The Truth Inside Your Lies (PG-13) 3/3
Title: The Truth Inside Your Lies 3/3
Author: xxx_angelin_xxx
Prompt: 007. She batted them pretty little eyes at you, and you fell for it like an egg from a tall chicken!- Charade
Summary: He loved her. Clean and simple as that; Scorpius Malfoy loved Rose Weasley. And she loved him back- just not enough. Because she loved someone else more. And for him, she would do anything.
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Mature languange, suggestive situations
Word Count: 16,091 (overall)
A/N: This is a story about love and its meaning, this is a story about trust and betrayal; but at the very end, this is a story about growing up.
I really want to thank my editors; Serendi and Chiara for the wonderful work they did here and for their support on my writing. I really enjoyed working on this- and, I hope, that you will enjoy reading it as much:D
In the car, Smith smirked triumphantly at Rose. “Good to see you again, baby.”
Rose let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding before she leaned forward and passionately captured his lips with hers. At the moment, she couldn’t think of anything else; she didn’t want to remember the previous day, and she pushed her guilt for lying to Scorpius in a corner of her mind. All that mattered was that he was there with her, and he was safe.
Smiling, Jonas was the one who pulled back first. “I missed you.”
“I was so worried!”
“Everything’s fine now,’ he reassured her, and she nodded. Smiling, he turned to the driver. “Find a place to stop. We’ll Apparate from here.”
xxx
Back in the Ministry, Scorpius was searching through the case files in his office like a madman. He couldn’t believe it. He didn’t want to. But he had no choice: something told him that he should trust his instinct on this one. He should have done so from the very beginning.
Mike entered the office and gave him a worried look. “Everything alright, Malfoy?”
“No,” was Scorpius’ sharp answer.
“Oh, come on! Just because you didn’t solve the case of the decade, you don’t have to be like this!” the other man exclaimed. “Sometimes, things don’t make sense to us- but that doesn’t mean they’re not true. It’s Southerby. Even Weasley agrees with me now.”
Scorpius decided not to answer, as he had now found what he was looking for: Jonas Smith’s file, which clearly stated that he had attended a Potion-Making School in London, from which he had graduated nine years ago. The timelines matched; Rose had unknowingly given him his answer. This case would be over soon.
He knew, of course, that he didn’t have enough evidence to close it just yet. But he had enough to bring Rose in. And she would tell him the truth- whether she wanted to or not.
He was walking to the door, under his partner’s curious stare; ready to inform Ron about this new twist, when he finally understood what had happened. This wasn’t a simple case. He didn’t feel cheated just because some stranger had proven himself smarter than him. No- this was personal. He felt betrayed because the woman he loved and trusted more than anyone in the world had lied to him. As every possibility- every single way she could be involved in the case- crossed his mind, he felt dizzy.
”I’ve done some pretty bad things.”
That was what she had told him. Perhaps, she had been telling him the truth; in her own way.
He could now understand the parents of the criminals. When they found out, they all said they needed to sit down, and he had always thought that this was quite a theatrical reaction. But now he knew it wasn’t. The moment you understand, the moment you find out- you truly lose the earth from underneath your feet.
When Mike came closer to him with a concerned expression at his face, he understood that he had leaned against the door, with his hand still at its handle. Looking down, he saw that his knuckles were white.
“Mate, you need to sit down,” Mike suggested, trying to lead him towards a chair. He relaxed and followed him closer to the desks where he collapsed on one of the chairs. “Are you sick?” his partner asked. “Perhaps, you’ve got that flu…”
Scorpius wasn’t paying attention. It was ironic because he always took pride in his ability to notice the smaller details in a place, in someone’s words or on their clothing. But then again, that particular ability was the cause of his downfall, at that very moment. He remembered what Rose had told him:
“I knew him from before. When I was at the Healer Academy, he was studying potions. So I met him in a medicine ingredients lesson.”
Taking a sip from the bottle of water Mike was offering him, he replayed their entire conversation in his mind. She hadn’t mentioned anything more - anything other than… Paris.
It was one of the moments when he would have usually smirked, but he didn’t. Once again, Rose had given him information without knowing it. Their plan was simple: they would take the money before the Ministry was able to confiscate them and they would leave. For Paris, he thought bitterly.
Drinking some more water, he got up and, after reassuring his partner that he was fine, he headed to Ron’s office. He was calmer now, but he still couldn’t believe what he'd discovered. Deep inside he hoped he was wrong, although he knew he couldn’t be. With that small detail, everything had clicked in its place. He could now even understand the meaning of the ‘STHSTH’ brand: Smith & Southerby. Quite smart, he had to admit.
How would he tell Ron about his daughter? How would he tell the world about it? How would he be able to keep going after that? Rose was always loyal - a true Hufflepuff - and he knew that. At the moment, however, he started wondering where her loyalty lay.
xxx
Rose found herself in a big apartment with an even better view than the previous one. London lay in front of her, yet she couldn’t pay much attention to it.
“What are we doing here?” she asked Jonas.
He smiled. “Relax. It's only for one night. I had a friend bring my stuff here, including the money. The Ministry will try to confiscate them, but I’m not sure they’ll find anything,” he finished triumphantly.
Rose, however, didn’t seem to share his enthusiasm. “You don’t understand. They’re still tailing you; they’re still looking. Scorpius is determined to prove you guilty, and when he wants something…”
“Since you brought him up…” he interrupted calmly. “What is he to you?”
“Excuse me?”
“Malfoy. What is he to you?” he repeated in the same tone.
“And old classmate,” she answered.
“You didn’t seem to think of him as an old classmate back at the Ministry. That hug was… very dramatic to say the least.”
She gave him an incredulous stare. “Correct me if I’m wrong but the last thing you need at the moment is a jealous outburst!” Taking a deep breath she continued with a softer voice, “You have nothing to worry about.”
He smiled again. “You’re right - I’m sorry.” He walked closer to her, taking her into a strong embrace. “I’m just nervous.”
“I know,” she murmured, kissing his cheek softly. “I’m sorry for being harsh too, but I fear that they will be at your doorstep very soon.”
He pushed her back slightly. “I wouldn’t worry about Malfoy, if I were you.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, confused.
He smirked. “Let’s just say that the Auror Department will be too busy investigating a murder to worry about me.”
Rose felt her heart skip a beat. Slowly she took a step backwards and shook her head in the attempt to think straight, but failed. What? Who? How? “Stop talking in riddles,” she managed to say hoarsely after a moment.
“Malfoy will soon be dead, Rose,” he explained, failing to notice the change in her posture.
She stopped breathing. She stopped thinking. All she had in her mind was that he couldn’t die. Not like this. Not now. Not because of her.
“Expelliarmus!”
Jonas watched his wand fly from his pocket and disappear at the back of the room, somewhere behind Rose. Then the next thing he knew was that her wand was pressed against his throat, as she glared at him.
“What did you do?” she asked, pressing her wand further into his skin.
“Rose…” he hissed, trying to understand what had just happened.
“Tell me!” she insisted through gritted teeth. “You don’t want to try my skills at Unforgivable Curses - trust me!”
His eyes were moving from left to right quickly, as he looked for an escape. Realizing he had none, he decided to tell her the truth: “Simple poison. The regular one- Muggles can find it as well. Slow enough not to make anyone suspicious, fast enough to eliminate any chance of saving him.”
“How?”
“Did you know how much coffee your boy drinks?”
She threw an electricity jinx at him, making his entire body shake. “Don’t test me.”
“Well, Mike knows,” he continued, after catching his breath- ignoring her threat completely. “I had him slip some in his coffee before we left the Ministry.”
“Who is Mike?”
He smirked. “Why would I tell you?”
“Because I’m very good at the Imperius curse. And because I’m the one person who can tell the Auror Department everything about your business,” she threatened him, knowing that time was running by.
“Mike Davies is an Auror, but he’s also my contact in the Department.”
That was enough. Rose took a step backwards and put her wand back into her cloak’s pocket. Panic was slowly taking over her. She leaned over the wall, trying to catch her breath. “Scorpius Malfoy is not dying tonight - you hear me?” she said weakly- more to herself than to the man in front of her. “I’m not going to let you kill him.”
“What are you going to do?” he asked quietly, waiting for her next move.
“I won’t reveal anything about you,” she decided, like she hadn’t heard his question. Slowly, she balanced her weight on her feet and started walking to the door. “I’m sorry, Jo,” she whispered, as she reached for the handle.
This time, however, he was faster than her. Before she could open the door, he was behind her, forcing a knife at her throat.
“I’m sorry as well. But if you’re not with me, then you’re against me.”
She tried to struggle against his grip, but he pressed the knife closer to her skin, cutting a thin red line as he moved it against her. “Do you want to know how good I am at Memory Spells?”
She didn’t answer. The only thought in her mind was that Scorpius was going to die and she could do nothing to save him.
“But then again,” Smith continued. “I can give you a choice; I can be very gracious; I can forget this,” he whispered into her ear, pulling her closer to him as she held her breath. “Scorpius Malfoy is going to die,” he stated. “The question is: are you?”
They stood silent for a while after that - the only sound in the room was their hard breathing. Then very slowly, Rose raised her hand towards the knife he was holding against her. Instead of trying to push him away, as he thought she would, her hand closed over his. She took a deep breath. He relaxed his hand and closed his eyes: he thought she was going to make him slit her throat.
She surprised him. He felt her turn her head towards him, as her lips closed over his. She had made her choice.
xxx
Scorpius told Ron all about his findings. He talked emotionlessly, his explanation slow and clear; Ron was silent, and by the time Scorpius had finished talking, shock was reflected upon his face.
Scorpius watched as red spread over his boss’s face. Had he been in the mood, he might have made a remark about how the color clashed horribly with the senior Auror's hair. Ron got up and started walking up and down his office, looking more furious than Scorpius had ever had the misfortune to see him. But he didn’t speak. They were quiet for a long time before Ron broke the silence.
“I don’t like you, Malfoy,” he said, surprising Scorpius. “I look at you and I see generations of arrogance and smugness. I look at you and I see your father.” Scorpius tried to object, but he continued: “The worst of all is that I know you. And I know that you’re not like that. Not at all. And that makes me like you even less. Because I don’t like being wrong. Who does, after all?
“But no matter how I feel about you, you are a good Auror. To be honest, you're one of the best. And I trust you. I trust you because you always want to do the right thing. I trust you because you always know where to stop. Because you never make rushed decisions. I trust you because you have what it takes for the job; you have the guts. And above everything, I trust your instinct.
“But why, my dear boy, you always let my daughter fool you like this, I’ll never understand.”
“Sir…” Scorpius tried to explain himself without really knowing how to continue. Once again, Ron interrupted him: “She’s not innocent. I got over the illusion that she’s the best girl in the world a long time ago. Don’t get me wrong; I do love her. She’s loveable in her own way. But I don’t trust her. Trust is earned. Don’t you know that, Malfoy?”
Scorpius tried to reply, to object. He wanted to say that he hadn’t been fooled only by Rose, but by Smith and Southerby as well. He wanted to tell him that love and trust were indeed two very different things, but if you can’t trust the people you love then you’re lost. He wanted to explain that he couldn’t think about how far into this case Rose had been at the moment; they had to catch Smith, and such thoughts would distract him. He wanted to, but he couldn’t.
When he opened his mouth to speak, he felt his throat go dry. He tried to cough, but he failed, breathless. The room was spinning around him. He attempted to sit at the chair behind him, but instead he fell on the ground.
“Malfoy, I know you are in love with my daughter but that doesn’t mean you have to get a heart attack because she’s dating a criminal!” Ron tried to joke, walking closer to see what was wrong. Scorpius face was pale; he coughed, gasping for air.
“Are you alright, boy?” he asked, now truly worried.
“Dad?” he heard a small voice from outside, as the door opened to reveal none other than his daughter.
Ron got up, feeling panic overflow him: Rose’s clothes were covered in blood.
“Rose?”
“Scorpius!” she exclaimed, her voice panic-stricken, since she could now see him struggling on the ground. Hurriedly, she took out her wand and ran to him, trying to help him stand straight. He pushed her hands away but soon he fell back on her, too weak to stand.
“What did you drink, Scorp?” she asked, almost yelling at him. “What did you drink?”
He kept on coughing, unable to speak. Desperately, she grabbed his shoulders and shook him, repeating her question for the third time.
“I don’t think he can answer you, Rose,” Ron noticed, trying to recall if he had seen Scorpius drink anything.
Rose turned to him, with a furious expression at her face. “Dad, this is poison! He’s going to die!’ she yelled.
Ron rubbed his forehead. Looking around the room, he saw the bottle of water Scorpius had brought with him, and realised it was their only chance. By the time he leaned down, Scorpius had stopped trying to breathe, and was just staring at Rose.
“Here,” Ron breathed out. “He had this with him.”
Rose’s gaze was blank for a moment but she grabbed the bottle. Opening it, she stuck her wand inside and mumbled some quick words; the liquid turned purple, then dark blue. As she was working on what he realised was the antidote, Ron could see the light leaving Scorpius eyes. He held his head, as Rose had done before and tried to slap him lightly to keep him awake. By the time she was done, Scorpius was dozing off.
She looked at her father, pleading him, and he immediately understood what she wanted him to do. He kept Scorpius’ moth open, as she dropped the content of the bottle inside.
Once he had drunk the entire content, his heartbeat seemed to calm down a bit and his breathing returned to normal. Softly, Rose let him lie on the ground, as she collapsed against the wall. Wiping some big sweat drops from his forehead, Ron did the same.
“He lied to me,” she said after they had both calmed down, and Ron found himself wondering who had lied to whom. “He said it was simple poison, so I brought the wrong antidote.” Slowly she opened her hand, revealing a small vial. “This one was much more complicated- he might have trouble breathing from now on.” She paused to take a deep breath. “Dad, I don’t know if I did it right,” she told him desperately. “We need to take him to St. Mungo's.
Ron sighed and got up. “Alright.” He nodded. “Alright.” Walking to the door, he opened it and called for someone to come in. Soon a short, dark-haired woman entered the room.
“Wilson, take Malfoy to St. Mungo’s,” he ordered. “And call Davies in here.”
The look in the woman’s eyes was quizzical, but she didn’t dare question her superior. With a swift movement of her wand, she lifted Scorpius up and took him outside.
“Dad…” Rose breathed out.
“Whose blood is that?” he asked, turning his back at her. He couldn’t look his daughter in the eye, while blaming her for deceit- and Merlin knew what else.
“It’s not mine,” she answered quickly, “but, Dad…”
“That does not answer my question,” he interrupted her with a professional tone.
From behind him, he heard Rose getting up. “I’ll do everything. You have me- I’m not going anywhere- I’ll tell you all I know. But you cannot trust Mike Davies. Please, trust me!” she begged.
He turned around abruptly, and one look at her face told him that she was telling him the truth. The moment Davies walked into the room, his wand was ready.
“Stupefy!”
A jolt of red light knocked the man unconscious; his surprise still obvious on his face. Ron took his wand, placing it on his desk, before turning to face his daughter. “Explain,” he grunted.
“He poisoned Scorp.”
“Anything else I need to know?”
She nodded sadly. Before he could say anything, she was putting her wand out of her pocket and giving it to him. “Dad, please,” she said when he kept looking at her without making any movement to get her wand, “you know better than me that you have to take this.”
Sighing, Ron obliged, leaving it next to Davies. “The blood, Rosie,” he reminded her softly.
The moment the words escaped his mouth, Rose seemed to lose her color. “Oh, no…”
“What?” he insisted, mainly because he was worried and not to find out.
“It’s Jo’s… He…” she tried to say something but her voice broke down, as her eyes watered.
Realizing that Jo must have been Smith, Ron took his daughter in his arms, trying to make her calm down. “Tell me what happened so I can help you, okay?” he murmured against her hair. Pushing her back slightly, he kissed her cheek and, watching her nod, he led her to the chair in front of his desk.
“He told me about the poison. But when I tried to come here, he- he…” she stammered. “He had a knife. And said he’d kill me if I didn’t stop. But I couldn’t stop, Dad- I just… couldn’t. I don’t know where I hit him. But I did- I just did and then- then I came here…”
Kneeling in front of her, Ron placed his hand on her knee in the attempt to comfort her. “Okay,” he said.
“Okay.”
Reaching for his wand, he cast a Patronus, guiding it to head to Harry’s office and explaining the situation. “Now, all I need from you is an address, sweetheart,” he said softly. “Can you do that? Do you remember?”
She closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down. Maybe they could still save him, she told herself. Maybe there was still hope. “It’s by the Thames, somewhere near Westminster. I remember clearly seeing the Eye from the window…” A realisation stroke her, and she opened her eyes. “Behind the Aquarium. The building’s door is somewhere behind the Aquarium…”
Ron nodded, motioning for his Patronus to disappear. “Here,” he said, handing his daughter a bottle of water. “It’s safe- I’ve been drinking from it,” he tried to joke.
Rose attempted to smile, but grimaced instead. “Cast a sobering charm on me.”
“What?”
Pushing some sobs back, she repeated. “A sobering charm… To calm me down so I tell you everything.”
“No, you don’t need to, honey…”
“Dad,” she breathed out, furiously wiping her tears. “We both know I’ll have to talk. And I’d rather tell you than anyone else. Because I can’t do this twice,” she stopped as more tears fell down her cheeks. “I just can’t.” Closing her eyes tightly, she tried to explain him: “I don’t care what people are going to say. I don’t care about the law, or the consequences. But I have to face you-and Mum… I want you to understand,” she begged, crying again.
He did as she asked, and sat at the chair by her.
“I know you’re disappointed,” she began. “Don’t say you’re not. I knew, Dad. I knew what he was doing. Not at first. But it’s been a year since he told me. It shocked me- that’s true. But I… love him,” she explained herself. “I know it’s not enough…”
Ron sighed, taking her hand in his. “It is. To everyone that has ever fallen in love, it is.”
She smiled. “I tried to convince him to stop, but he wouldn’t listen. Not until you started coming closer to finding him. Then, he made this plan… to blame Southerby for everything and leave with me. I was so happy…”
“You know that he doesn’t love you back, don’t you?” he asked, oblivious to the fact that this would most probably hurt his daughter even more. “No man puts a knife at the throat of the woman he loves. Especially if he does that to save himself.”
Rose bit her lip, trying to hold another sob before it escaped her. Damn the spell. Once she managed to control herself, however, she smiled: “It doesn’t matter, Dad. It never did. I love him and I don’t really care if he loves me back.”
Her father shook his head disapprovingly. “You’re young and that makes you a fool. Being loved matters as much as loving- if not more. It gives you safety. Security. Happiness. It’s the secret behind successful marriages. True love. From both parties.”
“Maybe.”
“Certainly.” He ran a hand through his hair, thinking of what to say next. “What about Malfoy?”
“What about him?” she asked. Her question wasn’t voiced with apathy but with sadness.
“He loves you,” was the only thing Ron said.
“I know. And I love him, Dad. Just not…”
“Not this much,” he finished the sentence for her. “I see…” Leaning forward, he took her in his arms, caressing her hair. “You broke his heart, Rose. He didn’t say anything but I could tell…”
“Can we not talk about this? Please?”
“You have to deal with him, at some point,” he reminded her, but changed the subject nevertheless. After all, he was more interested in another topic: “You mentioned a plan before… What was it?”
Rose gulped, closing her eyes. It hurt her to do this; to betray Smith like that. But she had understood that it was time for her to do the right thing. They already knew enough to arrest him. Maybe if she talked, she’d be able to measure his time… “When Jo understood you would find out that he was behind STHSTH, he looked for a way to get away clean. I suggested leaving the country, but he wouldn’t listen. He said it would cost him. So he made a plan, to blame his partner for everything, using Davies’s help.
“They forged some papers, and Davies was supposed to plant them into Southerby’s house after arresting him. Then, he would say that he had checked everything, and that they were authentic. But they needed Scorpius out of the way, because he might have wanted to check as well.”
“And that’s where I came along. I heard Jo discussing how they could arrange a small accident for him, and I couldn’t let that happen. So I said I could do it. I hoped that Scorp would take the day off, if I asked him to. And so he did…” A smile appeared on her face at those last words, only to be soon replaced by a confused expression. “I don’t know how he understood - maybe he knows me too well…”
“No…” Ron couldn’t help but answer bitterly. “You had him fooled. The poor boy thought you simply wanted to see him…”
“But I did!” she objected. “I did want to see him as well, but I didn’t want that to happen in a hospital. No one feels more miserable for hurting him than me!”
“Then why do you keep doing it?” he asked, but sighed soon. “Never mind, Rose. This is between you and him- and when everything’s over you two will be able to discuss it.” He sighed. “For now, you are my key witness to this case, but you must be prepared for charges will be pressed against you as well.”
“I know,” she said quietly.
“Rosie?” he asked. He said her name like he did when she was little, squeezing her hand and trying to make sure she was alright.
“Yes, Daddy?” she replied back in the same way.
“Are you okay?”
“No.” She gave him a teary smile. “But I will be.”
He smiled back, as he heard her ask him, “Are you angry at me?”
“Rose, if I’m angry at you it’s because I’ll have to tell your mother about this. And she won’t be happy,” he joked, earning a genuine laugh, before turning serious again. “When Malfoy first told me about you… I was so angry. All I could think about was: Rose, what the hell were you thinking? But then I saw you. And everything went away. Because you were desperate. Because you simply made a mistake. Because you’re a good person. Because at the end of the day, you’re still my daughter.”
By the moment he finished his sentence, Rose was sobbing. With a big grin on her teary eyes, she fell onto him, hugging him tightly. “I love you, Dad.”
“I love you too, Rosie,” he replied, wrapping his arms around her.
Two hours later, Rose found herself sitting in the interrogation room, after having given Harry - who had now taken over the case- an official testimony, and signed paper after paper. Her father had been by her side all this time, helping her give her uncle a full picture of what was actually going on, and supporting her through everything.
What Rose didn’t know was what had happened to Smith. She had asked Harry multiple times, but he kept repeating that he had no idea- without lying to her. The only one who knew was Scorpius.
After waking up at St. Mungo’s and getting briefed on the case, he had seen the Healers bringing him in, an Auror at their side. One look was enough for him to know if there was hope or not. Taking a deep breath, he Apparated back at the Ministry.
“Scorpius?” Harry greeted him, after seeing him. “Are you okay?”
“Fine,” he answered sharply. “Perfect.”
“Malfoy…” the older man said warily. “It’s over now. Stop troubling yourself about it.”
He nodded, without paying much attention to his boss’s words. “Can I see her?” he asked, being more straightforward than ever.
Harry looked at him for a while, before giving up. “Remember that you’re not going in there as an Auror. And you should leave as soon as her mother arrives,” he warned.
Scorpius shrugged, walking past Harry and into the room. For the first time that day he was showing his anger as he slammed the door behind him. Rose was sitting by the table, her face hidden behind her hands. At the sound of his footsteps, she raised her head, relief evident on her face once she caught sight of him. But that didn’t stop him; nor did her red, puffy eyes. Caring little about the rules and ignoring Ron, who was leaning against the wall behind his daughter, he stood next to her, slamming his fist on the table.
“How could you this to me?” he demanded. “How could you do this?”
Tears filled her eyes for the third time that day. “Scorp, I - I didn’t…”
He laughed cruelly. “Please tell me that you didn’t want to! This will be… amusing, to say the least.”
She pressed her eyes shut and tried to turn her body away from him but, grabbing her arm, he pulled her closer again. “Talk!” he commanded.
Rose looked at him then, her eyes piercing into his. “Don’t do this to me, Scorp,” she told him. She wasn't begging. The sentence was voiced like a simple, nondescript statement.
“Why, Rose?” he asked - softly, this time- without letting go of her.
“I love him,” she said simply.
His response was an incredulous stare. “I’ve heard that before but now I’m not sure if it's true. I’m not sure if you even know how to love.”
The tears started to fall, but she made no movement to wipe them away. “I do,” she insisted matter-of-factly.
“Dammit, Rose!” he yelled, shaking her up and down. “The man is dead because of you, and you’re telling me that you love him?”
Her eyes opened wide, her face turned pale, and her attempts to restrain her tears stopped as she sobbed loudly. “No!” she whispered, finally looking away. “He can’t - no!”
“Malfoy,” Ron warned as he came to stand near his daughter. “Stop this.” Turning to her, he murmured tenderly, “Shhh, Rosie. Maybe it had to happen like this.” Wiping her tears away, he whispered: “Please, stop crying. It’s going to be okay, I promise.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” Scorpius muttered through gritted teeth, too fast for Ron to catch his exact words. “What I really don’t get,” he said more calmly, finally letting go of her arm, “is why you did this. You love him - I get it. Why the hell would you stab him? Why did you come back?”
Rose didn’t answer him; she had once again hidden her face behind her palms, breathing loudly. Then the door opened, revealing a very upset Hermione Granger Weasley who was who crying as well.
“Rosie?” she asked in a small voice, without entering the room.
Scorpius sighed. “Never mind, I don’t really care- I’m done,” and with that he turned away, ready to leave the room. It was Rose who stopped him, pushing her chair to the floor as she hurriedly got up, grabbed his hand to turn him around and fisted her fingers into his cloak to keep him there.
“When you love somebody,” she declared with more passion in her voice than he’d ever seen, “When you love them… you don’t care what they do. You don’t stop to think what will happen to yourself. All you care about is their well-being. You want them happy; you want them safe. And I loved Jo. With all my heart I did - I do!” She stopped to breathe, and he found himself unable to move, unable to talk, unable to do anything other than look into her eyes. “But I love you, as well.”
“And it doesn’t matter if I love you more or less- it doesn’t matter if I love you in the same way. I don’t know how I love you - I just know that I do! I had to make a choice, and I picked you!” Taking a deep breath, she lowered her voice: “Don’t ask why- I just did. I didn’t know what I was doing. The moment he said something might happen to you… I lost it.”
Everyone in the room was waiting for her to finish, but when she did, Scorpius felt paralyzed. His anger had dissipated, but he wasn’t sure what had replaced it. Everything was so confusing that he felt like his head would explode the moment he tried to understand what he was feeling. There was one thing that he knew for certain: he needed to be away from her.
Slowly, he took hold of her hands on his chest and untangled her fingers. Then, more abruptly than he wanted to, he pushed her arms away, forcing her to take a step backwards. She looked back at him then and he didn’t know what to answer in the questions her gaze hide. So he left. Gave her one last look, turned on his heels, and just left.
-:- FIVE MONTHS LATER-:-
The next time he saw her, she was sitting by his doorstep again. When she heard the crack of his Apparation she looked up, an apologetic look on her face.
Déjà- vu.
For one more time, he caught himself shrugging. He gave her a hand, helping her get up, before opening his door and motioning for her to come in. They stood together by the door, both looking at the ground, uncertain of what to say, or even who would speak first.
“I’m sorry,” Rose blurted out, finally laying eyes on him.
He sighed. “I’m sorry, too.” When she questioned him with her eyes, he explained, “I shouldn’t have told you the truth that way. About… Smith. I never meant to hurt you either.”
“I know,” she said softly. “I never doubted that.” Her words were followed by an awkward silence, during which he looked everywhere but her while her eyes were trained on him. “The trial was today,” she said suddenly.
“I know.”
“You didn’t come…” she dared say.
“I never go to trials,” he explained her. “For me the case is over once it leaves my desk. Then I read about it in the Prophet. Only if something goes wrong… then I bother.” Finally looking at her, he added, “But this time, I didn’t come because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to see you.”
“Oh.” She swallowed hard. “And now that you have seen me?”
His gaze softened. “I'm sure.”
“That?” she urged him to tell her more.
Scorpius sighed. During the past few months, he’d had enough time to think about his feelings for Rose. At first, he didn’t even want to try, but as time went by, he realised that he… “I missed you, Rosie,” he confessed.
Her lips formed a quick smile, but it soon disappeared. “Okay.”
“Did you miss me?”he asked, wanting desperately to make her tell the truth.
Her reply didn't help him much. “I’m here, right?”
Again, neither of them spoke. Scorpius looked at her, nervously folding and unfolding the edges of her Muggle skirt, and almost laughed at their situation. “Sit down, Rosie.”
“No, I…” she rushed to reply. “I don’t mean to trouble you. I just came to say that I’m sorry, and to see how are you… Have you gone to St. Mungo's again? Can you breathe alright, talk alright? Dad says…”
“Rosie,” he interrupted her, unable to hide his smile. “I was yelling at you five months ago. I think I’m more than fine now. You did a great job.”
“Good.” She nodded. “I suppose I should put this in my resume. The St. Mungo’s people are going to appreciate it.”
“You’re staying here?” He held his breath in anticipation.
“I want to be at home,” she stated. “I want to be with the people I love. I want to go to my parents’ house in weekends and watch them being happy for me. I want to go to family dinners and remember what it truly means to be a Weasley. I want to grow up and to do that… I need to be here.” She was talking with the certainty of a person who had made up her mind and was going to carry out all that she said. It surprised him so much that he forgot the things he had wanted to tell her.
“I suppose I should thank you…” he said after a while. “For saving my life, I mean.”
“Only if you want to,” she noticed.
“Come on, Rose! Of course I bloody want to!” He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “Why do we keep on doing this to each other?”
She was skeptical for a moment, before saying: “Because we don’t know where we’re standing.”
He shook his head. “I do. I’m standing right where I stood before.”
“Like all this never happened?”
“No,” he explained. “Like all this is now behind us.” Taking a deep breath he decided it was time to clear things out between them. “I know what I feel; I had a lot of time to think, enough to know I want to give you a second chance. But you… you're a mess.”
“I know,” she interrupted, obviously hurt from his latter statement. He was doing that a lot lately, she noticed; giving her hope, only to crush it. “And I don’t mean to trouble you any longer- you don’t have to deal with my mess…”
“I want to,” he retorted. “But I need to know that you want me there as well. I want to stand by your side, but will you let me? I know you loved him, Rose - I understand that. But are you ready to get over this? Because if you’re not, I don’t think this is going to work.”
She took a deep breath and sat on the couch. He watched her gesture at the seat next to her and following her lead he sat by her. “Those were some really shitty months,” she admitted, looking him in the eye. “It’s hard to live with the guilt. It took me a lot of time to understand that despite all that happened, my family is still with me, and that they want me here. Sometimes, I still doubt that, but thankfully I get over it soon.”
“In the nights,” she breathed, taking his hand in hers, “I have nightmares. Not all the time, but sometimes. I see him. Sometimes, it’s my fear… sometimes it’s my guilt. I’m not easy to be around, Scorp…” she reminded him, her fingers drawing circles in his palm. “But I’ve made up my mind and I know I want you in my life. I can’t rush into anything, though. I’m not sure what will happen with us; how things are going to turn out… but I know I want you to boss me around because you’re such a control freak, I want us to hang out in bookshops and empty train stations; I want to hear about your day; I want you to try cooking for me… I want you there…”
“I know that I trust you; I know that I love you; I know that I want you. And now I know you still want me as well. But can you trust me, Scorp?”
This was it. This was the end of the story- or the beginning of it. All he had to do was say one word. One small word that would determine whether Rose Weasley would become a stranger to him or if she’d stay and they’d fight together for the happy ending- like they had fought all these years ago when no one understood their relationship.
The fatal question: could he trust her? After everything they’ve been through, could he believe that she wanted the best for them now? That she needed this to work as much as he did?
Brushing some hair away from her face and, softly massaging the soft skin of her neck, he nodded. “Yes.”
THE END
Please take a quick minute to rate this entry. The top three entries will receive an award. Please do not vote for your own submission. This poll will be closed on November 7th.
Poll The Truth Inside Your Lies
Author: xxx_angelin_xxx
Prompt: 007. She batted them pretty little eyes at you, and you fell for it like an egg from a tall chicken!- Charade
Summary: He loved her. Clean and simple as that; Scorpius Malfoy loved Rose Weasley. And she loved him back- just not enough. Because she loved someone else more. And for him, she would do anything.
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Mature languange, suggestive situations
Word Count: 16,091 (overall)
A/N: This is a story about love and its meaning, this is a story about trust and betrayal; but at the very end, this is a story about growing up.
I really want to thank my editors; Serendi and Chiara for the wonderful work they did here and for their support on my writing. I really enjoyed working on this- and, I hope, that you will enjoy reading it as much:D
In the car, Smith smirked triumphantly at Rose. “Good to see you again, baby.”
Rose let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding before she leaned forward and passionately captured his lips with hers. At the moment, she couldn’t think of anything else; she didn’t want to remember the previous day, and she pushed her guilt for lying to Scorpius in a corner of her mind. All that mattered was that he was there with her, and he was safe.
Smiling, Jonas was the one who pulled back first. “I missed you.”
“I was so worried!”
“Everything’s fine now,’ he reassured her, and she nodded. Smiling, he turned to the driver. “Find a place to stop. We’ll Apparate from here.”
xxx
Back in the Ministry, Scorpius was searching through the case files in his office like a madman. He couldn’t believe it. He didn’t want to. But he had no choice: something told him that he should trust his instinct on this one. He should have done so from the very beginning.
Mike entered the office and gave him a worried look. “Everything alright, Malfoy?”
“No,” was Scorpius’ sharp answer.
“Oh, come on! Just because you didn’t solve the case of the decade, you don’t have to be like this!” the other man exclaimed. “Sometimes, things don’t make sense to us- but that doesn’t mean they’re not true. It’s Southerby. Even Weasley agrees with me now.”
Scorpius decided not to answer, as he had now found what he was looking for: Jonas Smith’s file, which clearly stated that he had attended a Potion-Making School in London, from which he had graduated nine years ago. The timelines matched; Rose had unknowingly given him his answer. This case would be over soon.
He knew, of course, that he didn’t have enough evidence to close it just yet. But he had enough to bring Rose in. And she would tell him the truth- whether she wanted to or not.
He was walking to the door, under his partner’s curious stare; ready to inform Ron about this new twist, when he finally understood what had happened. This wasn’t a simple case. He didn’t feel cheated just because some stranger had proven himself smarter than him. No- this was personal. He felt betrayed because the woman he loved and trusted more than anyone in the world had lied to him. As every possibility- every single way she could be involved in the case- crossed his mind, he felt dizzy.
”I’ve done some pretty bad things.”
That was what she had told him. Perhaps, she had been telling him the truth; in her own way.
He could now understand the parents of the criminals. When they found out, they all said they needed to sit down, and he had always thought that this was quite a theatrical reaction. But now he knew it wasn’t. The moment you understand, the moment you find out- you truly lose the earth from underneath your feet.
When Mike came closer to him with a concerned expression at his face, he understood that he had leaned against the door, with his hand still at its handle. Looking down, he saw that his knuckles were white.
“Mate, you need to sit down,” Mike suggested, trying to lead him towards a chair. He relaxed and followed him closer to the desks where he collapsed on one of the chairs. “Are you sick?” his partner asked. “Perhaps, you’ve got that flu…”
Scorpius wasn’t paying attention. It was ironic because he always took pride in his ability to notice the smaller details in a place, in someone’s words or on their clothing. But then again, that particular ability was the cause of his downfall, at that very moment. He remembered what Rose had told him:
“I knew him from before. When I was at the Healer Academy, he was studying potions. So I met him in a medicine ingredients lesson.”
Taking a sip from the bottle of water Mike was offering him, he replayed their entire conversation in his mind. She hadn’t mentioned anything more - anything other than… Paris.
It was one of the moments when he would have usually smirked, but he didn’t. Once again, Rose had given him information without knowing it. Their plan was simple: they would take the money before the Ministry was able to confiscate them and they would leave. For Paris, he thought bitterly.
Drinking some more water, he got up and, after reassuring his partner that he was fine, he headed to Ron’s office. He was calmer now, but he still couldn’t believe what he'd discovered. Deep inside he hoped he was wrong, although he knew he couldn’t be. With that small detail, everything had clicked in its place. He could now even understand the meaning of the ‘STHSTH’ brand: Smith & Southerby. Quite smart, he had to admit.
How would he tell Ron about his daughter? How would he tell the world about it? How would he be able to keep going after that? Rose was always loyal - a true Hufflepuff - and he knew that. At the moment, however, he started wondering where her loyalty lay.
xxx
Rose found herself in a big apartment with an even better view than the previous one. London lay in front of her, yet she couldn’t pay much attention to it.
“What are we doing here?” she asked Jonas.
He smiled. “Relax. It's only for one night. I had a friend bring my stuff here, including the money. The Ministry will try to confiscate them, but I’m not sure they’ll find anything,” he finished triumphantly.
Rose, however, didn’t seem to share his enthusiasm. “You don’t understand. They’re still tailing you; they’re still looking. Scorpius is determined to prove you guilty, and when he wants something…”
“Since you brought him up…” he interrupted calmly. “What is he to you?”
“Excuse me?”
“Malfoy. What is he to you?” he repeated in the same tone.
“And old classmate,” she answered.
“You didn’t seem to think of him as an old classmate back at the Ministry. That hug was… very dramatic to say the least.”
She gave him an incredulous stare. “Correct me if I’m wrong but the last thing you need at the moment is a jealous outburst!” Taking a deep breath she continued with a softer voice, “You have nothing to worry about.”
He smiled again. “You’re right - I’m sorry.” He walked closer to her, taking her into a strong embrace. “I’m just nervous.”
“I know,” she murmured, kissing his cheek softly. “I’m sorry for being harsh too, but I fear that they will be at your doorstep very soon.”
He pushed her back slightly. “I wouldn’t worry about Malfoy, if I were you.”
“What do you mean?” she asked, confused.
He smirked. “Let’s just say that the Auror Department will be too busy investigating a murder to worry about me.”
Rose felt her heart skip a beat. Slowly she took a step backwards and shook her head in the attempt to think straight, but failed. What? Who? How? “Stop talking in riddles,” she managed to say hoarsely after a moment.
“Malfoy will soon be dead, Rose,” he explained, failing to notice the change in her posture.
She stopped breathing. She stopped thinking. All she had in her mind was that he couldn’t die. Not like this. Not now. Not because of her.
“Expelliarmus!”
Jonas watched his wand fly from his pocket and disappear at the back of the room, somewhere behind Rose. Then the next thing he knew was that her wand was pressed against his throat, as she glared at him.
“What did you do?” she asked, pressing her wand further into his skin.
“Rose…” he hissed, trying to understand what had just happened.
“Tell me!” she insisted through gritted teeth. “You don’t want to try my skills at Unforgivable Curses - trust me!”
His eyes were moving from left to right quickly, as he looked for an escape. Realizing he had none, he decided to tell her the truth: “Simple poison. The regular one- Muggles can find it as well. Slow enough not to make anyone suspicious, fast enough to eliminate any chance of saving him.”
“How?”
“Did you know how much coffee your boy drinks?”
She threw an electricity jinx at him, making his entire body shake. “Don’t test me.”
“Well, Mike knows,” he continued, after catching his breath- ignoring her threat completely. “I had him slip some in his coffee before we left the Ministry.”
“Who is Mike?”
He smirked. “Why would I tell you?”
“Because I’m very good at the Imperius curse. And because I’m the one person who can tell the Auror Department everything about your business,” she threatened him, knowing that time was running by.
“Mike Davies is an Auror, but he’s also my contact in the Department.”
That was enough. Rose took a step backwards and put her wand back into her cloak’s pocket. Panic was slowly taking over her. She leaned over the wall, trying to catch her breath. “Scorpius Malfoy is not dying tonight - you hear me?” she said weakly- more to herself than to the man in front of her. “I’m not going to let you kill him.”
“What are you going to do?” he asked quietly, waiting for her next move.
“I won’t reveal anything about you,” she decided, like she hadn’t heard his question. Slowly, she balanced her weight on her feet and started walking to the door. “I’m sorry, Jo,” she whispered, as she reached for the handle.
This time, however, he was faster than her. Before she could open the door, he was behind her, forcing a knife at her throat.
“I’m sorry as well. But if you’re not with me, then you’re against me.”
She tried to struggle against his grip, but he pressed the knife closer to her skin, cutting a thin red line as he moved it against her. “Do you want to know how good I am at Memory Spells?”
She didn’t answer. The only thought in her mind was that Scorpius was going to die and she could do nothing to save him.
“But then again,” Smith continued. “I can give you a choice; I can be very gracious; I can forget this,” he whispered into her ear, pulling her closer to him as she held her breath. “Scorpius Malfoy is going to die,” he stated. “The question is: are you?”
They stood silent for a while after that - the only sound in the room was their hard breathing. Then very slowly, Rose raised her hand towards the knife he was holding against her. Instead of trying to push him away, as he thought she would, her hand closed over his. She took a deep breath. He relaxed his hand and closed his eyes: he thought she was going to make him slit her throat.
She surprised him. He felt her turn her head towards him, as her lips closed over his. She had made her choice.
xxx
Scorpius told Ron all about his findings. He talked emotionlessly, his explanation slow and clear; Ron was silent, and by the time Scorpius had finished talking, shock was reflected upon his face.
Scorpius watched as red spread over his boss’s face. Had he been in the mood, he might have made a remark about how the color clashed horribly with the senior Auror's hair. Ron got up and started walking up and down his office, looking more furious than Scorpius had ever had the misfortune to see him. But he didn’t speak. They were quiet for a long time before Ron broke the silence.
“I don’t like you, Malfoy,” he said, surprising Scorpius. “I look at you and I see generations of arrogance and smugness. I look at you and I see your father.” Scorpius tried to object, but he continued: “The worst of all is that I know you. And I know that you’re not like that. Not at all. And that makes me like you even less. Because I don’t like being wrong. Who does, after all?
“But no matter how I feel about you, you are a good Auror. To be honest, you're one of the best. And I trust you. I trust you because you always want to do the right thing. I trust you because you always know where to stop. Because you never make rushed decisions. I trust you because you have what it takes for the job; you have the guts. And above everything, I trust your instinct.
“But why, my dear boy, you always let my daughter fool you like this, I’ll never understand.”
“Sir…” Scorpius tried to explain himself without really knowing how to continue. Once again, Ron interrupted him: “She’s not innocent. I got over the illusion that she’s the best girl in the world a long time ago. Don’t get me wrong; I do love her. She’s loveable in her own way. But I don’t trust her. Trust is earned. Don’t you know that, Malfoy?”
Scorpius tried to reply, to object. He wanted to say that he hadn’t been fooled only by Rose, but by Smith and Southerby as well. He wanted to tell him that love and trust were indeed two very different things, but if you can’t trust the people you love then you’re lost. He wanted to explain that he couldn’t think about how far into this case Rose had been at the moment; they had to catch Smith, and such thoughts would distract him. He wanted to, but he couldn’t.
When he opened his mouth to speak, he felt his throat go dry. He tried to cough, but he failed, breathless. The room was spinning around him. He attempted to sit at the chair behind him, but instead he fell on the ground.
“Malfoy, I know you are in love with my daughter but that doesn’t mean you have to get a heart attack because she’s dating a criminal!” Ron tried to joke, walking closer to see what was wrong. Scorpius face was pale; he coughed, gasping for air.
“Are you alright, boy?” he asked, now truly worried.
“Dad?” he heard a small voice from outside, as the door opened to reveal none other than his daughter.
Ron got up, feeling panic overflow him: Rose’s clothes were covered in blood.
“Rose?”
“Scorpius!” she exclaimed, her voice panic-stricken, since she could now see him struggling on the ground. Hurriedly, she took out her wand and ran to him, trying to help him stand straight. He pushed her hands away but soon he fell back on her, too weak to stand.
“What did you drink, Scorp?” she asked, almost yelling at him. “What did you drink?”
He kept on coughing, unable to speak. Desperately, she grabbed his shoulders and shook him, repeating her question for the third time.
“I don’t think he can answer you, Rose,” Ron noticed, trying to recall if he had seen Scorpius drink anything.
Rose turned to him, with a furious expression at her face. “Dad, this is poison! He’s going to die!’ she yelled.
Ron rubbed his forehead. Looking around the room, he saw the bottle of water Scorpius had brought with him, and realised it was their only chance. By the time he leaned down, Scorpius had stopped trying to breathe, and was just staring at Rose.
“Here,” Ron breathed out. “He had this with him.”
Rose’s gaze was blank for a moment but she grabbed the bottle. Opening it, she stuck her wand inside and mumbled some quick words; the liquid turned purple, then dark blue. As she was working on what he realised was the antidote, Ron could see the light leaving Scorpius eyes. He held his head, as Rose had done before and tried to slap him lightly to keep him awake. By the time she was done, Scorpius was dozing off.
She looked at her father, pleading him, and he immediately understood what she wanted him to do. He kept Scorpius’ moth open, as she dropped the content of the bottle inside.
Once he had drunk the entire content, his heartbeat seemed to calm down a bit and his breathing returned to normal. Softly, Rose let him lie on the ground, as she collapsed against the wall. Wiping some big sweat drops from his forehead, Ron did the same.
“He lied to me,” she said after they had both calmed down, and Ron found himself wondering who had lied to whom. “He said it was simple poison, so I brought the wrong antidote.” Slowly she opened her hand, revealing a small vial. “This one was much more complicated- he might have trouble breathing from now on.” She paused to take a deep breath. “Dad, I don’t know if I did it right,” she told him desperately. “We need to take him to St. Mungo's.
Ron sighed and got up. “Alright.” He nodded. “Alright.” Walking to the door, he opened it and called for someone to come in. Soon a short, dark-haired woman entered the room.
“Wilson, take Malfoy to St. Mungo’s,” he ordered. “And call Davies in here.”
The look in the woman’s eyes was quizzical, but she didn’t dare question her superior. With a swift movement of her wand, she lifted Scorpius up and took him outside.
“Dad…” Rose breathed out.
“Whose blood is that?” he asked, turning his back at her. He couldn’t look his daughter in the eye, while blaming her for deceit- and Merlin knew what else.
“It’s not mine,” she answered quickly, “but, Dad…”
“That does not answer my question,” he interrupted her with a professional tone.
From behind him, he heard Rose getting up. “I’ll do everything. You have me- I’m not going anywhere- I’ll tell you all I know. But you cannot trust Mike Davies. Please, trust me!” she begged.
He turned around abruptly, and one look at her face told him that she was telling him the truth. The moment Davies walked into the room, his wand was ready.
“Stupefy!”
A jolt of red light knocked the man unconscious; his surprise still obvious on his face. Ron took his wand, placing it on his desk, before turning to face his daughter. “Explain,” he grunted.
“He poisoned Scorp.”
“Anything else I need to know?”
She nodded sadly. Before he could say anything, she was putting her wand out of her pocket and giving it to him. “Dad, please,” she said when he kept looking at her without making any movement to get her wand, “you know better than me that you have to take this.”
Sighing, Ron obliged, leaving it next to Davies. “The blood, Rosie,” he reminded her softly.
The moment the words escaped his mouth, Rose seemed to lose her color. “Oh, no…”
“What?” he insisted, mainly because he was worried and not to find out.
“It’s Jo’s… He…” she tried to say something but her voice broke down, as her eyes watered.
Realizing that Jo must have been Smith, Ron took his daughter in his arms, trying to make her calm down. “Tell me what happened so I can help you, okay?” he murmured against her hair. Pushing her back slightly, he kissed her cheek and, watching her nod, he led her to the chair in front of his desk.
“He told me about the poison. But when I tried to come here, he- he…” she stammered. “He had a knife. And said he’d kill me if I didn’t stop. But I couldn’t stop, Dad- I just… couldn’t. I don’t know where I hit him. But I did- I just did and then- then I came here…”
Kneeling in front of her, Ron placed his hand on her knee in the attempt to comfort her. “Okay,” he said.
“Okay.”
Reaching for his wand, he cast a Patronus, guiding it to head to Harry’s office and explaining the situation. “Now, all I need from you is an address, sweetheart,” he said softly. “Can you do that? Do you remember?”
She closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down. Maybe they could still save him, she told herself. Maybe there was still hope. “It’s by the Thames, somewhere near Westminster. I remember clearly seeing the Eye from the window…” A realisation stroke her, and she opened her eyes. “Behind the Aquarium. The building’s door is somewhere behind the Aquarium…”
Ron nodded, motioning for his Patronus to disappear. “Here,” he said, handing his daughter a bottle of water. “It’s safe- I’ve been drinking from it,” he tried to joke.
Rose attempted to smile, but grimaced instead. “Cast a sobering charm on me.”
“What?”
Pushing some sobs back, she repeated. “A sobering charm… To calm me down so I tell you everything.”
“No, you don’t need to, honey…”
“Dad,” she breathed out, furiously wiping her tears. “We both know I’ll have to talk. And I’d rather tell you than anyone else. Because I can’t do this twice,” she stopped as more tears fell down her cheeks. “I just can’t.” Closing her eyes tightly, she tried to explain him: “I don’t care what people are going to say. I don’t care about the law, or the consequences. But I have to face you-and Mum… I want you to understand,” she begged, crying again.
He did as she asked, and sat at the chair by her.
“I know you’re disappointed,” she began. “Don’t say you’re not. I knew, Dad. I knew what he was doing. Not at first. But it’s been a year since he told me. It shocked me- that’s true. But I… love him,” she explained herself. “I know it’s not enough…”
Ron sighed, taking her hand in his. “It is. To everyone that has ever fallen in love, it is.”
She smiled. “I tried to convince him to stop, but he wouldn’t listen. Not until you started coming closer to finding him. Then, he made this plan… to blame Southerby for everything and leave with me. I was so happy…”
“You know that he doesn’t love you back, don’t you?” he asked, oblivious to the fact that this would most probably hurt his daughter even more. “No man puts a knife at the throat of the woman he loves. Especially if he does that to save himself.”
Rose bit her lip, trying to hold another sob before it escaped her. Damn the spell. Once she managed to control herself, however, she smiled: “It doesn’t matter, Dad. It never did. I love him and I don’t really care if he loves me back.”
Her father shook his head disapprovingly. “You’re young and that makes you a fool. Being loved matters as much as loving- if not more. It gives you safety. Security. Happiness. It’s the secret behind successful marriages. True love. From both parties.”
“Maybe.”
“Certainly.” He ran a hand through his hair, thinking of what to say next. “What about Malfoy?”
“What about him?” she asked. Her question wasn’t voiced with apathy but with sadness.
“He loves you,” was the only thing Ron said.
“I know. And I love him, Dad. Just not…”
“Not this much,” he finished the sentence for her. “I see…” Leaning forward, he took her in his arms, caressing her hair. “You broke his heart, Rose. He didn’t say anything but I could tell…”
“Can we not talk about this? Please?”
“You have to deal with him, at some point,” he reminded her, but changed the subject nevertheless. After all, he was more interested in another topic: “You mentioned a plan before… What was it?”
Rose gulped, closing her eyes. It hurt her to do this; to betray Smith like that. But she had understood that it was time for her to do the right thing. They already knew enough to arrest him. Maybe if she talked, she’d be able to measure his time… “When Jo understood you would find out that he was behind STHSTH, he looked for a way to get away clean. I suggested leaving the country, but he wouldn’t listen. He said it would cost him. So he made a plan, to blame his partner for everything, using Davies’s help.
“They forged some papers, and Davies was supposed to plant them into Southerby’s house after arresting him. Then, he would say that he had checked everything, and that they were authentic. But they needed Scorpius out of the way, because he might have wanted to check as well.”
“And that’s where I came along. I heard Jo discussing how they could arrange a small accident for him, and I couldn’t let that happen. So I said I could do it. I hoped that Scorp would take the day off, if I asked him to. And so he did…” A smile appeared on her face at those last words, only to be soon replaced by a confused expression. “I don’t know how he understood - maybe he knows me too well…”
“No…” Ron couldn’t help but answer bitterly. “You had him fooled. The poor boy thought you simply wanted to see him…”
“But I did!” she objected. “I did want to see him as well, but I didn’t want that to happen in a hospital. No one feels more miserable for hurting him than me!”
“Then why do you keep doing it?” he asked, but sighed soon. “Never mind, Rose. This is between you and him- and when everything’s over you two will be able to discuss it.” He sighed. “For now, you are my key witness to this case, but you must be prepared for charges will be pressed against you as well.”
“I know,” she said quietly.
“Rosie?” he asked. He said her name like he did when she was little, squeezing her hand and trying to make sure she was alright.
“Yes, Daddy?” she replied back in the same way.
“Are you okay?”
“No.” She gave him a teary smile. “But I will be.”
He smiled back, as he heard her ask him, “Are you angry at me?”
“Rose, if I’m angry at you it’s because I’ll have to tell your mother about this. And she won’t be happy,” he joked, earning a genuine laugh, before turning serious again. “When Malfoy first told me about you… I was so angry. All I could think about was: Rose, what the hell were you thinking? But then I saw you. And everything went away. Because you were desperate. Because you simply made a mistake. Because you’re a good person. Because at the end of the day, you’re still my daughter.”
By the moment he finished his sentence, Rose was sobbing. With a big grin on her teary eyes, she fell onto him, hugging him tightly. “I love you, Dad.”
“I love you too, Rosie,” he replied, wrapping his arms around her.
Two hours later, Rose found herself sitting in the interrogation room, after having given Harry - who had now taken over the case- an official testimony, and signed paper after paper. Her father had been by her side all this time, helping her give her uncle a full picture of what was actually going on, and supporting her through everything.
What Rose didn’t know was what had happened to Smith. She had asked Harry multiple times, but he kept repeating that he had no idea- without lying to her. The only one who knew was Scorpius.
After waking up at St. Mungo’s and getting briefed on the case, he had seen the Healers bringing him in, an Auror at their side. One look was enough for him to know if there was hope or not. Taking a deep breath, he Apparated back at the Ministry.
“Scorpius?” Harry greeted him, after seeing him. “Are you okay?”
“Fine,” he answered sharply. “Perfect.”
“Malfoy…” the older man said warily. “It’s over now. Stop troubling yourself about it.”
He nodded, without paying much attention to his boss’s words. “Can I see her?” he asked, being more straightforward than ever.
Harry looked at him for a while, before giving up. “Remember that you’re not going in there as an Auror. And you should leave as soon as her mother arrives,” he warned.
Scorpius shrugged, walking past Harry and into the room. For the first time that day he was showing his anger as he slammed the door behind him. Rose was sitting by the table, her face hidden behind her hands. At the sound of his footsteps, she raised her head, relief evident on her face once she caught sight of him. But that didn’t stop him; nor did her red, puffy eyes. Caring little about the rules and ignoring Ron, who was leaning against the wall behind his daughter, he stood next to her, slamming his fist on the table.
“How could you this to me?” he demanded. “How could you do this?”
Tears filled her eyes for the third time that day. “Scorp, I - I didn’t…”
He laughed cruelly. “Please tell me that you didn’t want to! This will be… amusing, to say the least.”
She pressed her eyes shut and tried to turn her body away from him but, grabbing her arm, he pulled her closer again. “Talk!” he commanded.
Rose looked at him then, her eyes piercing into his. “Don’t do this to me, Scorp,” she told him. She wasn't begging. The sentence was voiced like a simple, nondescript statement.
“Why, Rose?” he asked - softly, this time- without letting go of her.
“I love him,” she said simply.
His response was an incredulous stare. “I’ve heard that before but now I’m not sure if it's true. I’m not sure if you even know how to love.”
The tears started to fall, but she made no movement to wipe them away. “I do,” she insisted matter-of-factly.
“Dammit, Rose!” he yelled, shaking her up and down. “The man is dead because of you, and you’re telling me that you love him?”
Her eyes opened wide, her face turned pale, and her attempts to restrain her tears stopped as she sobbed loudly. “No!” she whispered, finally looking away. “He can’t - no!”
“Malfoy,” Ron warned as he came to stand near his daughter. “Stop this.” Turning to her, he murmured tenderly, “Shhh, Rosie. Maybe it had to happen like this.” Wiping her tears away, he whispered: “Please, stop crying. It’s going to be okay, I promise.”
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” Scorpius muttered through gritted teeth, too fast for Ron to catch his exact words. “What I really don’t get,” he said more calmly, finally letting go of her arm, “is why you did this. You love him - I get it. Why the hell would you stab him? Why did you come back?”
Rose didn’t answer him; she had once again hidden her face behind her palms, breathing loudly. Then the door opened, revealing a very upset Hermione Granger Weasley who was who crying as well.
“Rosie?” she asked in a small voice, without entering the room.
Scorpius sighed. “Never mind, I don’t really care- I’m done,” and with that he turned away, ready to leave the room. It was Rose who stopped him, pushing her chair to the floor as she hurriedly got up, grabbed his hand to turn him around and fisted her fingers into his cloak to keep him there.
“When you love somebody,” she declared with more passion in her voice than he’d ever seen, “When you love them… you don’t care what they do. You don’t stop to think what will happen to yourself. All you care about is their well-being. You want them happy; you want them safe. And I loved Jo. With all my heart I did - I do!” She stopped to breathe, and he found himself unable to move, unable to talk, unable to do anything other than look into her eyes. “But I love you, as well.”
“And it doesn’t matter if I love you more or less- it doesn’t matter if I love you in the same way. I don’t know how I love you - I just know that I do! I had to make a choice, and I picked you!” Taking a deep breath, she lowered her voice: “Don’t ask why- I just did. I didn’t know what I was doing. The moment he said something might happen to you… I lost it.”
Everyone in the room was waiting for her to finish, but when she did, Scorpius felt paralyzed. His anger had dissipated, but he wasn’t sure what had replaced it. Everything was so confusing that he felt like his head would explode the moment he tried to understand what he was feeling. There was one thing that he knew for certain: he needed to be away from her.
Slowly, he took hold of her hands on his chest and untangled her fingers. Then, more abruptly than he wanted to, he pushed her arms away, forcing her to take a step backwards. She looked back at him then and he didn’t know what to answer in the questions her gaze hide. So he left. Gave her one last look, turned on his heels, and just left.
-:- FIVE MONTHS LATER-:-
The next time he saw her, she was sitting by his doorstep again. When she heard the crack of his Apparation she looked up, an apologetic look on her face.
Déjà- vu.
For one more time, he caught himself shrugging. He gave her a hand, helping her get up, before opening his door and motioning for her to come in. They stood together by the door, both looking at the ground, uncertain of what to say, or even who would speak first.
“I’m sorry,” Rose blurted out, finally laying eyes on him.
He sighed. “I’m sorry, too.” When she questioned him with her eyes, he explained, “I shouldn’t have told you the truth that way. About… Smith. I never meant to hurt you either.”
“I know,” she said softly. “I never doubted that.” Her words were followed by an awkward silence, during which he looked everywhere but her while her eyes were trained on him. “The trial was today,” she said suddenly.
“I know.”
“You didn’t come…” she dared say.
“I never go to trials,” he explained her. “For me the case is over once it leaves my desk. Then I read about it in the Prophet. Only if something goes wrong… then I bother.” Finally looking at her, he added, “But this time, I didn’t come because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to see you.”
“Oh.” She swallowed hard. “And now that you have seen me?”
His gaze softened. “I'm sure.”
“That?” she urged him to tell her more.
Scorpius sighed. During the past few months, he’d had enough time to think about his feelings for Rose. At first, he didn’t even want to try, but as time went by, he realised that he… “I missed you, Rosie,” he confessed.
Her lips formed a quick smile, but it soon disappeared. “Okay.”
“Did you miss me?”he asked, wanting desperately to make her tell the truth.
Her reply didn't help him much. “I’m here, right?”
Again, neither of them spoke. Scorpius looked at her, nervously folding and unfolding the edges of her Muggle skirt, and almost laughed at their situation. “Sit down, Rosie.”
“No, I…” she rushed to reply. “I don’t mean to trouble you. I just came to say that I’m sorry, and to see how are you… Have you gone to St. Mungo's again? Can you breathe alright, talk alright? Dad says…”
“Rosie,” he interrupted her, unable to hide his smile. “I was yelling at you five months ago. I think I’m more than fine now. You did a great job.”
“Good.” She nodded. “I suppose I should put this in my resume. The St. Mungo’s people are going to appreciate it.”
“You’re staying here?” He held his breath in anticipation.
“I want to be at home,” she stated. “I want to be with the people I love. I want to go to my parents’ house in weekends and watch them being happy for me. I want to go to family dinners and remember what it truly means to be a Weasley. I want to grow up and to do that… I need to be here.” She was talking with the certainty of a person who had made up her mind and was going to carry out all that she said. It surprised him so much that he forgot the things he had wanted to tell her.
“I suppose I should thank you…” he said after a while. “For saving my life, I mean.”
“Only if you want to,” she noticed.
“Come on, Rose! Of course I bloody want to!” He sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “Why do we keep on doing this to each other?”
She was skeptical for a moment, before saying: “Because we don’t know where we’re standing.”
He shook his head. “I do. I’m standing right where I stood before.”
“Like all this never happened?”
“No,” he explained. “Like all this is now behind us.” Taking a deep breath he decided it was time to clear things out between them. “I know what I feel; I had a lot of time to think, enough to know I want to give you a second chance. But you… you're a mess.”
“I know,” she interrupted, obviously hurt from his latter statement. He was doing that a lot lately, she noticed; giving her hope, only to crush it. “And I don’t mean to trouble you any longer- you don’t have to deal with my mess…”
“I want to,” he retorted. “But I need to know that you want me there as well. I want to stand by your side, but will you let me? I know you loved him, Rose - I understand that. But are you ready to get over this? Because if you’re not, I don’t think this is going to work.”
She took a deep breath and sat on the couch. He watched her gesture at the seat next to her and following her lead he sat by her. “Those were some really shitty months,” she admitted, looking him in the eye. “It’s hard to live with the guilt. It took me a lot of time to understand that despite all that happened, my family is still with me, and that they want me here. Sometimes, I still doubt that, but thankfully I get over it soon.”
“In the nights,” she breathed, taking his hand in hers, “I have nightmares. Not all the time, but sometimes. I see him. Sometimes, it’s my fear… sometimes it’s my guilt. I’m not easy to be around, Scorp…” she reminded him, her fingers drawing circles in his palm. “But I’ve made up my mind and I know I want you in my life. I can’t rush into anything, though. I’m not sure what will happen with us; how things are going to turn out… but I know I want you to boss me around because you’re such a control freak, I want us to hang out in bookshops and empty train stations; I want to hear about your day; I want you to try cooking for me… I want you there…”
“I know that I trust you; I know that I love you; I know that I want you. And now I know you still want me as well. But can you trust me, Scorp?”
This was it. This was the end of the story- or the beginning of it. All he had to do was say one word. One small word that would determine whether Rose Weasley would become a stranger to him or if she’d stay and they’d fight together for the happy ending- like they had fought all these years ago when no one understood their relationship.
The fatal question: could he trust her? After everything they’ve been through, could he believe that she wanted the best for them now? That she needed this to work as much as he did?
Brushing some hair away from her face and, softly massaging the soft skin of her neck, he nodded. “Yes.”
THE END
Please take a quick minute to rate this entry. The top three entries will receive an award. Please do not vote for your own submission. This poll will be closed on November 7th.
Poll The Truth Inside Your Lies