that she would go away.

Ellie smiled and hugged her tightly; Rose squirmed, as she was trapped in that one spot. Ellie then released and smiled at Rose, “So, want to walk up to bed together? I have something I want to show you.”

“Oh... Well... Umm... Bathroom.”

“Oh, alright! See you when you get upstairs.”
Rose ran in the direction of the bathroom closest to where she was and waited until she couldn’t hear the chattering and joking of her fellow Ravenclaws, then made her way to the hallway in which she saw Albus and Scorpius earlier.

“Took you long enough,” Albus complained.

“Sorry, I was held up, you two ready?” Rose asked.

They both nodded and Albus whispered happily, “Of course.”

Rose smiled, “Alright, follow me, then."

She led them down the various halls and corridors until they reached the one Ellie and she had accidentally walked into. They stood at the entrance to it. Rose saw the two taking in the scariest corridor they had ever seen. She looked at the chandeliers that were shattered into millions of pieces on the ground. The place seemed even more chilling at night than it had that cool autumn morning. Now, they will have to walk into it. Rose sucked in a deep breath and took one step in.




Chapter Five: Daydreams


The corridor was colder than the rest of the school. She saw Scorpius wander slightly ahead of her, but not too far. Albus stood beside Rose, looking down the corridor, “Somebody hasn’t been cleaning.”


“We should stay together,” Scorpius suggested. Rose and Al nodded. Five minutes passed and the three had not moved. Rose wondered if this would dangerous. No, she reassured herself, everything will be alright. We are just going to look around an abandoned corridor. No need to worry. It was just a normal corridor. Although, it felt anything but normal. Just standing here sent shivers down her spine. It felt as if a ghost flew directly through her.


“Well,” Scorpius said, breaking the silence, “should we go?”


Albus nodded, “Yeah...”


Rose followed them silently through the dark corridor, away from the light and warmth. The three played a jumping game around the first chandelier, trying to avoid the shattered glass. Rose had almost slipped, but Scorpius caught her. She looked at him curiously, is he still planning something? She shook her head, now was not the time to think about it.


The further they traveled the darker it would get. Soon, it was hard to see anything, and Rose had to squint her eyes just to see motions from the other two.


“I can’t see a thing!” Albus exclaimed.


“Me neither,” Rose replied.


“One sec guys,” Scorpius said. It sounded like he was rummaging through his robes. “My father taught me this once I got my wand. Lumos!” The end of his wand lit up, brightly. Rose wasn’t squinting anymore because she couldn’t see, but rather because she was looking directly into the light that was so bright. With Scorpius’ wand revealing more of the hall, the three moved forward.


It felt like an hour, the more they walked. Rose gave up on consulting her watch, because the minutes seemed to drag on and on as they walked silently. Rose looked down, at the ground walking further. She focused on her breathing, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale. The walk was dulling out her mind. What did Albus think was going to be here!? Then, Rose noticed the two came to a halt and so did she, “Why did we stop?”


“Shh!” Scorpius whispered. His lit wand was pointed outward, and so was Albus’ Rose noticed.


Then, Rose heard a faint hissing sound. She knew that the three were not alone. She pulled out her wand, too. Looking around, she took in every detail. Grimy walls that looked as if they were once white and tile floor that had dirt smudges and broken glass scattered about it. Without knowing, the three stood in a circle, facing outward. Then, out of the corner of her eye Rose saw something move quickly and aimed her wand in that direction. Another hissing noise came, louder than the first.


Then, without warning, Scorpius’ wand went out.


“Why did you do that!?” Albus exclaimed, a tone of fear in his voice.


“I- I didn’t mean to... Lumos!” Nothing happened, Scorpius’ voice became a little shaky, “Lumos! Come on! Lumos! Lumos! LUMOS!!!”


The hissing grew louder, filling the whole corridor, it seemed to bounce off the walls. Then, Rose heard a scream.



She then felt something slimy against her ankles and tensed her body. Rose took a step back, trying back up into the other two, but they weren't there. Then, the slimy tentacle feeling around her ankles tighten. She began to panic; she couldn't move. Then, she felt something clutch the back of her robes and pull her backwards, out of the slimy stuff. She knew it couldn't be good. She let out a scream, kicking and thrashing. She was going to die.


“Stop,” she heard a familiar voice whisper.


"Scorpius?!"


"Yeah, it's me."


"Where is Albus?"


“I don't know where Albus is.”


Albus is missing? This can’t be. Rose held out her arms trying to find her cousin in the darkness, but it was no use. He wasn’t there.


Then, candles started to float into the corridor, but these were not like the candles in the Great Hall. No, these candles had thick, grey wax and the flame was a bright illuminating green instead of a cheerful light yellow. They soared upward toward the ceiling.


That was when Rose could see her cousin suspended by the back of his robes on a hook in the ceiling that looked as if it used to hold a chandelier. He looked as if he was in a trance, staring out into space. "Albus!" Rose screamed in vain. "Albus Severus Potter! You come down right now!"


Albus continued to look as if he was daydreaming. Then dark, dreary purple smoke materialized around Rose's feet. The hissing then turned into a loud whisper, "Take him."


Rose shuddered as she saw a dark green masquerade mask with a bright yellow plume rise from the darkness, floating toward Albus. "Albus! No!" Rose shrieked.


Scorpius looked around frantically as the mask slowly continued to approach Albus' face, "Stop! Stop it!"


Rose looked wide eyed at mask, it was soon about to touch Albus' face. Then what would happen? Rose didn't even want to think about it.


Suddenly, a high pitched voice yelled, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"


Rose turned around and saw Faith Garden directing a silver translucent bear toward the mask. Once they collided the mask changed directions from Albus to Faith. Faith fell into a trance and Albus' robes ripped from the back and he fell to the ground, landing on his hands and knees. Rose watched fearfully as the mask made it's way toward Faith.


Then, Scorpius yelled, "Grab her and let's get out of here!"


Nodding, Rose grabbed one of Faith's arm and Scorpius grabbed the other. Rose then looked around. The smoke had risen up to the ceiling, she turned in circles. "Which direction?!"


The mask continued to slowly approach Faith, who looked as if she was having a peaceful daydream. Albus then was at Rose's side again, rummaging through his bag.


"What could you possibly be grabbing?!" Rose yelled at Albus. When he pulled out a piece of old parchment, Rose thought the trance had made him go mental. "What are we going to need parchment for, Albus?!" This was no time for games, they had to get Faith away from the mask.


Albus clutched his wand tightly and tapped it on the parchment and yelled quickly, clearly panicked, "I SOLEMNLY SWEAR THAT I AM UP TO NO GOOD!!!"


Just as Rose was about to slap the parchment out of Albus' hands, a map slowly materialized on it. She gasped as he flipped through the pages until he got to one where it showed exactly where they were standing. "Does it show the way out?!"


Albus nodded, "That way!" He pointed straight ahead of them, into the dark corridor.


Rose and Scorpius nodded, pulling Faith through the darkness, not even bothering to stop and light up their wands. After a while Rose's arms started to become sore and tired, but she continued pulling. She was focused on getting Faith to safety.


After what seemed like hours, they pulled Faith into the lit corridor, where she began to awaken from the mask's spell. Rose watched as she slowly sat up and shook her head, "What happened?"


"You were taken into like a sleep, but with your eyes open," Albus described.


"So, we dragged you back here..." Rose said.


Faith's eyes widened, "Th- thank you." She then stood up on her feet, a little shaky, as Albus was. She cleared her voice to make it sound more authoritative, "Don't ever go down that corridor again! You were lucky that I heard a scream and that I can actually see it. Don't you go telling your friends, either."


Rose knit her eyebrows together, "What do you mean you can actually see it?"


Faith sighed, looking drained, "All of my friends can't see it when I point it out to them. That's why we cannot tell anyone. They'll think we're nuts!"


Rose looked down, confused, why wouldn't her friends be able to this hall?


Albus was packing his parchment, "I wanna go to bed."


Scorpius nodded in agreement, "Yeah, I've had enough for one night, too.


Faith sighed, "I'll escort everyone to their common rooms so that you can't get lost."


Moaning and groaning Albus, Scorpius, and Rose followed Faith. They stopped outside the Gryffindor tower, making sure Albus made it safely in, then turned around to head to the Slytherin Dungeon. It was a long silent walk that Rose used to look at Scorpius. Never, would she distrust him again.


After they dropped Scorpius off, Rose and him promising to see each other the next day, Faith led Rose up to the Ravenclaw common room. Rose trudged up the stairs and into the room in which she slept. She looked at peaceful Ellie, who was curled up in her bed sound asleep. Too bad she never was able to show Rose that something.


Yawning, Rose exchanged her day robes for pajamas and clambered into her bed, pulling the covers over her head.


Rose slept for what felt like only minutes before she sat up bed. The sun was lighting up the sky outside the window near her bed and she knew it was time to start the day, trying to forget what happened the night before.


She walked over to her trunk and used all the energy she could muster to open it and pull out her robes for the day. She then threw them on her bed and stripped off her pajamas. After she pulled on her robes, she headed toward the common room full of groggy and irritative Ravenclaws making their way to breakfast. She followed the crowd of them through the various corridors, keeping her eyes off the Corridor of Broken Chandeliers, and entered the Great Hall.


Rose caught Scorpius' eye, as he sat at the Slytherin table, nibbling on some toast. She half-heartedly smiled at him, and plopped down in a seat beside Ellie, who was eating a waffle covered in rich syrup. Rose could barely stomach her eggs, but she knew she needed food as she barely had any the night before. Her eyes gazed into the Gryffindor table, scanning for Albus. She couldn't find him. Maybe he was still asleep after the long night before.


As soon as Ellie finished her waffle, she looked at Rose, "Hey, where were you last night? I stayed up for two hours!"


Rose bit her lip. She didn't really feel like confronting Ellie about this now. Rose couldn't possibly come up with a very plausible lie at the second. She took a deep breath and looked at Ellie, "I got lost and Faith found me."


That much wasn't a lie. She did get lost and Faith did find her. Rose praised herself internally. Ellie looked down at her food, "The staircases?"


Rose nodded and her eyes wandered over to the Slytherin table. Scorpius had discarded his toast and was looking off, pointedly. Rose followed his gaze to the Gryffindor table, where Professor Grant was whispering to James. Rose raised an eyebrow, what was going on? She watched as James rose and began to follow Grant out of the Great Hall.


"Are you okay, Rose?" Ellie asked. She must have been looking for a while.


"Yeah, um.... I'll see you in Charms." Rose stood and began to follow James and Grant. She picked up her pace, trying to keep them in sight. Where were they going? Then, she heard footsteps behind her. She stopped, waiting for a professor to come and ask her why she was wandering the corridors, but a scolding didn't come.


Instead, Scorpius ran up beside her, breathing heavily, "Albus wasn't at breakfast."


"I know, I just saw James leave with Grant."


"Me too, let's go."


Scorpius and Rose dashed, following Grant's coat as it whipped around corners. They stayed on their toes, trying to not be heard. Then, they came to a halt, pressing themselves against a wall, watching James and Grant enter the hospital wing.


Chapter 6: A Game, A Book, and A Treat


Rose looked at Scorpius, who raised his eyebrow. She then looked back at the double doors. "What do you think they're doing?" she whispered, even if there wasn't a reason to.


"I don't know... Do you think it has something to do with Albus?"


Rose shrugged, "Maybe..."


"Well, let's go in. We can't get in trouble for going into the hospital wing!"


Rose nodded, "Alright..." Together, the two made their way down the silent corridor and into the buzzing hospital wing. Two rows of beds went down the walls. Most beds were empty, but a few had students laying on them. Rose looked to her right and saw a sickly looking Faith. Her skin was pale and her brown eyes had bags beneath them. She vomiting every few minutes into a silver bucket.


Then, Rose felt a nudge on her arm. She looked at Scorpius who nodded in the direction of Professor Grant and James. They were standing at the foot of a bed that held a puking Albus. Rose felt her stomach twist into knots watching her cousin look so sickly. If both Faith and Albus were sick, then it must have been from the mask. She bit her lip, did anyone know? She looked back at Grant and James, who were talking in quiet whispers. Grant turned and left, leaving James at his brother's side.


"Come on," Scorpius said to Rose. They moved to Albus' side. Rose fell to her knees and looked at him. Up close she could see sweat beads on his forehead and how dilated his eyes were.


"Mum..." Albus moaned, weakly before puking into his silver bucket.


"She's coming, don't worry. Grant's sending for her," James said, pulling back Albus' messy hair from his forehead.


"What happened to him?" Scorpius asked.


James shrugged, "We don't know, but whatever it is, Faith over there has the same thing. Too bad her parents won't come for her."


Scorpius met Rose's eyes. If nobody knew how this happened, then it must have the mask. No doubt. Rose shook her head. She can think about it later. She stood back on her feet and looked down at Albus.


"Is Albus going home?" She asked. How could her cousin leave her alone? He was her only real friend. Ellie was all wishy washy and she had only just started being okay with Scorpius.


"No," James said, "He's just been begging for Mum and Dad since he came here."


"When was that?" Scorpius asked, looking at James.


"The nurse said it was at midnight when she got call that two students were puking their guts out."


"Strange..." Scorpius said, looking back at Albus.


"When's Aunt Ginny and Uncle Harry supposed to be here?" Rose asked.


"I don't know... I'd expect them to be apparating in Hogsmeade right now..." James answered, turning toward the double doors. "I'm going to go talk to them before they get here. Mum is probably going to be upset."


Rose nodded as James left. She focused on Albus, who had just finished puking into his silver bucket.


"Why did you make me go in there, Rose?" he groaned.


"Me? You're the one who wanted an adventure," Rose rolled her eyes. There was no way Albus was blaming this on her.


"But you told us about it... And now look at me..." Albus sunk under the covers a little more.


"But it wasn't my fault! I tried to stop you!"


"Not hard enough... How could you?"


Albus' words were like a dagger in Rose's heart. Her cousin was her best friend and she hated making him feel like she purposefully hurt him. She bit her lip, "I'm sorry, Al. I won't try to make you throw up anymore."


"Not good enough..." he moaned. "You're making me miss Gryffindor Quidditch try-outs today."


"I'm sorry, Al. There isn't anything I can do. You're a first year anyways, you probably wouldn't make it anyways."


"Well, now we won't know. Will we?"


Rose sighed, looking at Albus, "What do you want me to do, then?"


Albus was silent for a few seconds, thinking. Rose bit her lip, he was surely going to think of something exceptionally dreadful.


"You have to try-out for Ravenclaw's Quidditch team," Albus said, smiling.


That was it? Rose would just have to try-out for Quidditch? She smiled, there was no way she could make the team. She just had to stay on the broom, "Okay."


Just then the double doors opened and a very worried looking Ginny walked in quickly followed by James and then Harry. Scorpius stepped away from the bed and Rose followed.


"I think we should get to Charms," Scorpius whispered into Rose's ear.


Rose nodded, "Yeah."


The two then made their way hurriedly out of the hospital wing and to Charms. They took their seats in the front just as the chimes rang throughout the school. Rose watched Flitwick enter the room, smiling, “Today, we will be testing on how well we are with the Levitation Spell.”


Rose’s classmates, with the exclusion of Scorpius, groaned and moaned. They were about as ready for this test as Rose was for the Quidditch try-outs. Flitwick hurried about the classroom, passing out feathers. Rose watched as he didn’t put a brick on her desk, but a feather.


Flitwick met her curious eyes, “Everyone tests on feathers.”


And so it was, Rose and Scorpius, at the same time, had their feathers high in the air in just a few seconds. Flitwick smiled and wrote down something on a piece of parchment. Rose then sat in her chair and looked down.


She had to try-out for Ravenclaw’s Quidditch team. There was no way of getting around it. She would go, in front of all the Ravenclaw House, and humiliate herself. She didn’t even know how to play. She sighed. The chimes rang for the students to exit to their next class and Rose stood, gathered her things, and left.


The rest of the day, Rose’s classes were normal and boring. The bright sun and the green grass felt good to Rose as she walked acrossed it. She sighed, she couldn’t bask in the warmth. No, she had to go to the Gryffindor Quidditch try-outs to get a better understanding of the game. Great, just how she wanted to spend her free time.


She began to move toward the Quidditch pitch. Maybe it won’t be all that bad. Maybe, somehow, she will find Quidditch fun. She walked into the stands and sat, surrounded by excited looking Gryffindors, wish their friends luck.


Rose looked at the field. The Gryffindors acted differently from the Slytherins. While the Slytherins were having a great time, being all excited, joyous, and carefree; the Gryffindors were more serious and orderly with their try-outs. Rose watched many students, that were all at least third years, doing many maneuvers in the air. Once in a while, a younger face would show up and try, but they weren't all that good.


Rose sighed as she watched a young boy fall off his broom after trying to hit a ball with a club. Was that how she was going to end up? Oh, she really didn't want to know. The boy was helped up by a fellow house member and was given a pat on the back. He smiled as he left the field, but you could tell he was disappointed.


Rose bit her lip, listening to the Gryffindor's Captain as he named off those who made the team and those who hadn't. Many glum faces left the field, only to be instantly cheered up by their friends in the stands minutes later and some overly excited Gryffindors stayed on the field celebrating and cheering. Rose could only imagine Albus cheering amongst them.


On her way back to the castle, Rose kicked a small stone. Albus was probably still sick in the hospital wing and maybe even vomiting up slugs or something. He could have been down in the field playing. He could have at least tried to make the team. If only Rose hadn’t forced him to come. Rose stopped. “No,” she whispered to herself quietly, “it was him that wanted to come. If anything he forced me.”


“Hey! Rose!”


Rose jerked her head up to see Scorpius sprinting towards her, his cheeks red. He collapsed at Rose’s gasping for air. He had a book hugged to his chest tightly. Rose helped him to his feet as he began to catch his breath. Rose looked at him, “What? What is it?”


“I was...” he gasped, “in the library when... I was reading this book and... I found something about... the mask we saw in the hallway...” Scorpius took several more gulps of air while the information sank in with Rose.


“What does it say?”


Scorpius grabbed her hand and began pulling her off to a tree far off in the courtyard, “Best if we don’t let anyone know we were there. Remember what Faith said...” Scorpius sat down in the yellowing grass and leaned against the tree’s sticky bark. Rose sat beside him, peering as he opened the front cover.


On the first page was a picture of the mask that they saw in the corridor. Right below the picture in big words was, “The Hidden Mask of Nain”. The pages looked old and torn, and the covers were dark blue with mildew and a huge stain on the back. The book looked to be neglected for several years.


“Nain? Who’s that?”


Scorpius shrugged, “It doesn’t say so in here, but it has a lot of other information. ‘The mask was discovered under a large mossy stone by tribal wizards in the early Americas. It has the appearance of a masquerade mask worn by dancers. It is said that all who are sensed it become entranced by it’s beauty and if the the mask were to be worn, the beholder of the mask would have full control of the wearer, even after the mask is taken off. The only knowable way to break this curse is by the death of the beholder. Once the beholder shall die the mask will find a new beholder. The mask may not leave it’s boundaries which are predetermined by the state of the beholder. The boundaries usually are unseen to those whose blood doesn’t have true heroism. To this day, the mask’s owner is unknown and the whereabouts of the mask are, too, unknown.’ That’s all it says before it starts talking about different magical masks of history.”


“So, this mask has no cure once it’s worn?” Rose asked, the fear eating her inside.


“It has to stay inside it’s boundaries, Rose. I think we will be fine. The corridor must be the boundary...” Scorpius bit his lip, “This book is about masks that are fairy tales. But, this mask doesn’t seem to be a fairy tale to me.”

“It’s weird, isn’t it? And it said that it only reveals the boundaries to somebody whose blood contains true heroism... What’s that about?”


“I don’t know, but usually when books say stuff like that it means people in your family. You know, you get your blood from your parents...” Scorpius’ voice drifted off.


Rose nodded, “Well, maybe we shouldn’t worry about it. If most people can’t see the corridor and the mask can’t go outside it, then it shouldn’t be a problem.”


Scorpius nodded, “I agree. We shouldn’t worry about it too much.” He paused, closing the book, then looking up at the castle, “Let’s go get to supper. Our housemates are probably wondering where we are.”


“Alright.”


That night, once she was in the Ravenclaw Tower, Rose sat on the sofa. Many Ravenclaws swarmed around her, doing homework, talking with friends, and playing games. Rose was finally relaxing. She saw Albus in the Great Hall, eating supper. Although he looked a little bit disgruntled, he was still well enough to be up and around walking. Even Faith was at supper, although she ate very little then went to bed early. It all made Rose feel a lot better.


Rose leaned back into the sofa's soft cushion and exhaled, lightly closing her eyes. She allowed all the anxieties to leave her except one. She had to go to Quidditch try-outs tomorrow. Her eyes opened and she groaned. Had all this made her forget? She learned nearly nothing about the game from watching the Gryffindors, other than to sit on your broom. That was all she knew. She didn't even know how to use one like Scorpius or Albus. In fact, those classes don't start for a bit.


"Rose! Rose!"


Rose was pulled from her thoughts as Ellie jumped beside her. Ellie's momentum nearly tipped the sofa over. Rose rolled her eyes slightly, even if she and Ellie made up, Ellie still sort of betrayed her. Rose swallowed, "Yes?"


"I have something to show you, remember?"


"Oh, yeah..."


Ellie jumped up off the sofa and smiled brightly, "Well, c'mon!"


Rose followed an energetic Ellie into their room. Ellie jumped on her bed and rummaged through her bag before pulling something out, "I got this from my daddy. It's candy!"


Rose sat beside Ellie as she pulled the individual wrapped chocolates out of the bag, hand Rose many of them. "You want to share candy with me?" Rose asked, this was very uneventful.


"No! It's not any candy! Here, just eat one!" Ellie giggled softly, waiting.


Rose unwrapped a chocolate from it's golden wrapper and popped it into her mouth. Ellie did the same. The chocolate was sweet and melted right into Rose's mouth.


'This tastes so good.' Rose thought.


'I'm glad you like it.' Ellie's voice said, invading Rose's thoughts.


"How do you know what I'm thinking!?" Rose exclaimed, looking at her, accusingly.


'My dad makes them. They're called Sweet Minds. If two people eat a chocolate in a golden wrapper at the same time, in the same room, they can read eachother's mind. Well, as long as they don't get too far apart! Cool huh?!' Ellie's voice said, bursting into Rose's head.


"Okay, but how do you make it stop?!" Rose said, shaking. This was really creepy, no doubt.


'Eat one with a silver wrapper, or walking far enough away will break the connection.'


Rose scrambled for one of the silver candies Ellie gave her and popped it into her mouth. This one was bittersweet and Rose had to force it down her throat. Ellie followed suit, making a face of tasting the bitter part of the chocolate as she swallowed. Ellie then cleared her throat, "Fun, huh?! My daddy is really good at potions."


Rose nodded, "Uh... Yeah..."


She tried to give Ellie back the rest, but she shook her head, "No, you keep it. You can use them to have fun with your friends!"


Rose nodded, "Uh... Yeah.... Seems like fun..." Rose looked down at the candies and shook her head. What would she use these for? Ever? It just seemed creepy to have someone read your mind. Rose walked over to her bed and placed the candies in her trunk, while Ellie was looking.


It was getting late, and Rose didn't really want to deal with the disposal of the candies tonight. She changed into her soft pajamas and lied down on her bed. Pulling the covers over her shoulders, she thought about how the day had been. Soon, her thoughts turn into dreams.