Colours Of Life by xombie
Chapter Notes: Just wanted to thank everyone for leaving wonderful reviews. It means a lot to me. I may not have replied to all, but I've read each one of them and I love you guys *hugs*
And *hugs* again to my two betas - Colores and Phia Phoenix, and a special thank you to Nupur and my other MNFF friends. You're all the best friends I could ask for *squishes*
Rose stole a glance at the boy in front of her. His silky blonde hair fell loosely over his face, as he slept with his head lolling on one side, moving occasionally when the train gave a jerk or two. She admired his handsome features and manly physique. He looked quite mature for such a young age.
Smiling, she gazed out of the window. The trees that once seemed to be whizzing by were now distinctly visible and before she knew it the train had come to a halt. Frowning, she checked her watch. James had told her they wouldn’t reach Hogwarts until late evening and it was still early afternoon. Confused, she got up and poked her head out of the carriage questioningly. To her amusement, a dozen others had done the same. The trolley woman was moving up and down the carriage, trying to calm the excited children. Her squeaky high-pitched voice sounded funny against the backdrop of angry noises.
‘Keep quiet. No need to panic. There are a few problems with the engine that we’re trying to sort out. Keep quiet, will you? You just SHUT UP!’
Grinning, Rose shut the door quietly. Scorpius was still asleep and she did not want to disturb him. As she moved swiftly towards her seat, his posture caught her attention. His mouth had fallen open and his head hung down, bobbing every now and then when he regained a little consciousness. Rose caught him deftly and tried to prop him against the back-rest. It seemed to be a fruitless exercise as the moment her hold on him ceased, his head fell down again. Before she knew it she was laughing loudly.
Scorpius’ eyes immediately jerked open and he stared around stupidly.
‘Have we reached the castle?’
‘No.’ Rose clutched her sides and tried to control the shrieks of laughter that had begun to ensue from her lips.
‘What?’ Scorpius looked confused. ‘Is there something wrong with me?’
‘There was.’ Rose fell onto the floor gasping for air.
Scorpius looked pretty embarrassed. ‘I don’t know how I fell asleep. Maybe it was because I was awake all night. I was very excited about today.’
‘Were you? Me too!’ Rose stopped laughing and got off the floor, her mouth curving upwards to form a small smile. Scorpius interested her- he was so much like her.
‘Really? Then what did you do? I mean at night.’ The boy asked, leaning forward towards the little girl.
‘Nothing. I just sat down on my windowsill gazing at the stars. I simply love the darkness. It has a sort of haunting beauty that enthrals me. I enjoy walks under the soft light of the moon. I’ve always considered the stars as my companions, which fill me with hope and light whenever I feel depressed or lonely. I can forgive anybody in the world if they apologize to me under the night sky,’ she said smiling lightly.
Scorpius drew in a deep breath and sighed. ‘I love to look at the moon too. It’s so wonderful.’
Both the children sat in silence, smiling at each other and reliving the enchantment of the skies.
An unanticipated pull immediately brought them back to reality. The train had begun to move again. Scorpius cleared his throat loudly and pretended to look out of the window while Rose picked up a book and began to flip though the pages, blushing from one cheek to the other. A low voice made her look up again.
‘It’s upside-down.’
‘What?’
‘The book.’
Rose blushed a deeper hue, and checked her page.
‘No. It isn’t.’
It was Scorpius’ turn to colour.
‘Oh... um… I… um… sorry… um…forget it.’
Rose stifled a laugh and looked at Scorpius from the corner of her eyes. He was fidgeting a lot and kept shuffling his feet nervously. He seemed to be too embarrassed to look at Rose and was staring down at the ground, trying to make up his mind on something. He remained that way for a few moments before finally standing up.
‘I’ll be back.’
‘Where are you going?’
‘Restroom.’
The voice sounded oddly distant to her and she was left pondering over the sudden change in his attitude, sitting all alone in the empty carriage.
Rose consulted her watch again. Where is he? No one takes so long in the restroom. She was at a loss to understand what had gone wrong. She lightly tapped her fingers on the windowsill and hummed a tune her mother had taught her when she had been very little.
When you look into the sky
You will find you're not alone
I'm always there for you
Wherever you may be
I’m in the wind, the sun and the stars
Reaching out to touch your face
And to tell you
You’re not alone...
Rose closed her eyes and rested her head against the window. I’m alone, Mum. She began to draw small circles on the glass with her index finger. James and Albus left me. And they didn’t come back. Her eyes threatened to water but she bit her lips to stop the tears. I’ll never talk to them again. Didn’t James promise you he’d look after me? And now Scorpius has left too.
Her thoughts immediately jumped to her dad. He had been quite light-hearted about Scorpius when her mother was beside them, but when he got a chance to be alone with Rose; he lost no time in immediately getting her to understand that at no cost did he want any friendship between the two. He hadn’t cited any particular reasons, but the way he’d looked at Scorpius’ dad was a little disconcerting.
Rose winced slightly and checked the time again. No, Dad. You’re wrong about Scorpius. But why is he taking so long? As occupied as she was with these thoughts, she could not fail to miss the click of the carriage door opening. Her spirits lifted a little and a smile crept into the forlorn face, bringing back the twinkle in her eyes.
But to her dismay, it wasn’t Scorpius who entered.
James carefully turned the lock and stepped inside. I know Rose will be mad at me. He wasn’t disappointed. As soon as he entered, flashing his best smile and showing off his sparkly teeth, Rose’s own grin disappeared. Uh oh. I don’t think that happy face was meant for me. And she doesn’t look in very high spirits either.
Rose definitely wasn’t. In fact, she was furious with James for a fresh reason now. In addition to the fact that he’d left her alone in her carriage, he’d also given her false hopes about being Scorpius. Of course it wasn’t his fault, but angry people are not always wise. Rose’s mouth twisted into an angry scowl as she glared at James.
James moved cautiously forward. He knew his cousin wasn’t the nicest of people when she was ignited, and it was better to keep a safe distance between them for the time being. Maybe a casual remark might do the trick.
‘So, enjoying the train ride?’ Another glare from his cousin assured him that it wasn’t the best of sentences to begin with. Rose shifted her gaze to the passing trees and shrubs, expressions remaining unchanged.
‘Is the view good?’ Okay. Maybe I should stop now… if I care for my safety. Rose looked as black as thunder; ready to throw something at him if he dared to open his mouth again.
‘Why aren’t you answering?’ He tried again, knowing full well as to why she wasn’t. Apparently, Rose seemed to have had enough, for she opened her mouth, but abruptly closed it again.
‘Know what happened just now? I was chatting with Oliver, Nat and Chris, when Lenny entered. Lenny! Lenny Adams! Linda’s brother! Can you believe it, Rosie? And I didn’t even know he’d joined Hogwarts. He never told me! There were so many things to discuss! He says his family moved to London just last month; it was all so quick that before he knew what was happening, he’s on the train to Hogwarts! Isn’t this lovely? Linda would be joining next year. What fun we’ll all have!’
‘So you had fun, didn’t you? So it was convenient to forget about me, wasn’t it? So you thought I’d manage alone, didn’t you?’ Rose was on the verge of tears.
James saw the pain in her eyes and felt ashamed of himself. She was right. He’d ditched his cousin for a friend. Rose wiped the corner of her eye with her hand and stared straight ahead. It was as if she were making a magnanimous effort not to let her feelings free.
‘I’m very sorry, Rosie,’ James said, moving near Rose. He sat down beside her and tried to comfort her. ‘I left because I thought Albus was with you.’
‘Yet you never bothered to return when you knew he had gone.’
‘True.’ James couldn’t think of a better reply. ‘But if I hadn’t seen you’d got a new companion, I would have been back much earlier.’
Rose looked a little confused. ‘You knew?’
Knowing he had finally engaged her attention, James put his hand around Rose.
‘Yeah. I kept a watch on your compartment all along. Did you think I’d leave you all alone and unguarded? Did you really?’
It had been pure chance that he’d seen a boy entering her compartment, but he wasn’t about to let Rose know that. Rose’s mood seemed to lift again.
‘No…’ There was a hint of foolishness in her voice that clearly signified to James that she had expected him to leave her alone. He reproached himself for having hurt the little girl and vowed he’d never do it again.
James slipped his arm off Rose’s shoulders, and getting down to his knees, he gently turned her face towards his own. His deep, dark eyes gazed into her soft, chocolate-brown ones.
‘Rosie, I’m your cousin, aren’t I? You must always remember that I’ll look after you, no matter what. I love you a lot, Rosie and I promise I won’t allow anyone to hurt you. Okay? That’s a good girl … Now smile …’ James laughed as his cousin’s face split into a beautiful laugh. ‘Who was the boy, anyway? I don’t see him around here. I don’t think he came out for a long time, did he?’ Please tell me he didn’t.
James seemed to be in luck, for Rose did not attempt to deny his statement.
She nodded her head. ‘Yeah. He left a little while before you came.’
‘Did he go to another carriage? Did you bore him to death like you do me, Rosie?’ James laughed and moved to avoid a punch.
Rose giggled. Trust James to get her so mad at him that she could kill him and the next moment, make her laugh as if there were no tomorrow.
‘Of course I didn’t.’ She pretended to be offended. ‘We were laughing together.’
‘Ah! Now I understand. The poor guy must have humoured you, being unable to bear you. Not very unlike me.’ James gasped as Rose found her mark. ‘Ouch! That hurt!’
Rose grinned widely and looked very pleased with herself.
‘So, who was the poor lad?’
Who was the poor lad? The words penetrated inside her head, stinging her conscience.
How can I tell him that my first friend at Hogwarts is the one I was supposed to stay away from? Rose was torn between joy and shame. Her happiness seemed to have come at a heavy price; she was disobeying her father for the first time and if he came to know about Scorpius, there was no telling what could happen.
‘Will you not tell me his name? Scared that I’ll protect him from you?’ James was amazed when Rose didn’t retaliate.
He narrowed his eyes as he looked at his distressed cousin. ‘What’s the matter? Did you two have fight or something?’
Rose shook her head. ‘No. We’re already very good friends. I think.’
James slid onto the place beside Rose, and hugged her. ‘There’s no real need to tell me, if you don’t want to. But I think I might be able to help. If you really don’t want to say it, I won’t mind.’
Rose hugged her cousin back tightly, as if attempting to pass her follies to him and rested her head on his shoulder. She stayed that way for a little while, before lifting it back up.
‘It isn’t that I don’t want to tell you. It’s just that I don’t want my dad to know,’ she said in a small voice, hands still around James’ neck.
‘About your new friend? Are you crazy? I’m sure your dad will be pleased to know you made a friend.’
‘No, you don’t understand.’
‘I will, if you tell me.’
‘Promise you won’t breathe a word of it to my dad.’
‘I take an oath it’ll never reach Uncle Ron’s ears.’
‘Touch my hand and say it again.’
Smiling slightly, James took Rose’s soft, pink hands into his own, and repeated his words. ‘Now am I allowed to hear his name?’
Rose hesitated a bit before telling him, but said it anyway.
‘Scorpius.’
‘Who?’ Rose had spoken in barely a whisper and even though her lips were almost touching James’ ears, he was at a loss to understand what she’d just said.
‘Scorpius.’ It was only a little louder this time, but James was quick enough to catch it.
‘I’ve heard his name before,’ he said, brows knitting. ‘And I don’t think it’s a happy memory.’
‘Then I won’t tell you anything else.’ Rose was beginning to get afraid.
‘Oh no! Just go on. What’s his last name?’
‘Please, please promise me you won’t shout.’
‘It depends. Tell me, quick.’
‘Malfoy.’
It took a few moments for the name to register, but when it did, James exploded.
‘MALFOY?’
Rose was too scared to answer.
‘You’re telling me you befriended a Malfoy? Do you even know who they are? Do you know what they did to our family? You disobeyed your dad’s orders? What happened to you?’
Rose moved back a little and mustered enough courage to speak out. ‘No, I don’t know. No one’s ever told me. And Mum never wanted any enmity with Scorpius. She will be pleased to know about our friendship, I’m sure.’ Rose tried to assure herself that in the event of distressing one parent, she would bring happiness to the other at least.
James scoffed. ‘Is that what you think? You really feel Aunt Hermione would want you to befriend the son of Draco Malfoy? She was just being nice and diplomatic because she was in front of you. How could you even allow him to enter your compartment?’
‘You saw him too, didn’t you?’
‘But I didn’t observe him properly. But be assured that if I had, he wouldn’t be in a happy condition now.’
‘But what has he done to you?’ Rose had begun crying again and was barely able to see through her tears.
James calmed himself a bit. ‘He hasn’t done anything to me. Yet.’
‘He’s good, I know. He’s really nice.’
‘And how do you know that?’
‘He gave me Chocolate Frogs!’
James was becoming exasperated. ‘Rosie, please try to think rationally,’ he said, wiping off the tears from her eyes, ‘Couldn’t it have been a plan to befriend you and everything? Maybe his father wanted to extend his revenge to his enemy’s children. Just think. It could’ve been a trap!’
‘No, it wasn’t!’ As Rose spoke, she remembered Scorpius saying his dad had given him the Chocolate Frogs and began to cry harder.
‘Can you prove it wasn’t?’
‘No, I can’t. Please stop this, James! I don’t want to talk to you any more.’
But James was in no mood to shut up. ‘And if he was such a great companion, can you tell me why he decided to leave in the middle of such a lively conversation? Can you?’
‘No, no, no. No, I can’t!’
‘You can’t give me any proof of him being a good person. Yet you choose to support him. Why?’
Rose’s eyes had grown red and puffy due to the excessive tears that she’d shed. Her first day at school was slowly turning into her worst.
Amidst the crying and shouting in her cabin, the door slid open again.
Scorpius waited a few moments before entering. I’ve been gone an hour and a half. It was impossible to see how Rose could still be friendly towards him. I’ll just have to tell her the truth. He shrugged his shoulders and rested his hand on the lock.
‘…and a Malfoy! You must have packed your brains in the trunk…’
What was that? Scorpius frowned and pressed his ears to the door. He could make out a lot of shouting going on inside, but it was impossible to hear anything distinctly. I’ll have to go in and find out. He cautiously turned the lock and stepped inside.
The two children inside the carriage immediately stopped their bickering when they saw the person in front of them. Their expressions, however, were far from similar. One threw Scorpius a come-closer-and-I’ll-turn-killer look, while the other stared sadly through tear-filled eyes. Scorpius was the first to break the silence.
‘What’s going on, Rosie?’
‘Oh! Rosie is she? Already on such good terms?’
‘She was the one who asked me to call her that! Who are you, anyway?’
‘I’m her cousin. But what’s it to you? Afraid I’ll spoil all your plans?’
Scorpius looked confused. ‘What are you talking about?’ He turned at looked directly at Rose. ‘And you never told me you had a cousin. I thought you were alone.’
‘I was alone, don’t you –’
James interrupted, ‘And did she forget to tell you about my younger brother, too? The one who’s beginning school this year just like you two?’
‘You have another cousin on this train?’ Scorpius’ voice had dropped notches.
James feigned amazement. ‘Rosie! You haven’t told him about Albus? And you forgot me? Your darling cousin?’
‘James, will you please - ’
This time, it was Scorpius who cut her short. ‘You lied to me?’
‘No, you see - ’
‘I believed you.’
‘Scorpius, I - ’
‘Don’t call me by my name. We’re no longer friends.’
‘Please, I’m begging you - ’
‘There’s nothing more I wish to discuss. Kindly pass me my things.’
‘Will you listen- ’
‘And don’t try to speak to me again.’
‘WILL YOU LET ME COMPLETE MY SENTENCE?’ Rose was sobbing loudly.
Scorpius lifted his trunk and looked at Rose simply. ‘No.’
And a weeping Rose was left to be comforted by her cousin, as the door clicked shut yet again.