Rose Weasley and the Callamitus Clause

"Bill," said Professor McGonagall warmly, embracing her former student. "Thank you so much for coming out here today."

Rose quickly ran the implications of her uncle's presence through her head. He had been mauled by Fenrir, a legendary werewolf who had led an attack during the war. He had not turned Bill into a full-blown werewolf, but Bill had acquired a selection of wolfish tendencies.

If he was here today, only one of his skills would be of use. After the war, Bill had found that he had acquired an enhanced sense of smell, which revealed a previously unknown facet of Wizarding life.

"So here's how this is going to work," he explained to Professor Ivanoff, who had followed him into the room. "Each wizard has his own scent-- everyone does, Muggles too. But wizards leave a sort of magical scent on those whom they touch with their magic. From what you've told me of this illness, I should be able to find a wizard's scent in it."

Ivanoff regarded him suspiciously. "So you will... smell him and find the source of the illness?" he said slowly.

Bill nodded, explaining, "I work part-time for the Ministry doing just that. It won't be too difficult. Now, whose scents should I expect to find mixed with his?"

Madame Chang stepped forward.

"Lovely to see you, Cho," greeted Bill with a grin. "Glad to see you're keeping yourself busy here."

"Knew you would sympathize," she said with a relaxed grin. Knowing that Rafael was no longer her sole responsibility must have been a relief.

Dmitri also put himself forth. "I try a healing on him," he said, ignoring the glare Ivanoff shot him. "You vill find me as vell."

"And one of my favorite nieces!" cried Bill, spotting Rose for the first time. "Why am I not surprised to find you in the middle of everything? Albus, James, do I have to tell Ginny that you're making trouble?"

The children moved away from Rafael's bed as Bill drew closer. "He's very strong," Bill said to no one in particular. His gaze was locked on someplace distant as he knelt by Rafael's side, inhaling deep, slow breaths. "Brave. Caring. Resilient. Worried... Then there's Cho- cleansing, confused, weary. Another- worried, anxious, powerful... Very powerful... Another, tied by blood- fierce, determined, single-minded."

McGonagall and Ivanoff exchanged a glance as Bill stopped speaking. He continued taking deep breaths as his eyelids flickered, then closed completely.

After a long, tense minute, he stood. He gave Professor McGonagall a confused look.

"It's gone," he said, an odd, perplexed expression on his face. "When I touched it, it backed away. When I tried to capture it, it vanished."

At that moment, Rafael let out a low groan. Dmitri pushed past Bill and knelt by his brother's side. Rafael's eyes flickered, then opened completely. His mouth began to open and close, but no sounds came out.

McGonagall gestured to Bill and the children, who followed her out of the room.

"Thank you, Bill," she said, her voice serious. "We were beginning to fear..." Without finishing the thought, she turned to Rose, Albus, and James. "Now, I cannot stress enough the importance that you do not speak of what has just transpired. Bill is going to have to try and track the magical.... er.... scent to its source within the school."

"Providing that it does, indeed, lead to someone in the school," clarified Bill, "which I'm not certain of. There was powerful magic in that boy..."

"But he'll be okay, won't he?" asked Albus worriedly.

"He'll be fine," Bill reassured him. "I'm afraid incidents like this are all too common during the tournament. Something, accidents happen, but sometimes..." He left the statement unfinished.

McGonagall sent them back to their common room, repeating the instruction to not speak of what they had witnessed. Rose wanted to talk to Albus and James, but it seemed like every Gryffindor in the school was packed into the common room. When it became clear that there was no quiet place to talk, they gave up and went to bed.

Bill sat at the head table the next morning at the place of honour by Professor McGonagall's side. He waved to his confused children, who had obviously not been told that their father was at the castle. Towards the end of the meal, Victoire and Molly stood and went up to the table, amusing Bill by curtsying to Professor McGonagall before speaking.

Dmitri was not at the meal-- he was presumably still with Rafael in the hospital wing. As Rose scanned the room, she noticed who else was missing. Alistair.

"Just watch," she murmured to Albus and James. Bill had begun to casually stroll the room with his eldest daughter. His chest rose and fell heavily; he was searching for the scent he had lost in Rafael. "He won't find anything."

Bill returned to the head table as the bell rang, dismissing the students to their first class. Rose could not catch what he said to Professor McGonagall as she passed, but his expression did not tell of hope.

It was time for another Defense practical lesson. Most recently, they had been working on blocking multiple attackers with a Shield Charm.

"The difficulty here," explained Professor Evariste once the class had settled, "is focus. If Miss Kerbow here puts up a shield against Mister O'Grady's attack, then she may still be vulnerable to Miss Creete's advance. The key is to not think about the immediate danger when casting a shield, or you risk it being specialized. Let's try it out."

Once Tomasa Kerbow had effectively blocked both attacks made on her (after four failed attempts that left her Stunned), the class was split into groups of three with one group of two. Rose and Albus tried to be that group of two, but Professor Evariste shook his head.

"You two, work with Mister Malfoy here. I believe Mister Leach would benefit from a smaller group." Callum Leach had never recovered from the reputation he had earned during the Stunning Spell practical.

Rose met Scorpius' gaze as he crossed the room. Albus, looking like he would rather be anyplace but there, nodded stiffly to the approaching boy. For the first time, the class saw Potter and Malfoy stand face to face.

"This is the level of silence I expect during final exams," said Professor Evariste, raising an amused brow. "During my practicals, however, I require a certain amount of mayhem and ruckus. You may begin."

Rose broke the hesitant silence within her group. "I'll go first," she said. "Albus, try to attack me."

Anticipating his move before he even drew his wand, she concentrated on generating a strong shield charm. When Albus' spell hit it, the shield absorbed the red light, momentarily surrounding Rose with a pinkish hue. Grinning, she let the shield fall, forgetting about Scorpius' coming attack.

"Stupefy," he said quietly. Rose flew backwards, landing with a soft thud on a pile of cushions. She rushed to refill her lungs, which were not accustomed to such a landing.

Scorpius ran over as Rose pushed herself up. "I thought you were going to block it!" he cried, looking almost exasperated. "Rose-"

"It was my fault," she acknowledged. "Now we're even from me knocking you off your broom, eh?"

The group dynamic only got tense once Rose was no longer the subject of the dual attacks. Next was Albus, who Scorpius seemed reluctant to attack.

"Oh, just come at me," Albus finally huffed, growing frustrated with Scorpius' hesitation. "There's only an hour left."

Narrowing his eyes slightly, Scorpius threw a Stunner at Albus. Instead of the spell sinking into the shield, it bounced back, missing Scorpius' head by only a hair.

His wand seemed to work as an extension of his arm as it cut a vertical line through the air. A brief puff of golden light, and Albus was spinning in place like a top.

Albus' wand arm flew out, and as he spun, a green ring of light formed around him. Still whirling about on his toes, he threw the ring of light out. It encircled Scorpius and flipped the boy onto his back. The spell around Albus broke, and he too fell.

Rose, still comprehending what had just transpired, stared at the boys.

"What the-- Scorpius-- Albus!" she cried as both boys struggled to sit up. But they wore matching abashed grins, and laughed upon seeing the other.

"Didn't expect that one," admitted Albus as they rose. "What was it?"

"Spinning Spell," replied Scorpius, brushing off his robes. "I have a feeling it wasn't exactly in today's curriculum."

"Not exactly," said Professor Evariste, who was leaning against the wall. Neither boy had seen him there. "And I must say, a good shield charm would have prevented either. Back to work, boys." But he said it with a good-natured smile.

Albus and Scorpius returned to stunning spells, which they exchanged as foundling friends. Rose accepted the transition as a positive sign of bonding between the boys. She didn't understand how fighting could bring boys closer, but shrugging, she accepted that there were some things she didn't need to understand.

At the end of the lesson, the trio sat where they were instead of Scorpius returning to the Slytherin side of the room-- the students tended to divide themselves along house lines. Professor Evariste's eyes lingered on the unlikely group for only a moment before wrapping up the lesson.

When the bell rang, the trio rose as one, exiting the classroom with their bags. "So, what do you usually do after Defense?" asked Rose. She and Albus typically returned to the common room, headed to the library, or (more recently) the hospital wing.

"It depends," replied Scorpius as they reached the stairs. "The common room's not too bad around now-- I go and get a head start on my work."

They walked with the flow of older students heading to class as Rose thought, considering Scorpius' words-- "the common room's not too bad around now". Finally, she said, "I was planning on getting some work done on that Potions assignment. I think they have a book or two on Hiccuping Solutions in the library. D'you want to come?"

Scorpius hesitated for a moment, uncertainty flickering across his face, then smiled. "I think I'd like that."

So, much to the surprise of Madame Abbott, who had to adjust her spectacles to assure herself that her vision was not failing her, that afternoon saw Rose Weasley and Albus Potter pull out a chair for Scorpius Malfoy, and laugh as he joined their number.

Dmitri was finally present at dinner that evening. Rose and Albus had walked with Scorpius to the doors of the Great Hall before heading their separate ways for the meal. Now they sat across from James, who had arrived earlier.

"Rafael's doing better," said James as Dmitri played with his fork. "The fever broke last night after we left. Dmitri says he's recovering well, though it may be another day until he's released."

In fact, Rafael was not released until Sunday afternoon. He entered the Gryffindor Common Room just as Rose and Albus were preparing to leave.

"I am fine," Rafael insisted immediately as Rose and Albus rushed towards him. "Tired. Ve shall speak of... of... vith the morning."

Dmitri followed his brother, his face grave. Rose and Albus left as the voices of the other Gryffindors rose in a gossiping clamor. They did not want to hear what the others had to say about their foreign friends.

Bill left the castle that night after dinner. He had walked through the Great Hall during each meal, conversing with his children, nieces, and nephews as he tried to find the scent. As far as Rose could tell, he had had no luck.

"It's so frustrating!" she vented to Albus on their way to Herbology. "I know who it is, but I have no proof!"

Albus sighed. He had long since ceased to argue against Rose's theory of Alistair's evil plot to win the tournament. Now, he just nodded along with her as she ranted.

"I mean, he missed all of the meals since Bill arrived," she continued, "and suddenly he's back for breakfast this morning. Doesn't that alone strike you as a bit odd? We know he's strong enough-- he had the power to conjure the Delaney storm, and I've done quite a bit of research on that. It should have been impossible for a student, even a seventh year!"

"So maybe it wasn't him," offered Albus without much hope. As he knew she would, she shook her head.

"No, I'm positive. It's all Alistair."

Rafael made slow steps towards a full recovery. He visited Madame Chang each day for a bout of potion that was designed to flush what remained of the illness from his body. By Wednesday, he was well enough to return to his lessons.

Rose wished she had more proof of Alistair's involvement than just the fact that he had disappeared from the meals for the weekend. When she casually asked Scorpius about the champion's disappearance, he said, "I heard he was sick. Sure was around the common room more than he usually is."

It was difficult to hang out with Scorpius when they lacked the convenience of a shared common room. The next few weeks found the trio in the library, huddled near the lake by one of Rose's fires, even out on the Quidditch pitch a few times. Rose sat on the stands with a letter to her parents or a textbook and watched Albus and Scorpius fly.

One day, the boys surprised her by bringing out a third broom from the school's storage shed. "I tried to stop him," said Albus, shaking his head helplessly. "Suppose he'll have to learn from experience."

Rose gave Scorpius an icy stare as he said, "Oh, don't give me that look, Rose. We agreed--" Albus coughed. "--well, I thought that it was time you got on a broom again."

"No," she said flatly.

"Come on," he said, a joking smile on his face. "Just one lap around the pitch? I'll race you."

Rose took a deep breath before responding. "I don't fly," she said, glad to hear that her voice was steady. "You two go."

"Not without you, we're not," said Scorpius stubbornly. "At least come down to the pitch with us? You can put up a fire to keep warm."

Grudgingly, Rose climbed down the stands with the boys behind her. She couldn't make out what they were whispering, but it made her uneasy.

Reaching the snow-covered field, Scorpius offered the broom to Rose one last time. "Just try it?" he asked.

"Not a chance, Scorpius."

He put the broom down, feigning dejection, which made Rose grin.

"C'mon," she said, "let's see if you can light one of my fires yet."

She strode a few feet away until she found a thin patch of snow that barely covered icy tufts of grass. Water did not hinder the spell, but excessive snow could drain away some of the heat. She bent down to brush the snow away, revealing a large target for Scorpius.

"I can do this in my sleep," boasted Scorpius with a confident grin. "See?"

A small burst of flames flew from the end of his wand and landed in the snow. Slowly, it began to sink into the snow in front of him.

"You didn't concentrate on limiting the heat for that one," critiqued Rose. Scorpius snorted. "Fine, then. If you're so good, fill the patch I cleared from there."

She took a step out of the way as Scorpius narrowed his eyes in concentration. "Rosa Inflarum," she saw him mouth as he flung his wand arm out. A burst of scarlet flames flew from the tip, hitting Rose with a wave of heat as they brushed precariously close to her face.

Unbelievingly enough, the fire fell into the patch Rose had cleared away. She was about to congratulate Scorpius when a thick bolt of red light struck his chest, throwing him backwards.

"Scorpius!" she cried, as another voice shouted, "You filthy little leach!"

She spun to see James rushing forth in the snow, scarlet Quidditch robes blazing. The rest of the Gryffindor team followed at a slightly slower pace.

"Get away from my cousin, you mud-dwelling, purist filth," James shouted as he trudged forward. "Rose, get out of here!"

"James, what are you doing?" she cried, rushing to put herself between Scorpius, still flat on his back, and James. "James!"

"Why were you just standing there?" he asked angrily. "Did the little Malfoy slime Confound you or something? He was attacking you!"

"He was not!" said Rose furiously. "He was lighting a fire!"

"On your bloody face, perhaps!"

She turned and helped Scorpius to his feet. "I'm fine," he groaned, "just a bit sore..."

"Get your hands off her!" James reached for his wand again.

Rose grabbed hers first. "Expelliarmus!" she cried. James' wand flew away from him. Dominique Weasley, the Gryffindor team's Keeper, caught it. She did not toss it back to James-- she knew his temper-- but regarded Rose warily.

"James, listen to me," Rose panted, the sharp winter air biting at her lungs. "Scorpius was not attacking me. We're friends. We were-"

"Friends?" James snorted derisively. "You're not friends with... him."

She ignored this and continued. "We were practicing casting my fires. See?" She gestured to the red flames, which everyone was giving a wide berth. "He's almost gotten them down."

"Al, what is she prattling on about?"

Albus had stepped forward. "It's true," he said softly. "James, there's no need to freak out..."

James turned suddenly to the other team members. "We came here to fly, didn't we? Well, let's fly." He took the broom one of the Beaters handed to him and turned back to Rose. "This is a closed practice," he said to Scorpius coldly. "Gryffindors only."

Scorpius' eyes turned hard. "Let's go inside," said Rose hurriedly, not liking either boy's expression. "It's getting too cold out here for me."

She waited for Scorpius and Albus to walk ahead before turning to James. "You should be embarrassed," she said hotly. "I certainly am for you."

His indignant replies were lost as Rose strode away, walking straight through the fire as she said, "Finite Incantatum." She caught up with Scorpius and Albus, and the three headed inside.

From that time on, they avoided James whenever they were with Scorpius, and did not seek him out even if they weren't. During Foreign Studies, they stayed in their regular seats, not making eye contact, though James shot the Slytherin section occasional glares.

Dmitri seemed unfazed by their new companion. "Who is boy vith green?" he asked one day, having just seen Rose and Albus leave Scorpius by the doors of the Great Hall.

"Scorpius Malfoy," said Rose. "He's a friend of ours."

Each time she explained it to people, the words came to her more easily. People still stared- people who didn't know Rose and Albus, people who had only heard of their parents' hatred for Malfoy-- but it no longer bothered them.

Scorpius remained the same in front of the school-- shy, silent, reserved. The only change came during a Potions class in early February.

"I still think it's possible," he argued as they stood in front of the classroom door. Professor Slughorn had yet to arrive and let the class in.

Rose sighed with exasperation. "How many times do we have to go over this?" she said. "You can't train a Crup, it's just not possible."

"But they said the same thing about dragons until a few years ago," he pointed out, "and look at them now!"

"Those dragons were raised as pets," countered Rose, "which, at the time, was illegal. It still is!" She should know-- over her birthday dinner two years ago, her parents had to convince Hagrid that he could not, in fact, raise a dragon while working at Hogwarts. Just because a group of wizards in Italy had managed it didn't mean that he should try.

"Besides," Rose added, "their mentalities are hardly comparable."

The argument stretched on as they filed into the classroom. Rose only noticed a difference when Scorpius followed her to the desk she and Albus usually occupied. Scorpius' usual partner, Crispin Orthos, sat next to Kieron Berger and Odessa Blackwell.

Professor Slughorn raised a brow at the seating change. "Seems to me that my class shrinks each day," he remarked, looking around the room, eyes unreadable. "Must be due to old age. Speaking of age..."

Dmitri's mood deteriorated as February wore on. The second task was set for the 25th, and when it was only a week away, he finally cracked.

"He cannot go into task two," he told Rose urgently. They were in the second year boys' dorm, where Dmitri had hidden himself away all afternoon. "You know the sickness was made vith magic. I am scared of person doing that."

"You know he has to compete, right?" asked Rose. "He doesn't have a choice anymore. He entered his name in the Cup-- that was his choice."

"He entered family name. Vas pride of Ivanoff. But he vill be nothing if kill."

There was no talking him out of his mood. Shortly after his conversation with Rose, he shut down completely.

"He's not coming to classes anymore," James told her a few days before the task. "I told the teachers that he's sick."

It was a believable lie. Dmitri stopped showing up to meals as well. Rafael always took a platter of food up to his brother, but most of it returned uneaten.

The night before the task, Lorcan came to sit with Rose at dinner. "I went to see Professor Trelawney today," he said casually.

"For what?" asked Rose.

"Mum asked me to," he explained. "She thinks that since my grandmum is a Seer, I might be one too."

"Luna's mum is a Seer?" Rose thought that Luna's mother had died before the twins were even born.

"No, my other grandmum. She worked for the Ministry when she was in her prime."

"Well, it would make sense," said Rose slowly. Lorcan had always possessed an uncanny knack for knowing things-- she had always just assumed that he was nosy. But then there was the drawing, his sketch of a door and a key that they had never seen.

"Trelawney agrees," he said, rifling through his bag. He pulled out a square of parchment and handed it to Rose. "This is what we came up with today. She told me to draw the first thing I saw."

She had expected a crystal ball or chairs around a desk. Instead, she saw a circular room that stretched up beyond the top of the drawing. Plain pillars reached towards the unseen ceiling, ending in Doric bases that looked like claws.

"What room is this?" she asked Lorcan.

He shrugged. "I'm not sure," he said, looking the drawing over again. "Trelawney warned me that it might be nothing at all. Just go to the door tomorrow."

The last sentence fell flat. Rose, not seeing the correlation between the two matters, said, "What?"

"I said, the sketch might be nothing at all," Lorcan repeated.

"No, not that," said Rose. "The part about the door."

"What door?"

"The door!" Rose was beginning to grow frustrated with the way the conversation was proceeding.

Lorcan looked bewildered. "What about the door?" he said.

"You just told me to go to the door tomorrow," said Rose, attempting to remain calm. "I am asking you why."

"Huh." Lorcan made a face. "I don't remember saying anything about the door. Are you sure you heard me right?"

Something occurred to Rose. "Lorcan," she said, "I think you may have just made a prediction."

"Huh," he said again. "Huh. But I don't think I'm that kind of Seer. I do drawings and stuff."

"I don't think it works that way," said Rose. "Why should we go to the door tomorrow? We should be at the second task."

"Unless I meant before the second task," said Lorcan, "or after it. Or during it, too, I suppose."

Rose shook her head. "I'll... we'll think about it," she said.

That night, Rafael sat alone in the common room. Rose had not seen much of him the past month; now, he looked like he just wanted to be left alone. He had his writing kit out, as usual, and was drafting a letter.

She thought about him as she prepared for bed. He would be alright-- he had emerged from the first task, hadn't he?

But he had been injured-- nearly killed, according to his own account... An account that had been abruptly retracted when the dead raven was thrown through the window. None of the pieces of the puzzle made sense, and most frustrating of all, none of them pointed to Alistair Trimble.

Dmitri arrived at breakfast the next morning with Rafael. Silently, he sat and made himself a plate of oatmeal. The meal was altogether a quiet one; no one dared shatter the somber mood hanging over that section of the Gryffindor table.

Rose yawned as she poured herself some pumpkin juice. She had been up through a large portion of the night, trying to make all of the pieces fit together. The only solution she had come up with was to keep Dmitri away from the second task. If something nasty was planned, she didn't want him anywhere nearby.