Raindrops on Roses

Chapter 41: New Enemies and Old Friends

JUNE 2025

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Scorpius arrived just before six at the Ministry the next morning, with Rose and Neville. Albus was already there, waiting with his father in a room that seemed to be some kind of operational base within the Department of Law Enforcement. It was very large and high-ceilinged, with a big round table in the centre occupied by a magical, topographically accurate map of Europe, complete with little rivers, lakes and mountains. It kept zooming in and out of places in response to requests made by the Aurors surrounding it. There were several dozen Aurors and Hit-Wizards in the room already, despite the very early hour. All of them gave Scorpius curious looks, some of them edged with suspicion.

"All right mate?" Al asked, softly, as they joined the others. Scorpius nodded, doing his best to look confident. In reality, his stomach hadn't stopped churning since he'd woken fitfully just after three, and then again at four. Each time Rose had been in his arms, and her soft, sleepy presence had lulled him back into a restless kind of doze, until it was time to get up. They hadn't said much as they dressed. They didn't need to. Now she was holding his hand as though she would never let it go.

He wasn't really afraid of what might happen to him, the way she obviously was. He was afraid of failure more than anything else. It was hard to be really afraid of personal danger when you didn't really understand it; when you didn't know what you were facing or what you would have to do. He was just afraid that whatever he did, he wouldn't be able to help Teddy. Then not only would he not have been able to help his cousin, but he would have let everyone else down. But, he had volunteered, and now they were all counting on him.

Mr Potter and Mr Weasley were talking in low tones to an older, gruffer-looking Auror with curly grey hair. Scorpius was immediately reminded of Professor Tufty - a bearded, male version, but the same stern, unyielding expression. After a minute, Harry turned to make the introductions. "Everyone, this is Timmony Rothers," he said. The man made no move to shake hands, or even smile. His lined face appeared to be made of granite. "Timmony, this is Ron's daughter Rose, and of course, Scorpius Malfoy. And you remember Neville."

"Aye," the man grunted. Scorpius wasn't sure, but he thought he saw Neville flinch slightly out of the corner of his eye. He kept forgetting Neville had been an Auror once. He didn't seem to get on with many of them, but maybe that was why he'd gone into teaching instead.

"Sit down, all of you," Harry went on. "We've got a lot to get through in a small amount of time." He turned to address a question to a group of Cursebreakers wearing identifying badges, who were clustered around an ancient-looking book. "How are we coming along on that thing, Faucett?"

"Any minute now, sir," one of them, a curly-haired young man, replied hastily.

Scorpius frowned at the book; it looked very familiar, and not in a pleasant way. "I've seen that thing before," he said. "Is it one of those special Portkeys?"

Rothers grunted - with amusement or dissatisfaction, it was hard to tell.

"An Ancient Key, yes," Harry replied, patiently. "We've been working out how to use them ever since they were confiscated from... from the Shadow, last year."

Scorpius remembered now the old book that had transported him, his father and the servant, Jean, from England to Norway in one journey, and then the other one that had supposedly allowed his father to kidnap him from St Mungo's Hospital. What had his father said about them? They could travel further than normal Portkeys, and they could get past all kinds of magic security, right? Beside him Rose was peering at the thing with interest, though her hand was still holding his like a vice.