Scorpius's POV
I stalked through the dark halls, the only light available coming from the pale tip of my wand.
After everyone had recovered, we decided that the best solution was to leave everyone in the empty pool and find everyone else as fast as we could before apparating away.
"Keep it down," I whispered behind me to the Hogwarts students who looked like they would jump at the sight of a shadow.
"Excuse me... Mr. Malfoy?"
Without stopping I turned to look at the stumbling third year and almost faltered. Her hair was a mob of red hair but her eyes were a scaly green. The freckles across her face were more scattered, messily spread across her nose and more definite than Rose's.
But still, the similarities were uncanny.
"Is there actually an escape plan or are you just making this up off the top of her head?" The girl criticized blandly.
My God, she's exactly like Rose.
An aching sense of loss filled me as I thought her name but I quickly forced it away. The last thing I needed was distraction.
"Which one would you think sounds more likely?" I asked her, just as a hard voice sounded in front of us.
"Crucio!"
The redhead let out a cry as she fell to her hands and knees in pain, making my head snap towards the darkness.
I whipped out my wand and waited, but the silence dragged.
"Crucio!"
"Protego!" I yelled, watching the curse bounce straight back at the man in the shadows.
There was a grunt of shock before leather jacketed figure fell to the ground in static pain.
Silence.
I quickly whirled around to see the seven kids I had picked up from a cell and pressed a finger to my lips before turning and running down the hall, everyone at my heels.
I had made this trip a few times already. Left, right, left, left.
As I made my way into the fifteenth hallway, I stopped halfway through and grabbed at a broken slab of stone on the ground that fit perfectly in its place.
I quickly lifted the slab to find a hole, able to fit one body, the end of the hole crowded with panicked students ... 12 feet below on flat glass.
Spotting Charles in the crowd, trying to soothe everyone (Potter easily at his heels) I called out his name.
"Zabini!"
Charles's head snapped and I quickly turned towards the Rose-lookalike. Her eyes looked lost and still recovering from the cruciatus curse but she could walk.
"You first," I said as soothing as those words could get, pulling her gently towards the hole.
She looked down at the large wand-brightened room and a nauseated look overcame her face.
Merlin, maybe she IS a Weasley.
"Are you scared?" I asked her, surprised at how gentle my own voice was. I didn't have time for this. I needed to get everyone safe.
Though I didn't say it, I thought she knew it too.
"No," she answered, trying to sound calm as she shut her eyes.
Her feet lifted off the ground and she jumped.
Down she went, hair flying around her like a parachute. As she started to move faster towards the ground, Charles raised his wand and slowed her gravity so she floated smoothly into his arms.
He set her on her feet and gave me a thumbs up.
Turning, I looked back at the Hogwarts students behind me, "Do guys mind handling this on your own?"
Less than half of them shook their heads, including a tiny blonde girl in a filthy pumpkin costume.
"NOO!" she cried, stomping her feet angrily. "I — wanna — kick — some — death — eater — ASS!"
I tried not to smile as I bent over to stare at her pouting face, "Now, now," I reassured, patting her orange hat which had a pumpkin stem on it. "You'll have time for torture later."
I looked down the hole, "Charles! I'm sending the lot down!"
"You're what?!"
"Get Potter to help you!" I turned to the crowd behind me and brought the pumpkin fairy to the front. "In you go, come on."
She hopped into the hole, but I couldn't get anyone to go in after her.
"Come on, guys. We gotta do this!"I pleaded to them. "There's no time, and the hallway is open right there.bAnyone can walk in."
At my words, the students shared looks before hurrying into a line and slipping into the hole, one right after the other.
"Good. That's good. Keep it going," I patted them each on the back on my way out of the hallway. "Yes. Don't stop now. Come on."
I zipped into another corridor, moving as fast as I could into the shadowed halls.
Come on, Karl. Where are you? There's no time! I thought, knowing more death eaters were coming.
The sound of voices made me stop in my tracks.
I whipped out my wand, ready to strike wen I realized who it was.
"... Bunny ears, Bunny ears, playing by a tree. Criss-crossed the tree, trying to catch me. Bunny ears, Bunny ears ..."
"Karl, what the hell are you doing?!"
At the sound of my voice Karl glanced up from where he was tying a second year's shoe, a whole lot of students standing idly behind him.
"Hey Scor! Check this out, I'm trying to teach this —"
"In the middle of a rescue?!" I exclaimed in disbelief. "You're joking right? Tell me you're joking."
"But I learned this really effective method when I was in —"
"My God, Karl, we don't have the time!" I slapped my forehead, before waving my arms to get the kids to move in the direction I just came in. "Charles is getting overwhelmed, we have to start apparating now."
"Geesh, calm down," Karl muttered bitterly. "Alright, alright. Help me get this lot to the lake."
As Karl and I started shuffling the kids towards the 12 feet deep room, the second year from before followed me to the back of the crowd with me and said something that completely caught me off guard.
"You're girlfriend is here."
"...excuse me?"
"Your girlfriend," he said in the same casual tone. "I mean, that's what Karl said the lady was. Red hair, right? She tried to kill Karl when we rammed into her and her brother. She was pretty scary, but we explained the situation! And then she was nice —"
I stopped in my tracks.
Silence had stilled in my head. My body felt ice-cold.
I turned to the second year.
"Rose," I said.
"I mean, the lady had rose-coloured hair —"
"You're telling me that Rose is right here, right now.... right now.... like right this second." I was yelling at a second year.
The boy hesitated, "Well... I mean, we saw a lady with red hair and a guy with red hair."
"Are you joking?"
"No —"
"Rose is HERE?!" I exclaimed in horror, and the boy staggered a step back, staring at me like I was crazy. But I didn't care. The images were brewing in my head like an erupting volcano, drowning out every other thought and every other moment of importance.
What the hell?
What the HELL was Hugo thinking? I told him not to tell her! Panic exploded in my chest. I didn't need this. I had enough on my plate right this moment — bloody hell, what was SHE thinking?!
Rose is going to get herself killed!
Rose...
"Which way did she go?" I demanded the second year, who's judgemental expression had transformed into one of curiosity.
"Not sure," he answered, before pointing down the road we had just come from. "That way, I think..."
I took off down the hall without another word, leaving the boy to hurry after the group.
I started down a random hallway, and then another one. And then another one. I clamoured to get my thoughts together, my breath under control.
How did she find the entrance? Did someone tell her? Did Charles? Is Hugo with her?! Is she SAFE?
What if someone has already found her?
"No, no, no," I stopped at an intersection and stared at the two hallways in front of me. "Come on, tell me where you went ..."
"...my back is killing me."
The sound of a gruff male voice made me turn to the middle hallway as a thin man came strolling out.
When he saw me his jaw dropped and he reached for his wand but I had disarmed him and shoved him against the wall in two clean strokes.
His eyes widened.
"Where is she?" I asked him, trying to sound calm but the rage was bleeding out. I was shaking.
"Where's 'she'? How am I supposed to know?" The man turned to look around for help but we were alone. "GUYS OVER —"
My calm surface broke and I ripped a hard punch across his nose. He let out a cry and tried to wipe it but I kicked him between his legs and held his arms at his sides.
"Shit, what the —"
"I told you to tell me where she is!" I shouted, feeling a black rage take over. "Where is Rose?"
He just stared at me, eyes wide as he eyed my face with confusion. Blood stained and leaked from his nose.
I drew back my fist once more — knuckles split and already licked with pain — and then the man started yelling.
"I don't know, I swear! What kind of girl? Was she blonde?"
"Redhead."
His expression for a moment, "Oh... redhead?"
My fists tightened on his shirt and I jerked him off the wall only to crash him back with a painful thud. My pulse was loud and quick in my head, and I wondered if he could hear it.
"Ow, OW! They went to the meeting room!" the man yelled. "Her and some guy, her brother maybe ..."
Shit, why there?!
"Where is that?"
"Left, right, take the second hallway from the left, another left and three corridors away from the right."
I let go of his shirt and he staggered back against the wall, staring hard at me. He glanced scatteredly towards his wand which I gripped along with my own.
He scrambled out of view before I could hex him.
I ducked into the left corridor like he said, hurrying through the dark stone walls as I tried not to think of all things they could have already down to her.
Hang on, Rose, I'm coming ...
$$$
Rose's POV
"This must be it," Hugo said, staring at the heavy black doors in front of us, two curling silver snakes forming a figure of eight to bind them together.
I unfolded Scorpius's letter in my hand and read it out again, "'Death Eater conference room.' It has to be. Hugo?"
Hugo nodded, taking out his wand and aiming for the door, "Alohomora."
Nothing happened.
He frowned, "That's funny. Alohomora!"
The snakes stayed completely intact, making Hugo look like a little kid waving around a branch.
"It's not working!" He yelled exasperatedly, throwing his wand onto the ground.
I shook my head, "That's... not possible," I took out my own wand. "Alohomora!"
"YOU!!!"
The sound of a loud Hungarian voice made me whirl around. Three death eaters stood with their legs apart, wands ready at their sides.
Oh dear.
"You're not going anywhere," said the left one.
"I beg to differ," Hugo said, surprisingly confident about the fact that we were outnumbered by Voldemort's minions.
"CRUCIO!" The middle death eater roared, large and muscular, and I knew he was the Hungarian.
"Protego!" I cried, leaping between him and Hugo as my brother ducked down to retrieve his wand.
"Bombarda!" The right one yelled.
"Protego!" Hugo yelled back.
"Sectumsempra!" The left Death eater shouted, pointing at me.
I barely knew what was happening until the spell hit me, loud and clear as it blew me off my feet. I gasped in surprise, stumbling to the floor as my skin started opening all over my body.
No ... Not sectumsempra ...
I cried out as blood poured out of the rips. Red lines streaked down my arms, where I had along the way lost my jacket.
My body went numb.
"ROSE!!!" Hugo yelled, and I heard more spells being shouted between him and the death eater.
The pain blinded me and I struggled to keep a firm hold on my wand. I didn't know how to stop it. I didn't know how to handle it.
This is it, I thought, resting my head against the pooling blood on the floor. Stranded outside the borders of our fate, like Pluto in the Solar System.
Tears blurred my sight more and I was surprised at how fast it happened.
Maybe this IS my fate. Maybe I'm the next Pluto, not meant to fit in or have anything the rest of the stars do. Maybe I'm a glitch in the system, and I was never supposed to meet Scorpius or fall in love with him, never meant to exist.
Maybe I'm a ghost.
And then suddenly, out of the growing mass of pain around me, I heard the most familiar voice start to shout to Hugo.
Scorpius.
I opened my mouth to say his name but I could feel myself fading. The pain struck down the rest of my body and I shuddered onto the wet ground around me. Everything hurt.
There was a loud thump next to me.
"Oh my god," Scorpius stammered and I felt his hands gently pull me onto his lap, causing snips of pain to ride up my torso. "Oh my god."
I heard Hugo whisper something softly, but I could already feel my hearing start to fade.
"What's... counter-curse ..." Scorpius said, his voice start to overlap in my head.
"I didn't... Hogwarts... Lily..." Hugo answered, but the sick pain grew in my head, causing small sharp pains to splinter down my face.
"Rose ..."
I shut my eyes, warm blood moving up and down my skin like a slide. A slide into my next life.
"Rose, don't ..."
Goodbye, Scorpius.
"Rose, I'm sorry... shouldn't have... please..." and then just before it all went black, a single phrase poured into my ears.
"I love you."
$$$
A/N
NOT THE END OF THE STORY.
I REPEAT: DO NOT BAIL ON ME THE BEST PART IS COMING.