The Red Rose That Has Green Thorns

The Weighing of the Wands didn’t have individual Champion pictures, but pairings since we, in effect, worked together like a single competitor. There was no one there like Rita Skeeter back in Uncle Harry’s days as a Champion that tried to, repeatedly, drag any one person to the front of the picture. They just did their best to arrange us near our partner and headmaster. They decided to arrange the girls in the front row, seated in nice, plush armchairs (which were very comfortable) with our partners behind the chairs, one hand on either side of our head. Professor Collins stood to the left of the entire group, because that’s where Scorpius and I were, and Uncle Viktor stood to the right by Ethan and Carmela. Madame Maxime stood in the middle at the back, since Andy had been placed in the middle, and Carl behind her.

Personally, I felt that it would be a rather good arrangement when the photo appeared in the Prophet. That’s just me, though. I’m no professional photographer.

The whole Weighting of the Wands was simpler than when Uncle Harry had to endure it, but it was longer because there were a few more people involved. Scorpius and I missed the entirety of Double Potions and we missed Charms, too. After the ceremony was over, though, we went and talked to the professors. Not many students would have done it, but I guess we just liked remaining ahead of the game. There wasn’t any ‘remaining ahead of the game’ about today’s missed lessons, though. Apparently they’d just taken notes in Charms and spent Double Potions retaking failed tests, which neither of us needed to worry over. So after the fairly eventful day, it was a relief to sit down and eat with friends, then retreat to our dorm and, in a rare moment of a very couple-y feeling, cuddle on the couch and use a device designed by my mother to watch some old Muggle animated films.

Even as we all went on with our lives, playing around but also doing our best in our classes, the Third Task inched ever nearer to us. Scorpius and I began to look in spell books in our free time once more, looking for anything to help us with the unknown task ahead. We learned a few handy little charms and had some practice duels by moving our furniture in the common room and using the wide open space that it provided to move freely in our mock battles. I had a sneaking suspicion that this would also help Scorpius prepare for Auror training, but I’d never really discussed that with Dad or Uncle Harry so I didn’t really know just what it was Scorpius would need to be able to do when that time came.

“This one…?” Scorpius asked me, making me look up at him and out of my thoughts. He showed me a spell, and I read it curiously.

“Too lengthy,” I shook my head. “I highly doubt that, in a split second, we’d have time to say homorphojuntiviationnyssal megdrabaradanza. What in the name of Merlin’s beard is that one supposed to sound like, anyway? At least some of the spells sound like something!”

He chuckled at the way I slowed down when I tried to pronounce the spell.

“Besides,” I forged on, “for a spell that just temporarily blinds large reptiles, it’s kind of a waste of time, isn’t it? I mean, it could really only be used on dragons! What’s the use in that?”

He shrugged, and we continued to look for spells. This time, I kept my mind on task.
It was in the middle of the next week that Al finally planned the game of Quidditch he’d wanted to play. Letting him plan wasn’t too smart on my part, because he ended up with himself, of course, Scorpius, Andy, Demitri, Lily, Olivia, and Hugo for his team. As he planned it, I got me, Joe, Theresa, Martha, Molly, Fred, and Zack. Both still good teams, and Al had some back up players picked for both of us, and even had Aunt Angelina ready to referee.

Nothing momentous happened at the playful little rivalry, other than Lily losing control of her broom for the first time in a few years about three feet from the ground and doing a total face plant, which we, being the good relatives and friends we were, all laughed at. Even Lily herself laughed, got up and dusted herself off, and remounted her broom, shooting back up in the sky to join the rest of it. After a while, with neither team really gaining any ground and with both teams switching their players in and out to get everyone some game time, we just started goofing off and having races or freestyle flying. It was all good fun, and when we turned in, exhausted, it didn’t take long for me and Scorpius to settle beside each other, despite our fatigue, and pull out a spell book apiece to look for new spells.

As we tend to do in moments like these, Scorpius and I drifted off to sleep leaning on each other, with books on our laps.

*

We woke up the next morning with plenty of time for each of us to shower and get ready. Once done with all of that, we linked hands and headed for the Great Hall for breakfast. Just like any other day, since just after the Yule Ball. Only this time, while we were sitting and enjoying our meal, Professor Collins came and, with a grin, handed us an envelope.

“There’s a meeting for the Champions at the time and place described,” he grinned, his ever-cheerful self. “It’s about the Third Task.”

“Thank you, Professor,” Scorpius said dutifully as I put my wand under an edge and unsealed it with a charm. Why he was using an envelope now when most of the times he’d just have told us, I didn’t know, but I didn’t question it. He walked up the row to where the other champions were sitting, slightly removed from Scorpius and I today, and delivered the same message to both pairs.

“Rose and Scorpius,” I read aloud after removing the paper from its envelope to see what it said. “Your appearance is required at a mandatory Champions’ meeting tonight at 7 o’clock in the room just off the Great Hall. Best Regards, the Triwizard Judges.”

We remained silent for a brief moment before Scorpius mused aloud, “Wasn’t that a waste of paper? They could have just told us tonight at dinner.”

I chuckled and wholeheartedly agreed.

*

Until dinner, then, the entire affair was forgotten. We were reminded when the others decided to sit nearer to us than they had earlier in the day. The conversation was still light and talkative, but Carmela began to show her nerves at about six thirty.

When we finally got slowly to our feet at about five minutes ‘til, Al cheekily called, from his seat right next to Scorpius, “Good luck!”

“Shut up,” Scorpius rolled his eyes pointedly at his best friend.

It was one of those days where Andy’s accent didn’t come out so thick as it usually did, when her ‘th’ sounds became Zs, as was shown when she just laughed and answered Al’s statement with a slightly tired, “Why, thank you!”

Tired. It was a feeling that three of the six champions - Andy, Scorpius, and I - were feeling after the previous night’s goofing off. The mock Quidditch match, the aerial races, and all around fun was taking its toll. And on top of that, Scorpius and I had been assigned a new Arithmancy project as a pair that was due on the upcoming Monday, which meant we had best start it tonight.

“C’mon,” I sighed, tugging Scorpius to the head of the hall by our intertwined hands, where that oh-so familiar door awaited our arrival. “They’re probably waiting for us, remember?”

In fact, we all knew that the judges were in there and waiting, because we’d been taking glances up at the table and had saw them enter the room five minutes before. The question had arisen then whether we should go or wait until the allotted time. We obviously chose to go in between that time, wanting to rest there for a few moments longer. My words were heeded now, though, and we made our way to the room with softly spoken musings and occasionally a yawn to punctuate the near silence of the usually boisterous Great Hall. It has to be said, though, that it was probably only silent because we and the majority of the Potter/Weasley clan were close to the only ones in there. Goyle and her friends were still pigging out, reminiscent of her father and his best friend, and a few Hufflepuffs were over at the Ravenclaw table with a friend for homework help, but other than that, we were alone.

Carl wondered aloud briefly if they might have cancelled the last task, but Ethan shot that down with the quick explanation, “That’s highly unlikely. If that vas the case, they vood have told the whole school at once,” and so that query was dropped.

After that, Andy mused that, “Per’aps zey ‘ave moved eet up?” to which I thought that her nerves brought her accent back into play with a vengeance. We all rolled this news around a bit more, but Scorpius kind of alleviated that worry with, “It’s still the same as what Ethan said, though…isn’t it? Couldn’t they have just told the entire school at once, rather than telling the six of us and then telling them? It would save their time and ours.”

“Yeah,” Carmela nodded, “and also, vy vood we have had the Veighing of the Vands if they were just going to call it off?”

For once, I had just listened to their conversation, keeping my own observations on the subject to myself for the time being. For some reason, I’d returned to thinking briefly about the vision that had plagued me since the day I had had it. Could it be, the thought which had crossed my mind fleetingly a few times before returned now, that the events of my vision would take place at the upcoming third task? The more I thought about it, the more I could recognize and acknowledge the possibility. And even thought the future was volatile, changing, I had a nagging suspicion that the events of that one vision were an utter certainty. Should I have been scared? Very possibly. But I wasn’t. I’d had the vision lingering in my mind for so long now it had become almost a part of me.

I brought myself into the conversation, breaking the silence with, “About the Weighing of the Wands - why was that so late? Shouldn’t we have had it prior to the first task, rather than the third? Don’t the wandmakers make sure you’re not cheating or something…somehow?”

“I was wondering about zat, too,” said Carl, nodding in agreement with me.

“I guess we’re about to find out why we’re here,” Scorpius said lightly as we rounded the teachers table at last, “but I’m sure it’s nothing so big. Probably just giving us a hint about what’s going to be a part of the third task. Or something like that.”

“Yup,” I agreed, squeezing his hand and grinning at him.

“’Ere we go,” Andy rolled her shoulders while the others just remained silent. I saw evidence that what Joe had told me, about Ethan’s nervous habit being the act of scratching the left side of his nose, was entirely true.

Carl opened the door.