cigarettes & invisible string || golden trio era

𝐂𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐒 𝐂𝐑𝐔𝐌𝐁𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆

(p.s. this chapter will be very character driven and will focus a lot on rose and the boys having conversations they should have had a long time ago. might be a little boring for some to see them all get really open and emotional but it is high past time, side note: it might be a good time to go read over the boggarts chapter so you can understand the parallels...oh & Targaryen ref?
lastly: i cannot be the only one who imagines the werewolves from twilight
TW: Theodore Nott being obsessed, like badly.
anyways, enjoy straight chaos xx)

third person pov

' find myself at your door,
just like all those times before '

It is a beautiful night.

Adrian Pucey arrives in the grass near the driveway of the Dark Lord's manor. The air is oddly warm for the end of october, and he breathes out a pleased sigh when he finds Rose a few feet away. The girl is staring up at the sky, her hands on her hips, black hair whipping with the heavy breeze.

"Am I interrupting something?" He calls from behind.

"Yes actually, I am trying to find the big—" She freezes and spins around, a full smile blooming across her face. "Adrian," She breathes out before forcing herself to stay still. "Hmm..." She playfully hums. "Not too bad of an escort, I guess."

He looks off to the side, hands buried in the pockets of his black coat. "I can always get someone else to grab you, I guess."

She had lasted a whole ten seconds of resisting—that should be good enough.

"Shut up," She mutters, already rushing over. Her arms go around his neck fluidly, and he picks her up in a tight hold.

"Missed you, Black." He breathes out into her hair, taking his time to set her down after. She grabs onto his upper arms, staying close and inspecting him for any sort of injury.

She suddenly whispers, "Let me see it."

His jaw locks at the thought. "You know it's there. You don't need to see it."

"Why would you get it? There's no way out once you do." She says, head shaking.

"I have a little sister and a mother to protect." He says, "Why did you join, hm? For those boys, I assume, as you do everything for them."

Her lips twist into a frown. It is selfish of her to question his motives. Everyone had their own, and she couldn't blame him.

"It's just too soon," She says, hands reaching for his face. "You are far too young for it all."

His eyes roll and he pulls her hands down, reprimand inside of his gaze. "Rose, I just turned twenty." He says, "I'm older than you."

She looks down at the ground, a slight twitch to her lips as she weaves their fingers together. "I feel forty though. Twice your age."

"Yeah," He says, tilting her chin up. His thumb brushes against her cheek. "I know." He does know. Adrian has spent his whole life playing adult, and now he just feels like an overly grown child in a man's clothing.

"What age do you feel like?"

He holds back a laugh at how round her eyes get, as if she is a scientist who wavers on the edge of unlocking all the secrets of the universe.

"Eighty, sometimes ninety." He says, head cocking to the side. "Luckily though, I've got you around now, feel about a good seventeen with you close by."

A smile bright as the moon shines on her face.

"Come on," She says, beginning to walk backwards, pulling him by their intertwined fingers. "Nyx is sleeping in my coat and Regulus came to get my bags earlier."