It was dark in the alley, so dark.

Rose and Scorpius stood suspended, a pulse of energy fighting back the darkness; waiting, waiting for something to break the silence —

All at once Rose's back collided with the crumbling, painted wall behind her. She felt his breath on her neck and the pulsing energy seemed to lengthen, filling the confines of their surroundings, stretched fine as it hovered on the edge of snapping. Rising to her toes she wrapped her arms loosely around his neck and let his hands roam, and their lips recalled a forgotten dance as the energy exploded from them in a blinding flash and seemed to bring reality crashing down around them...

*'*'*

Of course there was guilt. There was always the guilt. It infested them and broke them and both of them were too proud to admit it.

Rose fired volley after volley at Scorpius. And he retaliated. Every time. Until... he didn't.

It was a gradual progression of matters, but it started with him reading but never replying to her messages. Which only infuriated Rose, and she attacked harder, and Scorpius blocked all of her online profiles until she had no way to get to him except in person.

Which she couldn't do — neither of them could — it was too hard to deal with, and the whole world was watching their every move. Undivided attention. As if this were some drama flick.

Scorpius' ice spread to Rose. And they never connected again. Until...

*'*'*

Rose came up for air and the energy shattered around them. "Well," she gasped, in the manner of someone trying to regain their balance after a fall. "Well, you certainly haven't gotten any worse at that," and she dove back in. Had she really said that? Perhaps she had only thought it, but it was unclear. She could feel his smile against her lips — strange. Could it be...?

A Scorpius Smile? How long had it been since she'd seen one of those? So long...

He stepped back from her. She stepped away from the wall and rounded on him. They stared at each other. Nothing breathed.

"...let's keep going," Scorpius suggested quietly, and they did, only now there was a space between their shoulders to make way for the elephant in the room.

Rose floated high above them, borne aloft on the hazy cloud of her muddled mind. Her feet, placing themselves one in front of the other monotonously, answered none of her questions. What had just happened? Why? How? Was it real? Was any of this real?

She shook her head to clear it and sneaked a glance sidelong at Scorpius, but he was staring straight ahead, unmovable; he had retreated just as quickly as he had lost control. And she had no choice but to do the same. And the elephant continued to walk between them all through that long night...

*'*'*

The sky was brightening by the time their surroundings began to look distinctly familiar. They passed the houses of several of Rose's friends, and it became a conscious effort to resist the urge to just run into one of those welcoming households and sleep for years.

Scorpius let out a breath. "Jesus fuck," he remarked.

"Um... I feel like we just did something that no one has ever done before," Rose said in a hushed tone. How had they not been caught? Or even followed? Was the Death Eater system more flawed than they thought? Or were they just impossibly lucky?

"Whatever." Scorpius interrupted her thoughts determinedly. "We've gotta get to the police station. And fast."

Their strides quickened dramatically until they were half running, breath coming in exhausted gasps. Now that both could navigate the streets easily it became a race to freedom. The station was not far from here...

Rose and Scorpius burst through the polished glass doors of police HQ and practically fell across the relatively empty, shiny atrium to the reception desk, where a sleepy and surprised clerk blinked up at them questioningly.

"Hmmp," he grunted, rubbing at his eyes as he was nudged from a doze. "'Hat's uhp?"

A burly, bald policeman in uniform stepped up to them, fixing the clerk with a disapproving glare before raking his gaze over Rose and Scorpius. There was a squiggly vein in the policeman's forehead that resembled a ramen noodle, Rose's sluggish brain was careful to notice. Then she wondered why she had even noticed that in the first place. Rose shook her head violently.

"What's your emergency, kids?" The policeman inquired, not unkindly.

"Well, you see," Scorpius began, but he was never allowed to finish.

The policeman's eyes suddenly widened to a comical degree. His hands, which had been hooked casually into his belt, swung down to his side in limp disbelief. "Stars above!" He exclaimed, and reached over the counter to slap the clerk awake.

"What? Where? I didn't do it!" The clerk cried, leaping to his feet in a rush, his wiry glasses askew.

"You dope," said the policeman, whereupon he pulled a communicator from his belt and punched it on with a burst of static. "HQ speaking. We have missing persons Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Weasley on the premises, I repeat, Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Weasley are safe and sound at HQ, over and out..."

Faintly, Rose realized she was gripping the gun they had taken from the Death Eater. She raised it into the cop's line of view and stared at it bemusedly for a moment.

"Woah," exclaimed the policeman, tucking his communicator away and setting eyes on the gun. "Hand that over, miss. Possession of firearms is illegal under the age of twenty-one." He took the gun from her and the secretary typed away furiously. Desperate to make them understand, Rose explained that they'd taken it from a Death Eater, that it was not hers. He simply nodded dubiously.

"It really isn't ours, sir," Scorpius offered.

"Mmm. More important things to deal with right now." He shuffled through papers for a moment, and Scorpius and Rose exchanged a worried glance.

"Now," the policeman resumed, suddenly assuming a businesslike exterior, "if you'll both follow me."

Rose could feel her feet begin to drag and her eyelids begin to droop as they were ushered through several rooms where people conversed in hushed tones. Everything seemed rather blurry. Did this mean they were safe? Was she dreaming? It was becoming so hard to tell...

At length they were bustled into a private office where an important-looking woman presided behind a mahogany desk. She looked up sharply when they entered, nudged her glasses up her nose and drew her eyebrows together suspiciously.

"Bryce," she said in a clipped tone, "are those the kids I think they are?"

"Scorpius Malfoy and Rose Weasley," the policeman said affirmatively. "They just showed up, Chief. Just barrelled through the main doors and scared the wits out of our useless clerk. I recognized them instantly."

"Well," the woman said, adjusting her glasses again and frowning ever deeper. "Well. Sit down and explain yourselves."

Scorpius and Rose sat. The chairs were cushioned but slightly stiff. Relief at the chance to finally sit down flooded Rose's system — if only she could now lie down fully, and sleep for days... 

"Scorpius Malfoy, Rose Weasley," said the woman. "Can you confirm that those are your true identities?"

"We don't have any identification on us," Rose said quickly, forcing herself to perk up a little.

"The Death Eaters took everything," Scorpius explained, his words overlapping Rose's.

"Sorry," Rose added.

"Yes. I understand the two of you were reported missing," the woman said briskly, rising and flipping through a stack of files before withdrawing a folder and spreading its content on the desk before her. "You were reported missing until your families allegedly received ransom threats from the Death Eater organization. It appears that your families have experienced prior conflict with this organization?"

"Yes ma'am," Scorpius confirmed. Rose wondered at his ability to appear awake and alert still.

"But let's not waste time," Rosh rushed. "I mean there's no time to waste! We can fix everything, we can take you to the Death Eaters — at least we probably can — I mean we have to, my cousins are still locked up — "

"Miss Weasley, if you don't mind," the woman interrupted sharply. Rose's vision tottered slightly and she trailed into silence. Had she been rambling? "You're both exhausted, I can tell," the woman continued in a softer tone. "I'm sure it's been one hell of a night. However — " she sifted through the case file and pulled out a few sheets " — if the Potters are indeed still with the Death Eaters, there is no time to lose." Folding the papers back into their folder, she rose to her feet and strode from the room, snapping instructions at Bryce as she went.

Minutes blurred together in a haze as they were rushed around, questioned, jostled, and shoved into a police car which was quickly surrounded by a squadron of cars, all with red lights flashing. The static of communication devices filled the air, along with shouted orders and revving engines. Rose was having extreme difficulty processing the situation. The cool black leather of the backseat served as her only makeshift connection to reality.

At some point the car they were in pulled away from the station, closely trailed by one other car. No sirens on these ones. A glance up front revealed that she and Scorpius were in a car with Bryce from earlier, as well as another very tall guy who sported rows of dreadlocks and broad shoulders. He was behind the wheel.

Bryce twisted around slightly in his seat. "Now, kids," he said, catching their attention. "I know you're pretty spent, but I need you to take us to the Death Eaters. It's imperative that we act now, while your memory of the route is still fresh."

Scorpius spoke up. "We marked our route through the pipes with arrows, and we marked the grate we used to get up to the street, but..."

"Smart kids," remarked the dreadlock guy.

"...but I don't think we're very sure about the route we took aboveground," Rose realized worriedly.

"That's okay," Bryce reassured them. "Could you give us a general location to work with? I'm sure we'll be able to locate the pipes."

"We came out of the pipes in Lower District," Rose supplied.

"Good. That's a very good starting point. Step on it, Josh."

"Roger that," said dreadlock Josh.

Bryce's communication device crackled to life and he brought it to his mouth. "Heading for Lower District. Over and out."

A reply came moments later; Rose assumed it was from the car tailing them. "Received. Over and out." The wane streetlights blurred past them outside. Rose' head swam, her legs felt like rubber. Somewhere far away Scorpius was giving directions to Josh, standing up a bit to crane over Bryce's seat in order to see the road ahead of them. Rose felt bad that she wasn't being very helpful, but her vision stuttered from black to less black to black again. She couldn't stop herself from drifting off, warm with the knowledge that they were somehow, inconceivably, impossibly safe.

*'*'*'*

A/N: ummm ooopsss... Haha yes here I am, back after how many months I dunno. Too many. also i hate this book with such burning passion why does it exist

If anyone is actually reading this I applaud your willpower and unflinching cringe-proof-ness.

Welp that's all from me for now. Turn that lil star orange before you run awayyyyyyyy

~The Unicorn Queen