Rose Weasley and The Unfortunate Son of a Lunatic

Hogsmeade on Halloween

  "We're heading out at two," whispered James during breakfast the day of the Hogsmeade visit. "That's two hours after everyone else has left. Meet me in the library at that time. We're taking a tunnel so you may want to wait until we're in or out of it to change. Otherwise, your clothes'll get all dirty." Rose had told him about the masks which, though offered, he had no interest in wearing.

They were able to talk freely, the excited chatting about the day's events was causing a significant amount of noise, perfect for having conversations that you didn't want to be overheard. Classes continued as was normal besides every first year's mopey attitudes about being too young to go. Max and Rose were perfectly cheerful secretly knowing that they were going to get to see the magical shops that the others weren't, and were able to quite successfully produce a befuddlement charm quite accidentally, on each other. Max was trying to make it to the teacher's desk to be changed back but was hitting chairs and desks unconcernedly trying to get there. Rose was sitting on her desk humming then becoming very uncomfortable with all the students staring at her.

Rose was staring out the window in the clock tower watching all the third year and over students leave for Hogsmeade bundled in hats and scarfs, where she was joined by Max. She had become, now, very nervous about their plan. What if they were caught? Was sneaking off to the village bad enough to be expelled? It stung just thinking about it.

"Are you afraid?" she asked Max.

"All the time."

She was surprised by this; no guy she knew would ever admit to being afraid or nervous about anything, especially to confess that they were afraid all of the time.  Now hat she thought about the matter, she realized that she had never heard Max lie. Unless you didn't believe his outrageous stories, which she did; he had provided proof that a few of them had happened. But it wasn't normal, to tell the truth, all the time, for anyone; she lied at least three times a day. Things like, yes I like your hair, no you don't snore, yes I believe you could become a professional singer.

"Why don't you ever lie, Max?" she asked casually.

"Why? Do you think I should?" he asked becoming slightly tense.

"No. I've just never heard you do it and didn't know why."

"Well don't complain. We have a couple of hours," Max said looking down at her watch. "we should do something productive." And he turned away and left.

They ended up spending the next two hours playing wizards chess in the Gryffindor common room. Wizards chess was almost exactly like muggle chess, except the pieces could move on their own and talk to you, also, when overtaken by the other player, the opponent smashes the piece.

"I completely disagree with you," said Rose. "Checkers requires much more strategy."

"Does not!" Max protested. "In chess, you have a plethora of different players who can all do different things. You must decide which player is sufficient for your needs in overtaking the King and find a way to successfully and safetly lead them to your destination. In Checkers, it's just, click, click, click, you're out."

"Why am I so bad at this!" she exclaimed as Max's Knight crushed her queen.

"You're not very good at strategy," he smirked while wiping the broken fragments from the board.

"I, am excellent at strategy," she argued, puffing herself up.

"Yeah? Then why have we spent over an hour and a half of our free time playing wizards chess when we could be doing homework."

"We're taking a break," she shrugged.

"Oh yeah," Max nodded sarcastically. "That sleeping and eating we've been doing lately have really drained us of energy."

"If you care to remember," she argued still more. "I have Quidditch every other morning, and if you'd care to watch, you'd know how hard it is and how much it does drain us of energy. I don't see you jumping up to study either."

"Not counting today's, I only have Potions to do, and I'm scot-free. If I do recall, you have Astronomy, Potions, Transfiguration, and History of Magic that hasn't been touched."

"Well since you're so testy about it, why don't we start studying now?" she suggested.

Max tilted his head to see her watch. "Nah, by the time we get our stations set up, it'll be time to head out."

"You really need to get your own watch."

"Why? I have yours."

"What about when we're not together, you won't have a watch."

Max laughed. "Think of a time other than bed, that we're not together."

She thought. "When we go to the bathroom? Oh! And the first hour of Quidditch practice!"

It was true. The two kids were practically inseparable though they had only known each other for half a semester. Maddox was, not counting family relationships, her best friend.

They headed out toward the library and found Al and Scorpius on the third staircase.

"Oh, Rosie! Good!" said Albus seeing them come from behind. "I was wondering, have you figured out a way to make us taller? I wouldn't mind a few extra inches."

"But don't suggest your heels because I'll object," said Scorpius.

"I don't have heels," she said. "I can't wear them anyway, weak ankles."

"Same," said Al. "Weak ankles, I have a lovely blue pair but can never wear them." He was joking of course, but she wasn't listening.

"I don't think height it a huge deal."

"What's James wearing, by the way?" asked Max. "I mean we're all wearing the same thing, but we never told him."

"Then this should be interesting," Al smiled.

They caught James actually studying Astronomy in the library which was a subject that, like Rose, he was unacomplished. He quickly shut the book when he saw them and met the four friends outside the library.

"You ready?" he asked.

"We wouldn't be here if we weren't," said Max.

James went to reach for something in his back pocket but paused with a look at Scorpius and Max.

"They know what the Marauders map is, James," said Rose.

He looked disappointedly at her. "Why would you tell them? This is a family artifact."

"Sure," said Scorpius, eyebrows raised. "cause we're gonna run around the school telling everyone that you have a magic map."

"How would you try to hide a thing like that all the way to Hogsmeade, the tunnel its self is long."

"A little loud, guys," said a voice from just inside the Library. Calvert was reading at one of the tables near the doors.

James looked at her annoyed, then pulled from his back pocket, a timeworn bit of parchment. Max kicked Al, then leaned down to unknot his shoelaces that Al had been using his wand to wad while Rose and James had been talking.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good," James whispered with his wand tip on the front of the paper. Words appeared on the front, slowly as if ink were rising from the page. The words read, "Messrs. Moony, Wormtale, Padfoot, and Prongs are proud to pre-" But James tore it open before she could finish reading, though she already knew what it said. He flipped to their location on the map and found in minuscule writing was the name 'Elias Calvert'.  Aa few centimeters away was a cluster of people right outside the library with the names, 'James Potter,' 'Rose Weasley,' 'Scorpius Malfoy,' 'Albus Potter,' 'Vladimir Everard.'

James spun around with his wand, hitting Rose in the eye.

"Ow! What's your deal?" she asked angrily.

He looked back at the map, then around again.

"What?"

"Who the heck is Vladimir Everard?" he asked worriedly.

"Augh, calm down," she said pushing his wand away. "It's Max; that's his name."

"Oh yeah," said Max standing back up. "by the way."


Their journey through the castle was surprisingly easy, despite having to run with their arms over their head because Peeves was throwing hard mints and stale taffy at them. "Happy Halloween!" he cackled. They had to jump into a bathroom to avoid Professor Donima who was patrolling the corridors to stop students from doing exactly what they were doing. It turns out they had jumped into a very occupied boy's bathroom. Maddox had to direct her out because she had her hands over her scarred eyes, Al, Scor, and James were holding their stomachs laughing.

They all stopped around a statue of the one-eyed witch. James looked around before muttering, "dissendium." A loud scraping told them that the stone hump of the witch was moving. After thirty seconds of terrible nails on a chalkboard where they turned around constantly checking whether or not a teacher was going to investigate the noise, it finally opened wide enough for a small person to enter. The light from outside in no way illuminated the dark whole within. James smiled at them before disappearing into the hump, followed by Al, Max, Scor then finally Rose scooted her legs into the dark tunnel and found herself falling what seemed like a slide to land on something squishy.

"Ow!"

"Sorry, who was that?"

"Scorpius," he grunted.

The tunnel opening had shut on its own and Rose was now grouping around the dark to make out her surroundings. She felt a few bodies, damp, earthy surfaces around her and a shoe.

"Did someone lose a shoe?"

"That's mine!"

"I can't see anything."

"That's cause we're in a tunnel dumb skull."

"James, is there a lamp?"

"You know, if I was in a dark tunnel, I sure wish I would be with a bunch of wizards with wands."

"Oh, right."

"Lumos," was muttered by a few voices and three wand tips illuminated the dirt ground around them.

"Ow!" said Scorpius again rubbing his head. "Don't stand up."

"I've been standing up this whole time," said Al as they continued walking.

"Yeah well that's cause you're short," said James who was leading their single file line.

"You know; mom reckons I'll be taller than you in future."

"Does not!"

"Does too! And dad agrees."

"They just told you that to make you feel like you surpass me in some way."

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

Scorpius and Rose looked at each other and rolled their eyes, Rose being all to use to this behavior from them.

They had walked for what seemed like a half hour when Scorpius called for a break.

"Hold on, I just need to," he crouched down and stretched his neck. "I think I have a crook." Max and James did the same.

"James, are we almost there?" she asked miserably.

She hadn't realized how far they would have to walk to get there. Or how uncomfortable it would be. As they continued, she felt her legs getting more and more tired and she kept falling behind. Max who was in the back had to keep pushing her onward, she didn't try to keep up much now, Max was practically sliding her through the muddy ground and the trip became so much easier, well, for her.

About another half hour into their journey, the ground began to rise making the journey harder but which meant that they were almost there. Or so she thought. Ten minutes had passed, and she was hoping that the others were starting to wonder if they had taken the right tunnel as well. Were they perhaps heading to Hogsmeade station? She was about to ask James whether or not they were almost there yet and hoping for a better answer than, "I don't know, now stop asking won't you?"

But at that moment, she tripped over something and fell onto Scorpius again. She realized before she could apologize that she wasn't the only one. Everyone seemed to have fallen over James.

"Found the steps," he grunted trying to stand up.

"Fell over the steps more like," said Scorpius who was holding his elbow. "I hit my elbow."

"Yeah," huffed Al. "on my face, you shouldn't be complaining."

They were now all crawling up the earthy stairs, no longer worried about how messy their knees were getting. After a very long while, they finally came to a panel in the ceiling.

"Shut your wands off guys," James whispered.

The bright glow from the wands went out with "Nox." And they were plunged into darkness again only to be ripped by the dull orange light coming from the panel that James was now climbing through. They climbed out single file and found themselves in what looked like a cellar. Wooden crates and boxes cluttered the dusty floor, and a wonderful smell wafted down from a wooden staircase where many loud voices and the chime of a bell were heard. She knew herself to be in the cellar of Honeydukes sweet shop.

"Come on, quickly!" whispered Al gesturing to the bag that Rose had over her shoulder. She pulled from it, the four masks for them to wear and tossed one to each.

"Oh," she stopped. "yours cracked Al. Reparo." She tapped it with her wand, and it immediately repaired itself, and she tossed it to him.

They all removed their robes, ties, and vests and tossed it in Rose's bag to be thrown back into the tunnel under the floor tile that they had crawled through.

"Where's James?" asked Al who was adjusting his mask.

They looked around for a moment, James walked out from behind a wooden crate quite composedly, dressed in a turn of the century muggle outfit complete with a top hat, cane, and mustache.
There was a short pause which was torn by Max's howl of laughter soon joined by the others who all fell over laughing.

"Laugh all you want," said James. "but if we're competing in costume, I win."

"Where did you get that?" Rose laughed.

"A muggle pamphlet. I had it sent home, and mom and dad sent it to me."

"But wouldn't they know that you were sneaking off to Hogsmeade if they knew you were coming in costume?" asked Al.

"I told them that a few students were going to the feast in costume."

"What did they say?"

"Not much," James shrugged.