Every Rose Has Its Thorns

Unexpected Consequences

Two weeks.

It had been two weeks since their unintended journey into the time prism and Rosalie was still in a coma. After being begrudgingly treated by Madam Pomfrey, Alec rushed back to Dumbledore's office, unconcerned with interrupting his conversation with the professors. He refused to leave the office until he saw Rosalie, threatening to go straight to the Daily Prophet with the truth about Celeste and the countless other children sent to the prism. She was in a small room in the back of his office, lying on a cot and in a deep sleep. Dumbledore explained that it was a result of her absorbing the magic from the chamber, the room fortified to withstand any accidental outbursts.

Once he was certain that she was stable, he transferred her to the hospital wing and as always at Hogwarts, rumors spread throughout the castle by morning. It did not help that Camille and Priscilla were aware of their friends' absences, having been with him moments before they chased after a possessed Rosalie, which worsened the professors' chances of spinning the rumors to something less catastrophic. Though Dumbledore assured them all at breakfast that Rosalie was not seriously harmed, theories began to develop among the students, many believing it was an attempt by one of the foreign schools to get Potter to drop out of the tournament in exchange for his cousin's safety. Others turned their sights internally, wondering if it was one of the girls who had been eyeing her enviously at the Yule Ball.

Alec had not left the hospital wing since, intent on being there when she woke from the coma. Potter tried the same, immediately blaming the Slytherins before he had any details, but it was far easier for Madam Pomfrey to kick out a scrawny fourteen year old boy than him. The professors had tried the same, McGonagall devising a schedule for the assistant professors and the Chus to take rounds in watching over her. The schedule fell apart when Kendra arrived for the first shift and received push back from Alec, who was adamant about staying in the room. Who better than him to scare off the curious students who were feigning injuries and head colds to get a closer look at Rosalie, like she was an animal in a zoo?

Sitting on the edge of the bed, he listened to Lizzie tell a comatose Rosalie what she had missed, a daily routine that seemed to be keeping his little sister from bursting into tears. She was going on about a new Rita Skeeter article in the Daily Prophet, the trashy journalist switching from fueling the Hogwarts conspiracy theories about Rosalie's condition to exposing Hagrid as a half-giant with some choice quotes from a few Slytherins about his brutish behavior. In a way to take her mind off Rosalie, Lizzie tried to find out how Rita Skeeter interviewed the Slytherins, knowing Dumbledore had banned her from the grounds, but they remained tight-lipped, almost proud of their underhanded work.

"It's almost time for your next lesson, Miss Cabot," he heard Dumbledore say. Lizzie grabbed her bag from an empty bed and wrapped her arm around Alec's neck before leaving the room. "Perhaps you'd prefer a change of scenery. I'm sure Professor Sprout could use your help with the second years."

"I don't care about teaching snot-nosed brats about plants," muttered Alec.

"Alas, have you ever?" He lifted his gaze to the composed headmaster standing behind him. "If I may be frank, we both know you never wanted this job, Alec. It was merely to satisfy your father's high expectations of you and you've far exceeded mine by not leaving to one of your many homes and having your escapades documented in Witch Weekly. I do enjoy reading their recipes. As admirable as it is that you've stayed, it isn't out of compassion for all of the students."

Alec scoffed. "Compassion. That's funny, coming from you," he said, bluntly. "You're the reason she's like this. You threw her in that prism with Celeste. Salvatore told you that he thought Celeste was trying to get to her and you brushed him off."